The resources listed provide further information on several topics: financial statements from real-world companies, accounting software and tools, personal finance, accounting organizations, and exams and professional certifications for accountants.
Sample Financial Statements
The following income statements and balance sheets show the finances of companies representing the manufacturing, retail, and service industries.
Manufacturing Company: General Motors
- Income statement: https://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/gm/financials?query=income-statement
- Balance sheet: https://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/gm/financials?query=balance-sheet
Retail Company: Costco Wholesale
- Income statement: https://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/cost/financials
- Balance sheet: https://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/cost/financials?query=balance-sheet
Service Company: Prudential
- Income statement https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/pru/financials
- Balance sheet: https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/pru/financials/balance-sheet
Accounting Software and Tools
The resources listed offer a variety of tutorials, training videos, and practice activities using software and tools common in accounting.
QuickBooks
- QuickBooks tutorials: https://quickbooks.intuit.com/tutorials/
Peachtree/Sage 50
- Peachtree 2011 guide: https://www.perdisco.com/peachtreeLearning/quickReferenceGuide/2011.aspx
- Sage 50 training course with videos: https://www.freebookkeepingaccounting.com/single-post/Sage-50-Accounts-Training-Course-Part-1
Microsoft Excel
- Excel tutorials, video guides, trainings, and worksheets: https://chandoo.org/wp/welcome/
- YouTube channel with accounting-specific video tutorials: https://www.youtube.com/user/ExcelIsFun
Financial Calculators
- HP10B setup video guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmMdRfKre44
- HP10BII video introduction and examples: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTqkkeG1xlw
- HP10B and HP12C time value of money calculations video guides: https://www.youtube.com/user/mssuprof/videos
Personal Finance
These resources can assist you with personal financial planning.
Earnings
- Current starting salaries for recent college graduates for various majors and degrees: https://careers.kennesaw.edu/employers/docs/2018-nace-salary-survey-winter.pdf
- Accounting-specific salaries and positions: https://www.roberthalf.com/blog/salaries-and-skills/the-rise-of-the-accountant-salary-and-10-top-accounting-jobs
Take-Home Pay
- Salary calculator that determines your net pay—the amount you’ll take home in your paycheck that you need to plan your budget around. In addition to calculating state and federal taxes, this resource allows you to input other withholdings such as health insurance or 401K contributions: https://www.paycheckcity.com/
Saving and Retirement Planning
Determining how much your savings will grow and how much you will have in retirement are very important components of personal financial planning. These links will help you better plan for those aspects of saving.
- This basic savings growth calculator includes graphs that provide helpful visuals of the impact of changing any assumptions such as the timing or amount of contributions or the interest rate earned: https://smartasset.com/investing/investment-calculator
- To estimate retirement savings growth, use this calculator that allows you to see the impact of saving now (enter your current age) versus saving later (enter a future age): https://www.daveramsey.com/smartvestor/investment-calculator
- This calculator lets you more accurately plan how your retirement savings will grow by allowing you to input any matching amounts contributed by employers: https://nb.fidelity.com/public/nb/401k/tools/calculators/contributioncalculator
Budgeting
- A well-planned budget is the cornerstone of personal financial planning. Using the salary, pay and savings numbers obtained from the resources above, this calculator will help you create a detailed financial budget: https://www.clearpoint.org/tools/budget-calculator/
Debt Reduction
- Whether it is student loans, credit cards, car loans or any other kind of debt, it is always beneficial to understand the impact of differing payments on paying off debt. This resource will help you see the impact of changing the amount paid on the payoff timing and interest paid on the debt: https://www.money-zine.com/calculators/loan-calculators/debt-reduction-calculator/
Accounting-Related Organizations
A number of organizations are dedicated to regulating and supporting the variety of work undertaken in the discipline of accounting.
- Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB): https://www.gasb.org
- Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB): https://www.fasb.org
- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC): https://www.sec.gov
- Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA): https://www.accaglobal.com
- Institute of Management Accountants (IMA): https://www.imanet.org
Accounting Exams and Certificates
These sites provide information on exams and professional certifications.
Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
- American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA): https://www.aicpa.org/content/aicpa/
- National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA): https://nasba.org/
- This Way to the CPA: https://thiswaytocpa.com/
Certified Management Accountant (CMA)
- Institute of Management Accountants (IMA): https://www.imanet.org/cma-certification?ssopc=1
Certified Internal Auditor (CIA)
- Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA)-Global: https://global.theiia.org/Pages/globaliiaHome.aspx
- Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA)-North America: https://na.theiia.org/Pages/IIAHome.aspx
Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE)
- Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE): http://www.acfe.com/default.aspx
Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
- CFA Institute: https://www.cfainstitute.org/Pages/index.aspx
Certified Financial Planner (CFP)
- Certified Financial Planners (CFP) Board: https://www.cfp.net/home