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Financial Accounting • Corporate Simulation

Full-Cycle Corporate Accounting

GAAP Standards • Excel Shadow-Book • Financial Analysis

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10-Column Worksheet
Overview

Project Context

Scenario: "Wave Gear" – A retail surf shop simulation. As the lead accountant, I managed 11 rounds of activity: 2 setup rounds and 3 operational months.

The Objective: To execute the full accounting cycle under GAAP standards, verifying all transactions through an independent shadow-ledger.

My Strategy: I built an independent Excel shadow-book to record and verify every journal entry prior to input, acting as a manual auditor for the automated system.

Challenge

Technical & GAAP Challenges

The simulation presented multiple complex accounting events:

Source Document AuditingInterpreting raw PDFs (vendor invoices, stock agreements, customer receipts) to determine the economic substance of transactions without pre-written prompts.
Accrual & Deferral ManagementHandling amortization of prepaid insurance, depreciation schedules, and payroll accruals at month-end to ensure proper matching under GAAP.
Inventory ControlsValidating Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) calculations for high-value units (surfboards and paddleboards) to ensure correct gross margins.
Solution

Audit & Worksheet Architecture

1. Double-Entry Verification: Maintained an Excel-based General Journal mirroring the simulation. By manually balancing every transaction, I isolated system posting errors before finalizing operational months.

2. Adjusting Entries & Worksheet: Developed a manual 10-column spreadsheet at each month-end. This structure was used to record and verify accrual adjustments, depreciation, and tax provisions prior to closing the general ledger.

3. Financial Analysis: Prepared horizontal and vertical analysis of the final financial statements. Computed ratios (ROE, Current Ratio, Profit Margin) using accumulated data to evaluate operational performance against industry benchmarks.

Excel Audit & Verification Artifacts

Result

Outcome

Completed the 3-month cycle with zero discrepancies between Excel shadow-books and system results.

Designed and utilized a manual 10-column worksheet for period-end adjusting and closing entries.

Earned the Stukent Certified Simternship credential, validating proficiency in Intermediate Accounting concepts.

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