English Learning Guide

Competency 1
Unit 5: Accounting
Workshop 1
Centro de Servicios Financieros- CSF

Name: Karen Valentina Rodriguez Cohort: 2468484 Date: 16/06/2022

Training program: Tecnólogo en Gestión contable y de Instructor: ANDRES FELIPE MEDINA

Información Financiera

BASIC ACCOUNTING CONCEPTS/COMMERCIAL DOCUMENTS- VOCABULARY/ COST ACCOUNTING

This workshop attempts to enhance your accounting knowledge and it deals with basic accounting
concepts such as accounting-job-positions and functions, this workshop was created regarding
people you might work with in a regular work environment.

Objectives: from the development of these activities, you will be able to Identify back-office
accounting personnel, analyze accounting personnel and function and discuss about basic
accounting concepts.

1. Work in groups and answer the following questions

● What’s accounting?
Answer: It is a discipline that is responsible for studying, measuring, and analyzing the assets, the
economic and financial assets of a company or organization, to facilitate decision-making within it and
external control.
● Do you think accounting is important to keep a company floating? why/why not?
Answer: Yes, it is very important since it is necessary to know in all the companies, their operation in
terms of the statements and financial situation, in order to understand if the company has profits or not,
and if it is convenient or not to continue with said idea of business (since there are cases where the
business idea is abandoned, despite the fact that its income is very low and its expenses are very high).
● Do you know someone who works as an accountant? If so, who? Where does this person
work? Do you know what exactly this person does?
Answer: I do not know someone who practices this profession, however, I understand
that their occupations, most of the time, are related to a specific topic, for example, a
company hires an accountant so that he only deals with filing taxes.

2. a. Match these accounting firms with their definition1.

A. Public Accounting 1. firms typically employ Certified Public

Accountants (CPAs).

B. Tax Accounting 2. firms use accounting skills and legal

policies to uncover fraudulent and illegal
activities.

C. Forensic accounting 3. firms complete fundamental accounting

tasks for small and medium-sized
companies.
English Learning Guide
Competency 1
Unit 5: Accounting
Workshop 1
Centro de Servicios Financieros- CSF

D. Bookkeeping 4. firms focus on tax preparation and

planning for companies of all sizes, and
for individuals.

1
Retrieved from:
https://smallbusiness.chron.com/types-accounting- GC-F -005 V. 01

firms-17677.html adapted and used by SENA. Images

retrieved from: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/types-
accounting-firms-17677.html
English Learning Guide
Competency 1
Unit 5: Accounting
Workshop 1
Centro de Servicios Financieros- CSF

b. Match the images with the concepts above

3. Skills practice: Do the following activities to practice the learnt vocabulary and English
structures.

3.1. Speaking practice: talk about accountants

Work in groups of 4 people and share your opinion with the rest of the class. Discuss the questions
below:

- What jobs do accountants do?

These are some of the tasks that accountants perform:
● Planning and budget.
● Management reports.
● Internal control.
● Product and customer planning.
● Performance.
● Risk management.
- Describe the educational requirements for accountants.
By express mandate of article 3″ of Law 43 of 1990, to be registered as a Public Accountant it is required to
have obtained the title of Public Accountant, in addition to accrediting experience in activities related to
accounting science in general not less than one (1) year

Retrieved from: https://www.patriotsoftware.com/accounting/training/blog/what-is-accounting-cycle-steps/ Used GC-F -005 V. 01

and adapted by SENA for pedagogical purpose, exclusively
English Learning Guide
Competency 1
Unit 5: Accounting
Workshop 1
Centro de Servicios Financieros- CSF
- Share with the group in a short oral presentation of jobs and duties for an accountant.
An accountant is responsible for keeping track of and directing the financial statements of a company. It is
the one in charge of analyzing the follow-ups and the analysis for the good performance of the same.
Identify the money going in and out of the organization and see how profits could be improved.
The Public Accountant can perform with human and professional quality in the different private and
public organizations at all scales such as:
● Certified Public Accountant.
● Tax Auditor.
● Auditor.
● Financial auditor.
● Accounting and financial advisor

3.2. Listening practice

Before watching the video, answer these questions:

- find the definition of “profit” and give some examples.

A benefit is that improvement of some service, product, or provision that a person obtains, thanks to their
actions.
Example:
● When a person acquires a service and they offer him a benefit for said acquisition, let's say, I acquired
telephone service and for that they give me 30 days of television.
- look into a dictionary the concepts of internal, external, and government.
● Internal: It refers to something that is within, for example: making international sales, that is, sales in the
same country of origin.
● External: It refers to something that is outside, for example, suppose we have a box and next to that box
there is a ball, the ball being outside the box, it is external to it.
● Government: A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community,
generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of
legislature, executive, and judiciary

Retrieved from: https://www.patriotsoftware.com/accounting/training/blog/what-is-accounting-cycle-steps/ Used GC-F -005 V. 01

and adapted by SENA for pedagogical purpose, exclusively
English Learning Guide
Competency 1
Unit 5: Accounting
Workshop 1
Centro de Servicios Financieros- CSF
- Discuss what’s the relation between the government and companies?
The companies are related to the government when carrying out different accounting procedures, such as
the payment of taxes, since the companies must pay taxes to the state so that it uses them in public
investments.

