Reporting Practices and Ethics

Reporting Practices and Ethics

Financial Management is an essential aspect of successful financial planning in the health care industry. Important financial decisions are a critical element in the daily decisions of essentially every health care facility. Each one of these choices is decided upon with respect to the needs and specific objectives of the organization’s accounting principles. It is extremely important that those individuals responsible for making these decisions abide by appropriate reporting and ethical practices. The future of the practice or facility depends on whether or not they comply with these guidelines. In order to be able to make proper finical decisions it is important to fully understand generally accepted accounting principles, corporate compliance, ethics, fraud and abuse. It is also necessary to be familiar with the four main elements associated with financial management. With adequate knowledge of each of these aspects, intelligent financial decisions can be made and upheld within the organization.

Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, better known as GAAP, are standards in accounting commonly used in America that provide a uniform method of recording and reporting an organization’s financial information. One of the major benefits of using GAAP is that it allows companies to more easily compare various financial statements. GAAP is useful in health care because it aids in establishing the creditworthiness of the company. It also helps the organization establish strong financial strength.

Corporate compliance refers to a system of rules and standards that were established to provide ethical and legal standards that both employees and physicians must adhere to with regard to daily operations and relationships with patients, vendors, insurance companies and government agencies.

Ethics and fraud are closely tied in regard to recording and reporting financial information. There are a number of various reasons why it...