Exercise 9 Fill in the missing words in the sentences below. Choose from the box. You should use each work more than once.

accountant, accounts, accountant, accounting, accountancy

 

1. Can you check that the figures have been entered correctly in the bank …..? 2. He’s at university studying …... 3. The management of the company have not yet decided on their ….. policies. 4. A bookkeeper writes details of financial transactions in the …... 5. Most people in the profession read ….. magazines and journals in order to stay informed. 6. She’s been working as an ….. with this firm for several years now. 7. The directors of the company approve the ….. at the end of the ….. year. 8. The chief ….. has completed the chart ….. for this year. 9. Each branch maintains its own full ….. system. 10. They have opened an ….. for the consignment to Bombay. 11. ….. is really not an exact science. 12. A business manager needs some ….. knowledge in order to understand what he reads in the company …...

 

Exercise 10 a) Read the conversation between the Managing Director and the Financial Director.

Charles: Hi Sally. I would like to talk to you about our board meeting next week. Do you know we’ll be discussing our debt problems?

S: Of course. Probably our biggest issue at the moment.

Ch: Right. The shareholders are getting nervous, and the markets don’t like our level of gearing. We’re getting more and more questions about whether we can service our debt, in the long term. It’s getting harder to attract new investments. So, I wanted to speak to you about what we can do. We’re investing a significant amount in our new factory in Germany so we need to come up with a solution soon. The new factory is very important, and we’re looking at leasing the assets. And that’s where you come in. Tell me what we can do with leases on the balance sheet. What’s allowed in this country?

S: Is this a business decision, to lease these assets?

Ch: Let’s just say it’s one possibility we’re looking at.

S: You’re thinking that if we lease the assets, we can exclude these liabilities from the balance sheet?

Ch: Exactly.

S: You know that the auditors will look very closely at these transactions? The accounting standards or principles if you like, mean that finance leases must be disclosed. If we are the owner of these assets, then we’re not going to have a choice.

Ch: And how do we determine the owner?

S: That depends on the conditions in the contract.

Ch: That shouldn’t be a problem. And then we can call them …

S: Operating leases. But remember, auditors and markets are now very sensitive to these things. We can’t afford to be seen as trying to mislead anyone.

Ch: Of course not. But for the meeting next week, have a think about it. OK?

S: Yeah. I’ll try and bring some ideas.

Ch: OK. Bye.

shareholder – акціонер

gearing – платоспроможність

debt – борг

leasing the assets – здавати (брати) внайми

exclude – виключати

disclose – виявляти

operating leases – операційна оренда

b) Answer the following questions. Make a note of the words and phrases that helped you to answer.

1. Do Charles and Sally agree that their company has a debt problem? 2. What are the consequences of the debt problem? 3. Why do they need a solution to the problem soon? 4. How does Charles suggest they deal with it? 5. Has Charles made a final decision about what to do? 6. Do we know whether Sally agrees with Charles’s suggestion?

 

c) Fill in the gaps in the extracts from the conversation.

Ch: The share holders are getting nervous, and the markets don’t like our level of g_____. We’re getting more and more questions about whether we can s_____ our d_____, in the l_____ t_____. It’s getting harder to attract new investments. So I wanted to speak to you about what we can do. We’re investing a s_____ amount of our new factory in Germany so we need to c_____ u_____ w_____ a solution soon. The new factory is very important, and we’re looking at leasing the assets.

S: You’re thinking that if we l_____ the a______, we can exclude thise l_____ from the balance sheet?

Ch: Exactly.

S: You know that the auditors will look very closely at these transactions? The accounting s_____, or principles if you like, mean that finance leases must be d_____. If we are effectively the owner of these assets, then we’re not going to have a c_____.