Now, watch the video, make notes and practice your listening skill following the link to the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yj24JwZVd54

After watching the video, discuss and answer the following questions:
- What is the importance of having a good accounting process in a company?
Answer: The importance of a good accounting process lies in how we manage the finances in said
company to obtain profits or better known in accounting as "profit" to make the company grow
economically and not accumulate its debts.
- What is the purpose of a business?
Answer: The purpose of a company is its permanent reason for existing. It is why he does some things and
not others and why he does those things in one way and not another. It constitutes, therefore, the
backbone on which the business depends to make decisions either on a day-to-day basis or when the issue
is crucial.
- How could you keep your business floating?
Answer: To maintain a business in excellent condition and condition, it is necessary to choose to provide
adequate services, have excellent training regarding different concepts to provide adequate experiences
to customers, and be clear about the goals and objectives of setting up a business.
- What factors you should consider when having a business?
Answer: Initially, the sector in which the business will be located must be clear.
● Have a clear business idea and determine if it is viable or not.
● Have time available to carry out the legal procedures that the business requires.
● Be innovative and manage to obtain potential clients to grow even more, economically.

3.3. Reading practice: Reading about the Accounting Cycle.

Before reading you should complete the following meaning chart:

Spelling Meani Synonyms

ng
Responsibility is a value that is in the conscience of
liability the person who studies Ethics based on morality. Maturity, sanity, judgement,
Put into practice, the magnitude of these actions is seriousness
established and how to deal with them in the most
positive and comprehensive way to help in the
future.
incom The income statement in accounting is what
determines how a company is financially. Profit and Loss Statement or
e
profit and loss account
stateme
nt

Retrieved from: https://www.patriotsoftware.com/accounting/training/blog/what-is-accounting-cycle-steps/ Used GC-F -005 V. 01

and adapted by SENA for pedagogical purpose, exclusively
English Learning Guide
Competency 1
Unit 5: Accounting
Workshop 1
Centro de Servicios Financieros- CSF
owner's It refers to an amount of money owned by a person, Heritage
equity employed for employment or investment purposes.
asset It is that good that a company owns, there are Good, benefit, resource.
different types of assets such as fixed assets.
budget The budget is a certain amount of money, which is Estimate, evaluation, import,
destined to acquire a product. This money, to be a item, funds, cost, study,
budget, must be the maximum contribution that a determination
person would pay to acquire that product.
Money is any verifiable item or record that is
cash generally accepted as payment for goods and Coin, silver.
services and payment of debts, such as taxes, in a
particular country or socioeconomic context.
cost a cost is the value of money that has been used up
to produce something or deliver a service, and Price, value.
hence is not available for use anymore.
depreciation Depreciation means the decrease in value of an
asset owned by a company, due to wear and tear, Devaluation, Loss
the passage of time or obsolescence.
revenue Income is the consumption and saving opportunity
gained by an entity within a specified timeframe, Profits
which is generally expressed in monetary terms.
tax A tax is a compulsory financial charge, or some
other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer by a Value added
governmental organization in order to fund
government spending and various public
expenditures
payroll The payroll is the one where the payments made to
each employee of a company are recorded and Benefit, payment.
there the different concepts for which the employee
is paid or deducted are broken down.
invoice An invoice, bill or tab is a commercial document
issued by a seller to a buyer relating to a sale
transaction and indicating the products, quantities, Bill
and agreed-upon prices for products or services the
seller had provided the buyer.

Retrieved from: https://www.patriotsoftware.com/accounting/training/blog/what-is-accounting-cycle-steps/ Used GC-F -005 V. 01

and adapted by SENA for pedagogical purpose, exclusively
English Learning Guide
Competency 1
Unit 5: Accounting
Workshop 1
Centro de Servicios Financieros- CSF

Read the text and complete the

activities below. What is the accounting cycle?

The accounting cycle is the process of recording

your business’s financial activities. The
accounting cycle looks back in time at the end of
a designated period. The cycle includes several
steps, starting when a transaction occurs. The
cycle ends when you record the transaction as
part of your financial statements.

The accounting cycle makes accounting easier,

breaking your bookkeeping down into smaller
tasks. It helps you see what you need to
accomplish next.

What are the steps of the accounting cycle?

The following accounting cycle steps can help

you keep financial records.

1. Identify transactions: First, separate your business transactions from all of the transactions you
made. You only want to include transactions related to your company in your financial records. For
example, you won’t record your grocery bill as a business expense in your books.

Use source documents to identify business transactions, such as receipts and invoices. Save these
kinds of financial documents to support your records. As you identify business transactions, decide
which account they fall under.

2. Record transactions in your journal: The journal is where you initially record business
transactions. It is a running list of financial activities, like a checkbook. Track transactions in your
journal chronologically as they happen.

If you use double-entry bookkeeping, record two entries for each transaction. Enter a debit for
one account and a credit for another. The debit and credit should be equal.

