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Genre Analysis for Accounting Services

INTRODUCTION
As a child growing up, genre was defined as something more simple and broad than how it is defined now as a college student. Genre could be any piece of work, for example, books or music, and that divided into different categories based on the similarities that it shares. A music genre could be considered pop. Many artists that are well-known today are put into this genre like Lady Gaga or even Justin Bieber because their music is considered to appeal to teenagers and contain rhythm and harmony (pop music). As a person grows older, the definition of genre tends to change a bit and become a lot more complex. There are many authors who have expanded on the term genre like John Swales, Amy Devitt, Anis Bawarshi, and Mary Jo Reiff. I found Swales explanation of genre the easiest to understand. According to John Swales, Genres are types of texts that are recognizable to readers and writers, and that meet the needs of the rhetorical situations in which they function, (Swales, 467). From reading the different articles by Swales, Devitt, Bawarshi,
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Reiff, I have been able to explain what genre is in my own words. Genres are very important to a discourse community; they are text types that are used over and over again when a certain situation occurs. Like Swales explained in his example, wedding invitations are a genre because they are needed every time that there is a wedding (Swales, 467). Weddings are an event that occur all the time so they had to come up with a text type to satisfy that need (Swales, 467). They help a discourse community to function and in a way can help explain what a specific discourse community is and what they do. Using three different engagement letters (Appendix A through Appendix C), I will be able to explore the similarities and differences found between these firms, which are all considered to be in the same discourse community. By analyzing these letters, it may help to give me a better understanding of how the Accounting discourse community may function. I chose to study the Accounting discourse community because it is a field that I am pursing right now in college. In a couple years, I plan on getting my Bachelors Degree in Accounting. These letters will allow me to learn more in depth about this field.

SETTING
A. Where did the letters come from? The letters all come from the different Accounting firms that are going to represent each client. For example, in Appendix A, James Hillman produced this letter for the clients that are interested in his company. The same goes for Appendix B, DVK Inc., and Appendix C, Knight and Knight.

TOPIC
A. What topic(s) are discussed? There are many different topics that are discussed in the engagement letters. The purpose of an engagement letter is to explain the agreement set
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between the Accounting firm and the person/ people that they are working with. Some of the topics that are written about are: work that has to be done, the fee schedule, termination, liability, applicable law, and the signatures to complete the agreements. All of these topics are important for the firm to discuss with their clients. The letters set straight boundaries that will inform their client exactly what to expect before deciding to be a part of that specific firm.

PARTICIPANTS
A. Who is invited to participate with this text and who is not invited? The firm and the clients are who would be invited to participate with this text. Not only are the clients invited but people or companies that are interested with that particular firm are allowed to participate. People who wouldnt be allowed to participate are outside people who have nothing to do with the firm or the client. This sort of letter possesses a unique bond between the firm and its clients. Anything that happens between the firm and client is between the firm and the client. The firm remains confidential to the client, even though the client can speak highly or lowly about the firm (depending on how they do their job). Just like with a doctor, the doctor remains confidential to their patient. B. What literacies do people reading in this genre need to possess? People reading in this genre need to possess the background knowledge of what an Accountant does. By understanding the Accountant and the relationship they should be having with their client, the person reading this genre, which is an engagement letter, will be able to determine credibility and reliability of a firm. C. Who gets to speak here? Depending on who the client is and what they are involved with, will depend on who will speak here. For example, if a client allows Knight &
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Knight3 to be in control of their money, the Accounting firm would then have rights to everything dealing with their bank as long as permission is given. This is shown in Appendix C under the Service Limitations bullet.

FEATURES
A. What are some of the recurrent features of this text? The topics in Appendix A through Appendix C are all alike. This is an interesting and very important feature when regarding these texts. It shows that the Accounting firms all share the same ideas and values. Though, some engagement letters come across as more appealing than others. This is to catch the eye of potential clients. At the top of each letter1 there is a description addressed to the client explaining exactly what the engagement letter is. One really essential recurrent feature of the engagement letters is the complete agreement portion. This part of the letter signifies that the client is agreeing with the engagement and is signing over their rights to the firm. B. How long are the texts? The texts all range from one to three pages depending on what topics the firm includes in the engagement letters.

CONCLUSION
In conclusion, engagement letters are very essential to an Accounting discourse community. They provide the client with information on their services through these letters. The letters are straightforward when explaining each topic. Each topic is broken down into bullet points where they are then explained thoroughly in a few sentences. The layout that is common throughout these letters is what I used to write this genre analysis. It begins with a heading displaying who the firm is, and then goes into the different topics that the letter is going to
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discuss. As I stated earlier, the topics are broken down into bullet points to make reading the letters easier to understand. The letters end with the formal signatures of the clients agreeing with what the firm has stated. These engagement letters are a key component to the Accounting discourse community because it is what sets the initial relationship between the firm and the client. Work Cited "Engagement Letter for Accounting Services." Docstoc.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2014. <http://www.docstoc.com/docs/4697199/Engagement-Letter-for-Accounting-Services>. "Engagement Letter for Accounting Services June Dear Client This." Docstoc.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2014. <http://www.docstoc.com/docs/4683580/Engagement-Letter-for Accounting-Services-June-Dear-Client-This>. "James Hillman CPA Engagement Letter for Accounting Services Name." Docstoc.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2014. <http://www.docstoc.com/docs/4683398/James-Hillman-CPA Engagement-Letter-for-Accounting-Services-Name>. "pop music." WordNet 3.0. Princeton University. 09 Feb. 2014. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pop music>. Swales, John. The Concept of Discourse Community. Writing About Writing. A College Reader. Elizabeth and Doug Downs. Boston/ New York: Bedford/ St. Martin. 2011. 46878. Print.

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Appendix A

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Appendix B

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Appendix C

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