Text 1

Public accounting attracts a lot of accounting students. Big 4, national, regional, and local firms almost always
seek graduates to join their ranks. Two most popular tracks in public accounting are audit and tax.
Some students choose audit and others go to tax, but what drivers their decision in having a preference of one
over another? Does the information that students use to make a decision reflect reality? The authors of the
article Audit and Tax Career Paths in Public Accounting: An Analysis of Student and Professional
Perceptions, The Accounting Review 2014, try to answer this question.
Derek W. Dalton, Steve Buchheit, and Jeffrey J. McMillan did research to understand what beliefs accounting
students have when they make a decision about their career path as well as whether such beliefs reflects reality
by asking experienced public accounting professionals to corroborate them. The results were interesting in the
fact that most decision points used by students are in line with what experienced professionals think about
public accounting; however, there were some points which did not agree to what accounting professionals
think. Lets take a look at these similarities and differences.
In the lists below, experienced accounting professionals agree with the student beliefs unless otherwise
indicated.
Students who choose the audit track believe that:
They will have more client interaction.
They will have better future job opportunities.
They will have a better understanding of business processes.
They will travel more.
Their work and lifestyle will be more interesting.
Tax coursework is more difficult as compared to audit coursework. (This belief was not supported by the
experienced public accounting professionals.)
Students who choose the tax track believe that:
They will have a more stable daily routine.
They will develop more specialized skills.
They will have less travel.
They will be able to assist their clients more compared to their audit colleagues. (This belief was not
supported by the experienced public accounting professionals.)
Tax work is more black and white. (This belief was not supported by the experienced public accounting
professionals.)
In addition to the beliefs mentioned above, which public accounting professions mostly agree with, such
professionals cited the following reasons to choose the audit track:
Audit has more opportunities for teamwork.
Audit provides opportunities for helping clients (e.g., through internal control recommendations).
Audit does not have prominent seasonality like tax does (e.g., busy-season workload).
In relation to tax, public accounting professionals listed the following reasons:
The tax track provides better opportunities to own or buy a tax practice.
There are more learning opportunities due to the frequent changes in tax laws.
It is also interesting to know that some may think extraverts are more likely to choose the audit path; however,
research results indicate that extraverts are equality likely to choose either track.

Text 2.
For one Chinese company that depends on global trade, fears over the worldwide economy have come to pass
already. The global economy is pretty bleak at the moment, says Luo Dong, the owner of Doyoung, a Beijingbased exporter of frozen seafood and fruit. This is having a big effect on us. Our clients sales are a lot slower
than they used to be, and as purchasing power overseas drops, our exports are taking a hit.
Luos observations were echoed on a wider stage last week, when the Paris-based Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development voiced the fear gripping many economists: that the drop-off in trade, driven
by China, may be a harbinger of something more worrying a global recession.
Days later, Rolls-Royce became the latest British exporter to face what it called headwinds from China,
joining a slew of others, from carmaker Jaguar Land Rover to luxury brand Burberry. Meanwhile, commodities
including platinum and crude oil resumed their decline in value as investors continued to fret about sliding
demand for the raw materials of global commerce. Beijing has cut interest rates six times in less than a year and
let the yuan slide against the dollar, underlining the sense of alarm about slowing growth.
Official figures show GDP expanding at around 6.9% in the worlds second-largest economy, conveniently in
line with the governments official target of around 7%; but outside analysts believe it may be much weaker.
We find these numbers pretty implausible, says Andrew Brigden of City consultancy Fathom. China is
slowing a lot more markedly than the official figures show. Fathoms calculations, based on alternative
indicators such as electricity use, suggest GDP growth of 3% or even less.
However, inside China it feels as though sluggish demand from the eurozone, rather than a homegrown
problem, is to blame for the deterioration in the economic weather.
Luo, whose company exports to the US, Europe, Middle East and Africa, says exports have roughly halved
since last year. The worst market has been Europe, largely due to exchange rate fluctuations, he says.
The European Central Bank has deliberately driven down the value of the single currency by implementing
quantitative easing. The other major factor has been labour costs here, which have gone up about a third, Luo
adds.
For the UK, so far, the impact of global trade headwinds has been relatively mild, notwithstanding the tone of
alarm from exporters.

