Glencoe Accounting

Chapter 1: You and the World of Accounting

Winning Competitive Events

Concept Capsules

Exciting careers in accounting exist in the public and private sectors.
Choosing a career requires research and assessing your interests, personality, and skills.
Public accountants serve their clients in a variety of ways.

Practice Questions

True or False

Passing a test on accounting theory and practices is required to become a certified public accountant.

Multiple Choice

Governmental accounting is considered (A) cost accounting, (B) managerial accounting, (C) public accounting, (D) not-for-profit accounting.
Which of the following is not a category in the accounting profession? (A) Accounting education, (B) Private accounting, (C) Not-for-profit accounting, (D) Managerial accounting.
A person who has an entry-level job in accounting would probably be called (A) an accountant, (B) a general bookkeeper, (C) an accounting clerk, (D) an instructor.

Answers

Terminology

If you do not have a thorough understanding of basic accounting terminology, it will be difficult for you to be successful in competitive examinations. Here are a few ideas to help you build a strong accounting vocabulary.

You may want to keep an accounting notebook. As you study each chapter, jot down new accounting terms and their definitions. Review this list of accounting terms on a weekly basis. By competition time, you will have mastered these terms. If you do not keep an accounting notebook, start at the beginning of your textbook and write out, define (in your own words), and review the accounting terms at the end of each chapter. Writing out each term and its definition will help you learn and understand each term. Review the accounting terminology, but don't waste your time on what you already know. Use that time to concentrate on what you don't know.

The glossary at the back of each Glencoe Accounting textbooks contains all of the accounting terms introduced in the chapters. A separate Accounting Dictionary is also available. This dictionary contains all of the accounting terms introduced in the first-year course and the advanced course, as well as selected computer terms.

Test-Taking Tips

Regular study and review is the best way to get good test results, but there are other things you can do to prepare for the contest.

Get enough rest the night before the test. Don't try to "cram." If you haven't mastered the material by now, cramming will not help.
Eat a good breakfast.
Try to relax. If you've prepared yourself for the test, be confident in your ability to do well.
Dress in appropriate business attire. Not only will you project a good image of yourself and your school, you will also feel good about yourself and be more confident.
Before the test date, double-check the location for the examination. Allow yourself enough time to get to the event.
Be sure to take along the supplies that you will need: pencils, pen, ruler, and eraser. If handheld calculators are permitted, take one along.
When you arrive at the test location, sit near the front of the room, not in the back.
Listen to the instructions and guidelines from the test moderator.
Read the test directions carefully.
Skim the entire test quickly.
Begin answering the questions.
Mark those questions you cannot answer immediately and go on to other questions.
When you have finished, return to the questions you marked.

Taking True or False Tests

Read the directions carefully so that you will know how to mark your answers.
Read each statement slowly and carefully. If any part of the statement is not accurate, then the entire statement is false. For the statement to be true, every part must be true.
Look for "clue" words that usually make a statement false. Some of these words are always, all, none, only, and very. Words such as usually and generally are often used with true statements.
Watch for negative statements; these tend to be tricky.
With true/false tests, your first hunch is usually correct.
Do not look for a pattern in the answers; there usually isn't one.

Taking Multiple Choice Tests

Read the directions carefully. Usually only one answer is required; however, sometimes more than one answer may be necessary.
Read the statement and try to complete it before you look at the choices. If your answer is among the choices, mark it.
Eliminate the obviously incorrect answers, and then select what you feel to be the correct answer. Test the answer by adding it to the statement and reading the completed statement to yourself.
If you cannot answer the question, look for words that automatically eliminate certain choices. Eliminate choices that do not fit grammatically with the question. Eliminate choices that seem too vague or general.

Taking Matching Tests

In matching tests, you are asked to match a term in one column with a term or statement in another column. Read through all the possibilities before answering. Look for the most appropriate answer.
Unless otherwise noted, an answer may be used more than once. In addition, there are often more choices than are needed.
Match the items you are sure about first.
Eliminate inappropriate choices. For example, if a question requires an answer that is a noun, you can eliminate all choices that are verbs. Choose your answer from the remaining choices.

Taking Completion Tests

These "fill-in-the-blank" questions require specific answers. Read each question carefully and write the best possible answer.
Check your answer by reading the completed sentence to yourself, to make sure your response makes sense.

Taking Problem Tests

1. To prepare for problem tests, do sample problems over and over until you are sure of yourself.

2. Read through the directions for each problem carefully, to make sure you understand exactly what you are to do.

3. Allow time to check your work, making sure there are no careless calculation errors. Be sure that you have completed each instruction in the problem. You may want to cross off an instruction after you are done with it.