3. Post entries to the general ledger: The general ledger is also known as the book of final entry.
General ledger entries are changes made to each account in your books. Using your journal,
organize transactions into different accounts. For example, if a customer paid for a product with
cash, enter the transaction under the cash account in your books.

4. Unadjusted trial balance: For your books to be accurate, the debit and credit entries must be
equal. Use an unadjusted trial balance to test if your debits and credits match.

Retrieved from: https://www.patriotsoftware.com/accounting/training/blog/what-is-accounting-cycle-steps/ Used GC-F -005 V. 01

and adapted by SENA for pedagogical purpose, exclusively
English Learning Guide
Competency 1
Unit 5: Accounting
Workshop 1
Centro de Servicios Financieros- CSF
Make a note of each account balance. Add all the debit balances together and all the credit
balances together. If the two totals are not the same, you might have an error in your books. Or,
you might need to make adjusting entries.

5. Adjusting entries: At the end of an accounting period, you might have incurred expenses but
not paid for them yet. And, you might have earned income but not collected it yet. Use adjusting
entries to recognize transactions that have occurred but not been recorded.

For example, you earned interest on a bank account balance. You have not recorded the interest
in your books, but it appears on your bank statement. Use an adjusted entry to recognize the
interest in your books.

6. Adjusted trial balance: Do an adjusted trial balance after making adjusting entries and before
creating financial statements. This step tests to see if the debits and credits match after making
adjusting entries.

7. Create financial statements: Once your accounts are up-to-date, create statements. The
following are common financial statements for small business:

 Income statements compare your profits and losses for the period.
 Balance sheets determine progress by detailing assets, liabilities, and equity.
 Cash flow statements show money coming into and out of the business.

Use your financial statements to measure performance, make improvements, and set goals. You can
also use statements to talk with lenders and negotiate terms with vendors.

8. Close your books: The final step in the accounting cycle is to close your accounting books.
Closing your books wraps up financial activities for the period. Do tasks like updating accounts
payable, reconciling accounts, reviewing your petty cash fund, and counting inventory.

When you close your books, you should get your accounting set up for the next period. Decide
which processes are moving your business forward. Create a calendar for completing future tasks.
File any financial documents from the last period and get rid of old documents that are no longer
useful.

According to the information from the text, tick the following statements, True (T) or False (F)

 The accounting cycle corresponds to the recording of the business’s financial activities. ( )
 The checkbook is one of the tools used to do the post entries record. ( )
 As the books need to be accurate, an unadjusted trial balance verifies whether debits and
credits match. ( )
 The statements are created as the accounts are up-to-date. ( )
 The accounting set up for the next period is part of the record transactions process. ( )

Retrieved from: https://www.patriotsoftware.com/accounting/training/blog/what-is-accounting-cycle-steps/ Used GC-F -005 V. 01

and adapted by SENA for pedagogical purpose, exclusively
 English Learning Guide
Competency 1
Unit 5: Accounting
Workshop 1
Centro de Servicios Financieros- CSF

Based on the reading, describe each one of the following accounting concepts:

Transaction
It is an agreement, communication or movement carried out between a buyer and a seller in which an asset is exchanged against a
payment.

Posting
it is the concept by which a person believes that events or actions are determined. Destiny would be a supernatural power or plan
that guides human life and that of any being to an unchosen end.

Trial balance
is a list of all general ledger accounts contained in a company's general ledger. This list will contain the name of
each nominal ledger account and the value of that nominal ledger balance.

Journal entries
They are documents that allow you to move balances between accounts manually, associate each accounting account with a different
contact and also record the initial balances of the balance accounts in the system.

Financial statements
reports that reflect the state of a company at a given time, usually a year. They are made up of several documents that reflect the
financial situation of a business and collect information, both economic and patrimonial, of the companies.

Worksheet
It is a type of document that allows you to manipulate numerical and alphanumeric data arranged in the form of tables made up of
cells, which are usually organized in a matrix of rows and columns.

Adjusting entries
Documents that describe the goods and services that suppliers deliver to fulfill a service order.

Closing the books

The operation of exiting a document is called Document Closing. There are many ways to close a document.

Retrieved from: https://www.patriotsoftware.com/accounting/training/blog/what-is-accounting-cycle-steps/ Used GC-F -005 V. 01

and adapted by SENA for pedagogical purpose, exclusively
English Learning Guide
Competency 1
Unit 5: Accounting
Workshop 1
Centro de Servicios Financieros- CSF
3.4 Writing practice

Create a job position advertising for an accountant. As shown in the example

4. Extension activity: the extension activities will help you improve your performance in the
topics. You need to reach at least five hours of practice on your own.

Perform a role play based on a job interview given by the instructor. Follow the
prompts given below.

- Based on your instructor’s orientation, explore the following website and practice the
English structures. Do at least 2 activities from each topic studied in class and deliver them
to your instructor: http://www.esl-lounge.com/student/grammar-guides/grammar-pre-
intermediate-4.php#will-going-to

Retrieved from: https://www.patriotsoftware.com/accounting/training/blog/what-is-accounting-cycle-steps/ Used GC-F -005 V. 01

and adapted by SENA for pedagogical purpose, exclusively