Text 4
Ce trebuie sa stii atunci cand alegi banca
Cele mai multe ingrijorari in randul clientilor au legatura cu taxele si comisioanele bancilor, care se modifica
periodic. O alta preocupare este furtul de identitate, care inca limiteaza numarul de oameni care utilizeaza
internet banking-ul. Localizarea ATM-urilor (bancomatelor) reprezinta de asemenea o preocupare majora pentru
un client care selecteaza o banca. Mai jos sunt cateva lucruri la care trebuie sa fii atent atunci cand iti alegi
banca prin intermediul careia vei face tranzactii.
Taxe si comisioane: Bancile taxeaza clientii pentru diverse servicii, cum ar fi copii ale extraselor de cont,
deschiderea si mentinerea unui cont bancar, transferuri bancare, ordine de plata, cecuri anulate, conturi inactive,
cecuri returnate si asa mai departe. Compara taxele cele mai comune pentru fiecare banca si ia la cunostinta
orice comision la tranzactii.
Dobanzi: Realitatea este ca ratele dobanzilor oferite de catre banci pentru majoritatea conturilor curente sunt
minime sau chiar nule. Poti opta pentru constituirea unui cont de economii (cont de acumulare), care are
facilitatile unui cont curent, dar ofera dobanzi asemanatoare cu cele ale unui depozit bancar. Aceasta inseamna
ca ai acces permanent la banii din cont, poti face depuneri repetate si retrageri frecvente, fara sa fie afectata
dobanda.
Servicii bancare: Vezi ce alte servicii speciale sunt oferite si la ce cost. De la servicii de software bancar pana la
conturi speciale pentru copii, poti intalni servicii care aduc valoare pentru tine.
Bancile raman foarte competitive. Aceasta inseamna ca tu, ca si client, poti alege banca ce ofera cele mai
avantajoase conditii si te poti informa in legatura cu tot ceea ce te intereseaza.

Text 5
Oamenii de succes in general sunt foarte generosi atunci cand vine vorba de a oferi lectii din propriile
experiente. Problema este insa, ca nu toata lumea pune in aplicare ceea ce acestia zic. Succesul nu vine
intamplator si este nevoie de multa munca pentru a putea reusi. Iata 8 sfaturi venite din partea unora dintre cele
mai celebre nume ale antreprenoriatului mondial despre cum se realizeaza succesul in afaceri.
1. Invata din greseli
Este bine sa te bucuri de succes, dar este mult mai important sa inveti din lectiile esecului. Acestea sunt
vorbele lui Bill Gates, care a invatat sa se bucure de succes, dar si sa ia in considerare greutatile de pe urma
carora a avut enorm de invatat, conform unui articol publicat pe site-ul inc.com.
2. Tine-ti clientii fericiti
Chiar daca strategia, pozitionarea pe piata si planul pe termen lung sunt toate foarte importante pentru o
companie, focuseaza-te pe vanzari individuale care sa iti satisfaca baza de clienti.
3. Tine minte ca nu exista vreo scurtatura spre succes
Formula succesului: Trezeste-te devreme si munceste din greu ne spune Jean Paul Getty, afacerist american
din industria petroliera, numit in anul 1957 drept cel mai bogat american in viata de catre revista Fortune.
Intr-o lume in care toata lumea incearca sa se imbogateasca peste masura pana la varsta de 30 de ani, sfatul lui
aduce un pic de realism pentru cei care asteapta succesul sa vina de la sine.
4. Uita de perfectiune
Sa nu crezi ca esti de neoprit sau ca nu esti capabil sa faci greseli. Nu te gandi ca singurul mod in care afacerea
ta poate prospera este prin atingerea prefectiunii. Nu tinti perfectiunea, ci succesul. Magnatul brazilian, Eike
Batista, se frustra atunci cand lucrurile nu mergeau asa cum trebuie. Cu toate acestea, el a realizat ca
perfectiunea nu exista, fapt pentru care s-a axat pe a avea succes.
5. Bucura-te de drum
Simte-te bine. Antreprenoriatul este mult mai distractiv atunci incerci sa faci si altceva inafara de profit. Tony
Hsieh, fondatorul Zappos, aminteste ca atunci cand nu mai faci ceea ce iti place, vei observa ca banii nu mai
aduc fericirea. Arta de a avea succes nu implica doar atingerea unui anumit prag financiar, ci banii vin ca un
adaos la bucuria de a profesa in domeniul care te pasioneaza.
6. Invata sa fii un antreprenor adevarat
Daca vrei sa ai succes, trebuie sa-ti creezi propria cale. Nu este suficient sa mergi pe aceleasi urme pe care au
mers si cei de dinaintea ta spune John D. Rockefeller, un adevarat magnat al afacerilor din S.U.A.

7. Da inapoi
Trebuie sa existe un echilibru in viata. Echilibrul dintre munca, viata de familie si oportunitatea de a invata, ca
apoi sa ii inveti pe altii ne spune Chuck Feeney, fondatorul Atlantic Philantropies, una din cele mai mari
fundatii private din lume. Cuvintele lui vin ca o completare fata de activitatea de filantropist pe care a
desfasurat-o. Este un lucru stiut ca cei care doneaza cel mai mult sunt antreprenorii de succes.