Accounting

Accounting is the art of recording, classifying and summarizing financial transactions and events.

The accountant informs the management about day-to-day expenses and also calculates profits or losses over longer periods. He also helps management in planning future operations, estimating costs and budget projection. But the accountant does not have any control of these operations because he does not do the planning and decision-making. His task is to give reliable and accurate information to management.

The accounting system provides two types of information: basic and additional. Basic information is, for example, production costs, the cash balance, value of sales and the value of capital assets. Other figures show such details as the cost of new equipment, advertising, the interest paid on borrowed money. At the end of the financial year he calculates profits before and after taxes and profits available for distribution to shareholders. Nowadays all businesses have some mechanical means of recording such as adding machines, calculators, cash registers, etс. They also use computers and electronic equipment.

No company can succeed without a satisfactory accounting system. Without it management would not know where it stands financially and would not be able to make intelligent decisions on profit-making activities.

transaction – сделка

expenses - расходы

losses - убытки

profits – прибыль, доходы

to estimate - оценивать

accurate - точный

assets – активы, средства

production costs – производственные расходы

shareholders - акционеры

to succeed – преуспевать

Commercial Activity

Commercial activities include buying, selling and reselling. In foreign trade it is importing, exporting and re-exporting (buying goods from foreign sellers and selling them to foreign buyers.). All commercial activities may be divided into basic and auxiliary. Basic activities are associated with the conclusion of contracts. Auxiliary activities ensure their successful performance.

They guarantee the carriage of goods, their insurance, banking operations, going of the goods through the customs etc.

Conclusion of agency agreements, agreements with advertising agencies and market research forms also refer to auxiliary activities.

There may be 10 or more auxiliary operations to one basic. Commercial activities also include market research, planning trade operations, publicity campaign and fulfillment of contract obligations.

auxiliary - вспомогательный

conclusion of contracts – заключение контрактов

to ensure - обеспечивать

carriage of goods – перевозка товаров

insurance - страхование

publicity campaign – рекламная кампания

fulfillment of contract obligations – выполнение обязательств по контракту

Advertising

Advertising is any paid form of presentation and promotion of a products, services or ideas. There are three main objectives of advertising, they are:

• to produce knowledge about the product or service;

• to create preference for it;

• stimulate thought and action about it.

There are specialized advertising firms or agencies. They develop advertising programs for their customers and place them in media.

Most companies have advertising managers or advertising departments. Different kinds of mass media: TV, radio, cinema are used for advertising. There are also special means of advertising such as: leaflets, booklets, direct mail, fairs, exhibitions and others. The choice of people depends upon the kind of goods, local conditions and people’s habits.

Objectives – цели

Customers – клиенты, покупатели

Conditions – условия

Habits – привычки

TRAVELLING by TRAIN

Nowadays lots of people travel, some on business, some for pleasure. There are different means of travelling but people prefer travelling by plane as it is the fastest means of travelling. But it is very expensive and not many people can afford it.

The majority of people travel by train. A traveler comes to the railway station to book a ticket in advance. He tells the clerk of the booking office his destination and the day of departure. It’s possible to but a single or a return ticket which is more convenient. A through train is very convenient but very often people have to change trains. Of course it’s better to travel by a fast or an express train, then you can reach the destination quicker.

When the day of the departure comes, a traveler comes to the railway station some time before the trains starts. If he has a lot of luggage, he calls a porter to help. Then he finds his carriage, compartment and berth.

Young people like to lie on the upper berth and to look through the window. When people travel by train they can see a lot of interesting and beautiful places the train passes.

Expensive - дорогой

Afford – позволять себе

Majority - большинство

to book a ticket in advance – заказывать билет заранее

destination – пункт назначения

departure - отправление

a single/return ticket – билет в одну(две) стороны

a through train – прямой поезд

to change trains - делать пересадку

convenient - удобный

carriage - вагон

compartment - купе

upper berth – верхняя полка