Hispanic American Council, Inc. Assessment of Current Accounting Procedures and Accounting Manual

Abstract

The purpose of this project is to aid the Hispanic American Council, Inc., a 50 1c(3) non-profit human service organization, in its accounting procedures. This project consists of two parts, an assessment of managerial, reporting, and accounting procedures and an accounting manual. The need for an assessment and manual exists because of the inconsistencies that exist in the managerial area of the Council. Without this project, the Council would continue to function continuously in the short-term only--that is, without a framework of guidelines, there is a minimal chance to achieve continuity. Without continuity in business (especially accounting), reporting becomes very difficult in terms of comparing trends, financial statements, and clients reached from year to year. As mentioned above, the assessment is divided into three separate chapters. Although the primary goal of this project is to alleviate some of the inconsistencies in the general accounting procedures of the Council, it is necessary to include certain reporting and managerial procedures. Both of these sections help provide a clearer picture of the Council. In addition, it is important to note that accounting is the language of business. Without good accounting practices, the management and the reporting of the Council suffer, and ultimately so do the clients who depend on the Council. If the Council is mismanaging its funds, then the people who ultimately suffer are Hispanics in need of the Council's services.