What are byproducts? Byproducts, or by-products, are products with relatively little value that emerge from a common process along with the main products. The main products have significant value and are referred to as...
What are byproducts? Byproducts, or by-products, are products with relatively little value that emerge from a common process along with the main products. The main products have significant value and are referred to as...
What is a deposit in transit? Definition of Deposit in Transit A company’s deposit in transit is the currency and customers’ checks that have been received and are rightfully reported as cash on the date received,...
for deposit to account #xxxx followed by the payee’s signature. Many companies endorse checks by using a rubber stamp containing this restriction. Another example of a restrictive endorsement is Pay to the order of...
What is the cost to store inventory? Definition of Cost to Store Inventory The cost to store, hold or carry inventory is the total of the following: Cost of the space used for storing inventory, such as rent, heat,...
What is the difference between a balance sheet of a nonprofit organization and a for-profit business? Definition of Balance Sheet The balance sheet is one of the main financial statements issued organizations. The...
What is capex? Definition of Capex Capex is a shortened form of the term capital expenditure or capital expenditures. Capex is often used when referring one or both of the following: Actual amounts that were spent during...
What is the employer matching of FICA? Definition of FICA FICA is the acronym for Federal Insurance Contributions Act, which requires employers to withhold the following from each employee’s paycheck: Social Security...
for the year of the income statement might be $300,000. The $300,000 accounting entry debited Depreciation Expense and credited Accumulated Depreciation. As you can see, not a penny left the checking account in the year...
What is inventory? Definition of Inventory Inventory is a very significant current asset for retailers, distributors, and manufacturers. Inventory serves as a buffer between 1) a company’s sales of goods, and 2) its...
What is an irrevocable letter of credit? Definition of Irrevocable Letter of Credit An irrevocable letter of credit is a financial instrument used by banks to guarantee a buyer’s obligations to a seller. It is...
What conditions cause a discount on bonds payable? Discount on bonds payable occurs when a bond’s stated interest rate is less than the bond market’s interest rate. If a $1,000,000 bond issue promises to pay interest...
of bonds payable. Instead of charging the $500,000 to expense in the year that the fees are paid, the corporation will defer the $500,000 to the contra liability account Bond Issue Costs. Then over the bonds’ life of...
on the disposal, the owner’s equity is unchanged. On the other hand, if the same truck is sold for $3,000 there will be a $2,000 loss ($3,000 of cash received versus the $5,000 of book value removed) reported on the...
What is EOQ? Definition of EOQ EOQ is the acronym for economic order quantity. The economic order quantity is the optimum quantity of an item to be purchased at one time in order to minimize the combined annual costs of...
What is a lien? Definition of Lien A lien is a legal document filed by a creditor (lender) in order to record its claim on certain assets of the debtor (borrower). The lien is likely filed at the county government office...
What is annualizing? Definition of Annualizing Annualizing means taking a partial year amount and converting it to a full year amount. We will use several examples to illustrate how this works. Examples of Annualizing A...
What is a defined contribution pension plan? A defined contribution pension plan is one in which the employer contributes an amount into each eligible employee’s account within an established plan. The employee decides...
What is cost incurred? Definition of Cost Incurred A cost incurred is a cost that a company (or other organization) becomes liable for. Example of Cost Incurred Assume that a retailer begins operations on December 1 and...
Is a prepaid expense recorded initially as an expense? Definition of Prepaid Expense A prepaid expense refers to an amount that a company has paid and a portion or all of it will be an expense in a later accounting...
Which financial statement tells the value of a business? None of the financial statements will report the value of a business. The main financial statements (balance sheet, income statement, statement of cash flows,...
What is reported as property, plant and equipment? Definition of Property, Plant and Equipment Property, plant and equipment is the long-term asset or noncurrent asset section of the balance sheet that reports the...
statement account Repairs Expense for $6,000, and credits the balance sheet current liability account Accrued Expenses Payable for $6,000. Examples of other expenses that typically require an accrual adjusting entry...
What is the return on assets ratio? Definition of Return on Assets Ratio The return on assets ratio, or return on total assets ratio, relates a company’s net income during a specific year, to the company’s average...
What is apportionment? An apportionment is an allocation based on some proportions. I associate the term apportionment with a corporation’s taxable income that was earned in many states within the U.S. In that...
How do I calculate depreciation using the sum of the years' digits? Definition of the Sum-of-the-Years’-Digits Depreciation The sum-of-the-years’-digits depreciation (SYD depreciation) is one method for calculating...
Is contribution margin the same as operating income? Definition of Contribution Margin Contribution margin is defined as revenues minus the variable costs and variable expenses. Example of Contribution Margin Assume that...
How do I learn more about the CPA Exam? You can learn more about the Uniform CPA Exam at our free Accounting Career Center. Within our Accounting Career Center are direct links to the state boards of accountancy, CPA...
How many days after a month ends should the bank reconciliation be done? Definition Bank Reconciliation The bank reconciliation (if prepared or reviewed by someone other than the person with access to the checking...
savings account or money market account. The length of a certificate of deposit will vary. It could be for one month, three months, six months, one year, 17 months, three years, etc. Generally the longer the time until...
How should an interest only loan be recorded? Defintion of an Interest Only Loan An interest only loan specifies that only interest payments are required during the life of the loan. No principal payment is required...
Which date is used to record a credit card transaction? When a business uses its credit card, the transaction date is the date the credit card is used, not the date that the credit card statement is paid. For example, if...
What is the meaning of debtor? Definition of Debtor A debtor is a person, company, or other entity that owes money. In other words, the debtor has a debt or legal obligation to pay the amount owed. Example of Debtor If...
What are operating expenses? Definition of Operating Expenses Operating expenses are the costs that have been used up (expired) as part of a company’s main operating activities during the period shown in the heading of...
) amount of retained earnings is reported as a separate line within stockholders’ equity. The owner’s drawing account in a sole proprietorship will have a debit balance. Hence, if it is reported as a separate line,...
What is the meaning of systematic and rational allocation? Definition of Systematic and Rational Allocation Systematic and rational allocation is typically included in the definition of depreciation. In this context, it...
What is a long-term asset? Definition of Long-term Asset A long-term asset is an asset that is not expected to be converted to cash or be consumed within one year of the date shown in the heading of the balance sheet....
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...
What is the difference between inventory and the cost of goods sold? Definition of Inventory Inventory for a retailer or distributor is the merchandise that was purchased and has not yet been sold to customers. A...
What is accrued interest? Definition of Accrued Interest Accrued interest is the amount of loan interest that has already occurred, but has not yet been paid by the borrower and not yet received by the lender. Under the...
What is an adjusted trial balance? Definition of an Adjusted Trial Balance The adjusted trial balance is an internal document that lists the general ledger account titles and their balances after any adjustments have...
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