What is accounts payable? Definition of Accounts Payable Accounts payable involves the amounts owed by a company to its suppliers (vendors) for goods or services the company received on credit. Accounts payable is also...
What is accounts payable? Definition of Accounts Payable Accounts payable involves the amounts owed by a company to its suppliers (vendors) for goods or services the company received on credit. Accounts payable is also...
What is an equivalent unit of production? Definition of Equivalent Unit of Production An equivalent unit of production is an expression of the amount of work done by a manufacturer on units of output that are partially...
What are accruals? Definition of Accruals The accounting and bookkeeping term accruals refers to adjustments that must be made before a company’s financial statements are issued. Accruals involve the following types of...
What is the difference between gross margin and markup? Definition of Gross Margin Gross margin or gross profit is defined as net sales minus the cost of goods sold. However, some people intend for the term gross margin...
How can I determine the inventory methods used by other companies in my industry? Definition of Inventory Methods Inventory methods refers to the order or manner in which a company moves its actual costs out of the...
What is the chart of accounts? Definition of Chart of Accounts The chart of accounts is a listing of the names and account numbers for the general ledger accounts available for recording amounts. However, the chart of...
What is an ordinary annuity? Definition of Ordinary Annuity In accounting, an ordinary annuity refers to a series of identical cash amounts with each amount occurring at the end of equal time intervals. Another term for...
What are sales? Definition of Sales In accounting, the term sales refers to the revenues earned when a company sells its goods, products, merchandise, etc. When a company sells a noncurrent asset that had been used in...
What is the employer's Social Security tax rate for 2022 and 2023? Employer’s Social Security Payroll Tax for 2022 The employer’s Social Security payroll tax rate for 2022 (January 1 through December 31, 2022) is the...
What is the book value per share of stock? Definition of Book Value per Share of Stock The book value of a corporation is the amount of its stockholders’ equity. Assuming the corporation does not have preferred stock...
What is a natural business year? Definition of Natural Business Year A natural business year is the period of 12 consecutive months (or 52-53 consecutive weeks) ending at a low point of the organization’s activities...
How do you report a write-down in inventory? Definition of Write-down in Inventory Under FIFO and average cost methods, when the net realizable value of inventory is less than the cost of the inventory, there needs to be...
What is Construction Work-in-Progress? Definition of Construction Work-in-Progress Construction Work-in-Progress is a noncurrent asset account in which the costs of constructing long-term, fixed assets are recorded. The...
Why is the distinction between product costs and period costs important? The distinction between product costs and period costs is important to: Properly measure a company’s net income during the time specified on its...
Why isn't land depreciated? Definition of Land The land that is used in a business (as opposed to land that is an investment, or land that will be sold by a real estate developer) is a tangible asset that is assumed to...
Why do companies use cost flow assumptions to cost their inventories? Cost flow assumptions are necessary because of inflation and the changing costs experienced by companies. If costs were completely stable, it...
What is a special journal? Definition of a Special Journal A special journal (also known as a specialized journal) is useful in a manual accounting or bookkeeping system to reduce the tedious task of recording both the...
Why does a company prepare a bank reconciliation? Reasons for Preparing a Bank Reconciliation There are several reasons for a company to prepare a bank reconciliation: To safeguard the company’s cash. Performing a bank...
What are reversing entries and why are they used? Definition of Reversing Entries Reversing entries are made on the first day of an accounting period to remove accrual adjusting entries that were made at the end of the...
Are liabilities always a bad thing? Definition of Liabilities Liabilities are a company’s obligations and are usually defined as a claim on the company’s assets. However, liabilities (and stockholders’ equity) can...
Does paying an account payable affect net income? Definition of Paying Accounts Payable Under the accrual basis of accounting, expenses are recorded when they have occurred, not when they are paid. Therefore, if an...
What is other comprehensive income? Definition of Other Comprehensive Income Other comprehensive income, or OCI, consists of items that have an effect on the balance sheet amounts, but the effect is not reported on the...
What is a transposition error? Definition of Transposition Error A transposition error occurs when an amount is recorded incorrectly as the result of switching the positions of two (or more) digits. The switching of the...
What is window dressing? Definition of Window Dressing Window dressing refers to actions taken or not taken prior to issuing financial statements in order to improve the appearance of the financial statements. Example...
What accounting entry is made when a company receives an order for its goods or services? Definition of Accounting Entry When an Order is Received At the time when a company receives a customer’s order (without...
What is a basis point? A basis point is a hundredth (1/100) of a percentage point. Expressed another way, one percentage point is equal to 100 basis points. This means that if an interest rate drops by 1/2 of a...
What is the difference between adjusting entries and closing entries? Definition of Adjusting Entries Adjusting entries are made at the end of the accounting period (but prior to preparing the financial statements) in...
What is a dividend and why is it needed? A dividend paid by a corporation is a distribution of profits to the owners of the corporation. The owners of a corporation are known as stockholders or shareholders. (In a sole...
What is the difference between gross profit margin and gross margin? Definition of Gross Profit Gross profit is an amount that is computed as follows: A company’s net Sales minus its cost of goods sold A product’s...
What is callable stock? Callable stock is an ownership interest (shares) in a corporation that can be “called in” by the corporation at a specified price. For example, a corporation might issue 9% $100 Preferred...
How is petty cash reported on the financial statements? Definition of Petty Cash Petty Cash is a small amount of money that a company has available to pay small amounts without writing a company check. The money might be...
What is the difference between a bookkeeper and an accountant? Before I provide a distinction, you should be aware that some people use the words interchangeably. Even though I was the accountant, treasurer, and CFO of a...
What is opportunity cost? Definition of Opportunity Cost Opportunity cost is the profit that was lost or missed because of some action or failure to take some action. Some refer to opportunity cost as opportunity lost....
What is the difference between information and data? I was taught that information is useful data. The point is there are lots of data (plural of datum) everywhere, and most of the data will not be useful to a decision...
Our Explanation of Stockholders' Equity covers the unique terminology for a corporation's paid-in capital, retained earnings, treasury stock, and accumulated other comprehensive income. Included are cash dividends, stock...
Our Explanation of Debits and Credits describes the reasons why various accounts are debited and/or credited. For the examples we provide the logic, use T-accounts for a clearer understanding, and the appropriate general...
Our Explanation of Depreciation emphasizes what the depreciation amounts on the income statement and balance sheet represent. Learn why depreciation is an estimated expense that does not assist in determining the current...
Our Explanation of Accounts Receivable and Bad Debts Expense helps you understand the accounting for the losses associated with selling goods and providing services on credit. You will understand the impact on the...
Our Explanation of Accounting Principles provides you with clear and concise descriptions of the basic underlying guidelines of accounting. You will see how the accounting principles affect the balance sheet and income...
Income Statement(Quick Test #2 with Coaching) Download PDF This Quick Test with Coaching includes a “View Coaching” button to the right of each answer box. If you choose to click the button, an explanation for the...
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