COMMERCE 101

OCCUPATION

Hey Guys, Happy New Week. Okay this past Saturday was VALENTINE'S DAY. So this is Edu-Made-Easy Blog Crew wishing you a Happy Belated Valentine's Day....

LOLZ, So back to business. We ended our Commerce 101 Session last week with some WAEC {West Africa Examination Council} Questions which are repeated below along with the correct answers to them. These Questions are to help Simplify the process of Understanding and Learning this Topic, so we should take them very seriously Guyz....

SOME QUESTIONS:

1. Production ends when Goods? (WAEC 1989)

ANSWER: And Services reach the Final User.

2. If a Business Man imports stock fish with a view to exporting them to other countries, this form of trade is known as? (WAEC 1989)

ANSWER: Entre-port Trade.

3. Buying and Selling of Goods and Services within the Geographical Areas of a Country is called? (WAEC 1989)

ANSWER: Domestic Trade.

4. Are Warehouses established to avoid changes in prices from resulting in shortage? True/False (WAEC 1989)

ANSWER: True.

5. Is the Retailer the Last Link in the Chain of Distribution? Yes/No ( WAEC 1989)

ANSWER: No.

So on to the Topic of the Day, we are rounding up our previous topic and beginning a New one.

FACTORS AFFECTING THE GROWTH OF COMMERCE IN WEST AFRICA

1. Lack of Sufficient Capital- Like this is very relatable, without Money Business can't be and when Business can't be then Commerce is DEAD. so for Commerce to be Alive then Business has to be Alive, and for Business to be Alive Money otherwise called Capital has to be on ground. Most times also the Capital can be Materials and Machineries which can also be lacking and this is not good for Commercial Activities.

2. LOW LEVEL OF EDUCATION- This can also affect Commerce because ignorance of a Business person about the industry his involved in might limit his activities and slow down Commerce. For example, If a Farmer is ignorant of the Modern Equipments and Techniques in Agriculture, then he would be grounded and so will the commercial activities in his environment.

3. CONSTANT CHANGE OF GOVERNMENT- This is a factor that is not too considered but the truth is with the change of governments laws change, new laws are enforced and some businesses are favoured in one Regime more than the other and this can make Business(es) suffer and in turn Commerce suffers.

4. LACK OF WELL-DEVELOPED AIDS TO TRADE- This has to do with the Country's General Development in terms of- Banking, Transportation, Communication etc and most of it has to do with Enabling Laws being made available in the Country and the absence of these 'Enabling Laws' can affect Commerce deeply.

OCCUPATION

This is any Economic/ Productive Activity which people engage in, to create/ procure goods and services in order to make a living. For example- Teaching, Buying and Selling etc.

CLASSIFICATION OF OCCUPATION:

* Industry

* Commerce

* Services

1. INDUSTRY

These are all the activities that concerns with the physical production of goods. here, people engaged in extracting raw materials from sea or soil and change them into finished goods.

TYPES OF INDUSTRIAL OCCUPATION:

# Extractive Industrial Occupation- This involves the getting of the raw materials that when processed is turned into finished goods, that gets to the final consumers. This is making available the raw materials to be used for production and can also be referred to as the PRIMARY STAGE OF PRODUCTION. This includes activities like- Farming, Mining, Forestry etc. As said earlier it involves getting materials from the sea or soil.

# Manufacturing Industrial Occupation- This involves processing and turning of Raw Materials into Finished Goods, like I humorously say 'This is where the MAGIC Happens' lolz. This involves taking the Raw Materials gotten from the Primary Stage of Production and turning them into Finished Goods that can be Distributed to the Final Consumers, and this activities include- Plastic Making, Shoe Making, Textile Making etc.

This brings us to the end of today's session. Hope this was very helpful to you, leave a comment of what you think of this tutorial and of your questions below. Have a Blessed Day and Remember You are Amazing. God Bless.

FINANCIAL ACC 101

10:58 am ACC 101, HOME 2 comments

INTRODUCTION TO ACCOUNTING.

Hey Guys, It's a New Day again, hope your day yesterday was awesome cos mine was. Well for today we are beginning this course afresh like the others we are revisiting what we have treated in order to better digest it.

WHAT IS FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING?

