Учебное пособие: Oral conversational topics on business English language

3. What is the essence of accounting?

4. What main operations does the basic accounting cycle include?

5. Why do accounting problems exist in international business? What problems do you know?

6. Name three groups of countries with similar accounting standards?

7. Give the definition of auditing and auditing standards?

8. What organizations are involved in harmonizing accounting standards?

9. Does Ukraine use national or international accounting and auditing standards?

10. What in your opinion is more important accounting or auditing? Give your reasons.

tripartite – having three parts of groups to mint – make coins overdraft – a situation in which you draw more money from a bank account than you have in it merger – joining of two commercial companies

ENGLISH AND AMERICAN BANKS

Today the English banking is a complicated tripartite system like a three-layer cake. The system is headed by the Bank of England.

This bank was established under a royal charter in 1694. The head of the Bank is Governor of the Bank appointed by me Queen on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. The Queen also appoints Deputy Governor and the Court of Directors, which consists of 16 directors.

The Bank of England is a central bank of a national bank. It controls the British banking system, issues banknotes and mints coins. It lends and borrows money for the government, manages the national debts and is in the control of the nation's gold reserve. The others two layers are:

· the commercial or joint stock clearing banks;

· specialized banking institutions such as the discount houses and merchant banks.

The commercial or joint-stock banks deal with the general public. The four large English commercial banks are known as the Big Four. They are Barclays, Lloyds, the Midland, and the National Westminster. Together they have upwards of 10,000 branches. Commercial banks render various services to companies and individuals. Some of the services are:

· to receive or accept from their customers the deposit or money;

· to collect and transfer money both at home and abroad against deposit and current accounts;

· to provide overdrafts to both personal and business customers;

· to lend loans to their customers;

· to exchange money;

· to supply economic information and to prepare economic reviews to be published;

· to make foreign exchange transactions, including spot transactions, forward transactions and swap transactions;

· to issue various banker's cards.

Merchant banks and discount houses deal only with special customers providing funds for special purposes. They accept commercial bills of exchange and offer quite a lot of commercial services. They provide advisory services about new issues of securities, mergers, take-overs and reorganizations. They also arrange financing for their customers and provide fund-management services.

Besides there is a big group of banks in the United Kingdom made up of foreign banks. All the major foreign banks are represented in the U.K. by subsidiary, branch, representative offices or consortium. They provide finance both in sterling and in other currencies and offer a wide range of financial services.

Lombard Street is the symbol of English banking. This is a place where the first bankers coming from Italy settled.

The English commercial banks have branches in all the major towns and a similar structure and mode of working is common to them all. The owners are the shareholders. At the outset they provide the necessary capital. They are all organised on the joint stock principle and are registered public companies.

The Chairman and Board of Directors are elected by the ordinary shareholders at the Annual General Meeting and are responsible for the efficient management of the bank. The Board is concerned with the over-all policy of the bank and the major decisions which put that policy into effect.