Skip to Content
The Complete CPA Reference
book

The Complete CPA Reference

by Nick A. Dauber, Jae K. Shim, Joel G. Siegel
May 2012
Intermediate to advanced
725 pages
18h 38m
English
Wiley
Content preview from The Complete CPA Reference

CHAPTER 9

Quantitative Applications and Modeling in Accounting

Quantitative applications and modeling in accounting have been on the rise, coupled with the advent of microcomputers and the wide availability of software for various quantitative decision-making tools. The accountant should make use of quantitative techniques and modeling to analyze and solve the various accounting and financial problems faced by the client or the business entity he or she is employed by. These quantitative tools allow for the consideration of a multitude of data.

Statistical Analysis and Evaluation

How do I handle large volumes of data?

In many situations, accountants have a large volume of data that needs to be analyzed. These data could be earnings, cash flows, accounts receivable balances, weights of an incoming shipment, and so on. The statistics most commonly used to describe the characteristics of the data are the mean and the standard deviation. These statistics are also used to measure the return and risk in investment and financial decision making, in which the CPA may be asked to participate by the business entity.

Mean

What is a mean?

The mean gives us the average or central value of our data. Typically, there are three measures of central tendency:

1. Arithmetic mean
2. Weighted mean
3. Geometric mean

What is the arithmetic mean ( )?

The arithmetic mean is a simple average. To find it, ...

Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
and much more.

Read now

Unlock full access

More than 5,000 organizations count on O’Reilly

AirBnbBlueOriginElectronic ArtsHomeDepotNasdaqRakutenTata Consultancy Services

QuotationMarkO’Reilly covers everything we've got, with content to help us build a world-class technology community, upgrade the capabilities and competencies of our teams, and improve overall team performance as well as their engagement.
Julian F.
Head of Cybersecurity
QuotationMarkI wanted to learn C and C++, but it didn't click for me until I picked up an O'Reilly book. When I went on the O’Reilly platform, I was astonished to find all the books there, plus live events and sandboxes so you could play around with the technology.
Addison B.
Field Engineer
QuotationMarkI’ve been on the O’Reilly platform for more than eight years. I use a couple of learning platforms, but I'm on O'Reilly more than anybody else. When you're there, you start learning. I'm never disappointed.
Amir M.
Data Platform Tech Lead
QuotationMarkI'm always learning. So when I got on to O'Reilly, I was like a kid in a candy store. There are playlists. There are answers. There's on-demand training. It's worth its weight in gold, in terms of what it allows me to do.
Mark W.
Embedded Software Engineer

You might also like

Leading An Accounting Firm

Leading An Accounting Firm

Troy Waugh

Publisher Resources

ISBN: 9781118237618Purchase book