Accounting is the art of Recording, Classifying, Creating, Summarizing and Communicating in a systematic manner, Financial Information to interested Parties, to help in making specific Business Decisions. In Order words, it includes all processes involved in preparing a Financial Document.

Book Keeping is the act of Recording and Classifying Financial Transactions on a Daily Basis into Appropriate Books. It is a Part of Accounting; it is done using the Double Entry System.

IMPORTANCE OF BOOK KEEPING & ACCOUNTING.

1. Accounting Information can be used for Decision-Making.

2. It Provides Permanent Records for all Transactions.

3. It Helps to Ascertain the True Position of the Business.

4. It Helps to Prevent Fraudulent Practices.

5. It is used for Tax Assessment.

6. It Helps to Ascertain the Assets and Liabilities of the Business.

7. It Shows the Income and Expenditure of the Company.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BOOK KEEPING & ACCOUNTING.

1. In Book Keeping, it requires a few weeks/months to become a Proficient Book Keeper. While In Accounting, it requires several years and experiments to become a Professional Accountant.

2. Book Keeping involves Day-to-Day Recording of Transactions whereas; Accounting involves Designing of Accounting System.

3. Book Keeping is a small part of Accounting whereas; Accounting goes beyond Recording of Transactions.

4. Book Keeping involves Recording and Classifying Transactions while, Accounting involves Recording, Classifying, Summarizing, Analyzing and Interpretation of Financial Statement/Transaction.

USERS OF FINANCIAL INFORMATION.

1. Government for Decision-Making and Statistics.

2. Business Owners for Assessing the Progress of the Business. To know if the Business made Profit or Loss.

3. Employees need it to know the level of the business and also to determine the Wage Demand, and Working Condition of the people.

4. Investors need it to know the strength and Financial Position of the Business.

5. Tax Authorities need it to fully ascertain the tax of the Business.

6. Competitors need it to know the level of other companies in order to improve.

7. Banks need it to ascertain the Health of the Business, if the Owner wants to take a Loan.

8. Creditors.

9. Financial Analyst.

10. Public.

HISTORY OF ACCOUNTING.

The Precise Date when Book Keeping Originated is unknown but the Information available states that Book Keeping is as old as man.

The Starting Point can be linked to the merchants in the Babylonian and Assyrian civilizations about 4000 years B.C. The modus operandi (way of doing things) for keeping records then was to make marks on the wall/stone/papyrus/wax tablets. The Method of keeping financial records was highly primitive.

The history of accounting is not complete without mentioning an Italian monk and mathematician LUCCA PACIOLO. In 1494 the crucial event in accounting was the introduction of the Double Entry System called ITALIAN METHOD by LUCCA PACIOLO. He said all transactions must have double entry on the debit side and credit side.

In 1605, a Dutchman called Simeon Stephen advocated the profit and loss account at yearly intervals.

In 1665, The Preparation of Balance Sheet was introduced. The level of civilization through Technology Advancement helped in the development of modern methods of accounting.

The Industrial Revolution increased the scale of business transactions based on this; more methods of accounting were needed. This was followed by the formation of Professional Accounting Bodies like I.C.A England and Wales in 1880, I.C.A Scotland In 1854, Association of Public Accountants in USA 1887 etc.

In Recent Years, the Rules, Policies and Principle guiding Accounting Processes in Nigeria was almost the same as the ones in Britain.

In 1965, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria was established and Affiliated with the professional bodies in USA & Britain.

In 1982, Nigeria Accounting Standard Board was born to set standards to guide accounting operations. Members include-Central Bank of Nigeria, Finance Ministry, Nigeria Accounting Teachers Association, Chamber of Commerce etc.

Now in Nigeria, There are two Recognized Bodies namely, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and Association of National Accountants (ANA).

PROFESSIONAL BODIES:

1. Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales.

2. Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland.

3. Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ireland.

4. Association of Chartered Accountants.

5. Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN).

6. Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN).

7. Association of Accounting Technicians.

8. Institute of Cost and Management Accountants.

9. Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy.

Hope this was very helpful to you, leave a comment of what you think of this tutorial and your questions below. Have a Blessed Day and Remember You are Amazing. God Bless.

ECONS 101

9:41 am ECONS 101, HOME No comments

INTRODUCTION TO ECONOMICS

Hey Guyz, This is our First Official Economics Post for 2015, So we are Excited!!!. We are going back to the Beginning, to the Basics to truly understand what Economics is all about.

