Bookkeeping and Accounting

The underlying purpose of accounting is to provide financial information (31) ... an economic entity. The financial information provided by an accounting system is needed by managerial decision makers to help them plan and control the activities of the economic entity. (32) ... information is also needed by outsiders—owners, creditors, potential investors, the government, and the public— (33) ... have supplied money to the business or who have some other interest in the business that will be served by information about its financial position and operating results.
There is some confusion over the (34) ... between "bookkeeping" and "accounting. " This is partly due to the fact that the two are related.
Bookkeeping is the recording of business data (35) ... a prescribed manner. A bookkeeper may be responsible (36) ... keeping all of the records of a business of only a small segment, such as a portion of the customer accounts in a department store. Much of the work of the book keeper is clerical in nature and is increasingly (37) ... handled by mechanical and electronic equipment.
Accounting is primarily (38) ... with the design of the system of records, the preparation of reports based on the recorded data, and the interpretation of the reports. Accountants often direct and review the work of bookkeepers. The larger the firm, the greater is the number of levels of responsibility and authority. The work of accountants at the beginning levels may possibly include some bookkeeping. In any event, the accountant must have a (39) ... higher level of knowledge, conceptual, and analytical skill (40) ... is required of the bookkeeper.