MEANING AND BASIC CONCEPTS.

Economics in my own understanding is a social science that studies human beings and their behavior. Most especially, their behavior in relation to production, distribution of wealth and business. It is also concerned with the analysis and explanation and not mere descriptions, of why standards of living in different countries vary

Some famous definitions of Economics include-

Alfred Marshal who defined economics as “A Study of Mankind in the ordinary business of life.”

Adam Smith defined economics as “An Inquiry into the nature and causes of wealth of nations.”

John Stuart Mill defined economics as “The Practical science of Production and Distribution of Wealth.”

H.J. Davenport defined economics as “The science that treats phenomena from the

stand point of price.”

However, the most generally accepted definition of economics is the one put forward by Prof Lionel C. Robbins. He defined Economics as “The Science which studies human behavior as a relationship between ends and scarce means which have alternative uses.

This definition is more acceptable because it covers Scarcity, wants, human behavior and choice. The ends here mean human wants, desires and needs which are numerous.

Scarce means are the limited available resources used in satisfying the numerous human wants. This all put together is that the means to satisfy our human wants are limited.

Alternative uses stands for the scarce resources that can be used for different purposes.

NATURE & SCOPE OF ECONOMICS.

Economics belongs to a group of subjects called the SOCIAL SCIENCES. Other of such subjects is Government, Political Science, Philosophy, Anthropology, Religious Studies, Psychology, Geography, Sociology etc. All these subjects deal with various aspects of human behavior.

Even though Economics is often regarded as a science subject, it does not assume the same level of precision and accuracy as any of the natural/ pure/ physical sciences like chemistry, physics and biology. This is because economics deals with human behavior, which is very complex and changes from time to time depending on circumstances.

BASIC CONCEPTS OF ECONOMICS.

1. WANTS- are an insatiable desire/ need by human beings to own goods/ services that give satisfaction. The basic needs of man include- Food, Clothing, and Shelter. They are unlimited in number and nature.

2. SCARCITY- is defined as the limited supply of resources which are used for the satisfaction of unlimited wants. In other words, they are the inability of human beings to provide themselves with all the things they desire/want.

3. SCALE OF PREFERENCE-is defined as a list of unlimited wants arranged in the order of their relative importance. That is, in the order in which they matter to you. For instance, a book might be more important to you to buy now than even a car. Your list of priorities in the order of importance.

4. OPPORTUNITY COST- It is the same as Alternative Forgone. That is, what you give up in order to gain something else, on your Scale of Preference what you delay in order to do another. When you prefer to buy a Beats by Dr Dre Headset over a pair of Nike Sneakers, the Sneakers are the alternative forgone/opportunity cost.

IMPORTANCE OF SCALE OF PREFERENCE:

a. Ranking of Needs- Scale of Preference helps to put our needs in their right order. Order of Priority.

b. Financial Prudence- It helps to make you more financially managed and accountable.

c. Identification of Highest Priority- It helps you pick out with ease your highest priority.

WHY WE STUDY ECONOMICS:

1. To equip students with the basic skills for analyzing economic problems in order to take better economic decisions.

2. It helps the Government of a Country to promote growth and development and also improve the standard of living of the citizens.

3. It helps the Citizens to better understand the Economic decisions that are taken by the Government of a Country.

BASIC ECONOMIC PROBLEMS

1. WHAT TO PRODUCE- This is a Fundamental Question for every industry needs to answer, Are we going to be a Goods/ Service Provider? If Goods What Good do we Specialise In? If services What service do we specialise in? Questions like this are a must to be answered before any economic activity can take place.

2. HOW TO PRODUCE- This is another fundamental question to ask. Are we Labour/Capital Intensive? Is this a Small-Scale/Large-Scale Production Company? These must receive answers before an industry is born.

3. FOR WHOM TO PRODUCE- This talks about your Target Market. Is it Women/Men/Youths/Elderly/Children/Adolescents. This talks about having a focus and purpose. Should it be for the Rich/Super-Rich/Wealthy/Average/Poor etc.

These are fundamental questions that must be answered before a Company or Industry can be set up.

Hope this was very helpful to you, leave a comment of what you think of this tutorial and your questions below. Have a Blessed Day and Remember You are Amazing. God Bless.