What is a line of credit? In business a line of credit or credit line is an arrangement/commitment by a bank or other creditor with a customer. The agreement specifies an amount that the customer can borrow or use in the...
What is a line of credit? In business a line of credit or credit line is an arrangement/commitment by a bank or other creditor with a customer. The agreement specifies an amount that the customer can borrow or use in the...
What is a condensed income statement? A condensed income statement is one that summarizes much of the income statement detail into a few captions and amounts. For example, a retailer’s condensed income statement will...
Things that are resources owned by a company and which have future economic value that can be measured and can be expressed in dollars. Examples include cash, investments, accounts receivable, inventory, supplies, land,...
Under the accrual method of accounting, this account reports the employer’s portion of the health insurance cost incurred by the company during the period indicated in the heading of the income statement, whether...
The costs incurred to bring an asset back to an earlier condition or to keep the asset operating at its present condition (as opposed to improving the asset). For example, if a company truck is damaged, the cost to...
One component of the FICA tax (the other component is Social Security). This payroll tax is withheld from employees’ payroll checks and is also matched by the employer. The employee and the employer each pay the...
A liability account that reports an insurance company’s premiums received from its insured that have not yet been earned. For example, if the insurance company receives $600 on January 27 for an insured’s...
This series of output by the Financial Accounting Standards Board is part of the board’s conceptual framework project. The original goal in the 1970’s was to articulate the definitions, practices, and rules...
What does the term organic growth mean? Organic growth often refers to the growth in a company’s sales that did not occur because of an acquisition of another company. Expressed another way, organic growth is...
What is capital stock? Definition of Capital Stock Capital stock refers to the shares of ownership that have been issued by a corporation. The amount received by the corporation when its shares of capital stock were...
Does the accrual method apply to the purchase of equipment? The accrual method does apply to the purchase of equipment (as well as applying to revenues and expenses). To illustrate, let’s assume that on December 29 a...
Is the installation labor for a new asset expensed or included in the cost of the asset? Accounting for Labor to Install Asset The definition of an asset’s cost is all costs that are necessary to get an asset in place...
An asset account which is expected to have a credit balance (which is contrary to the normal debit balance of an asset account). The contra asset account is related to another asset account. For example, the contra asset...
What is the proper use of the words lend and borrow? If a company is granted a loan from its bank, the company is borrowing money from its bank, and the bank is lending money to one of its customers. In other words, the...
What is credit analysis and financial analysis? Credit analysis is associated with the decision to grant credit to a customer. It is also part of a bank’s lending procedures for making a loan and monitoring the...
What is depreciation? Definition of Depreciation In accounting, depreciation is the assigning or allocating of the cost of a plant asset (other than land) to expense in the accounting periods that are within the...
The accounting and reporting standards developed by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). IFRS are used by business entities in most countries. The most notable exception is the U.S. where business...
Under the accrual method of accounting, this account reports the employer’s portion of the health insurance cost incurred by the company during the period indicated in the heading of the income statement, whether...
Under the accrual method of accounting, this account reports the employer’s portion of the Social Security and Medicare tax that pertains to the period indicated in the heading of the income statement, whether or...
What is the difference between stockholder and shareholder? Definition of Stockholder and Shareholder The term stockholder or shareholder typically describes an investor who own shares of a corporation’s common stock....
A bond without a stated interest rate. Because no interest is paid, the bond will sell for a discount from its maturity value. Rather than receiving interest, an investor’s compensation will be the difference...
Accounts Receivable and Bad Debts Expense(Quick Test #3 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,...
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 Standard Costing uses an easy-to-relate to example for illustrating a manufacturer's standard costs and variances. Also provided is a chart which indicates each variance, what it tells you, and where...
Our Explanation of the Balance Sheet provides you with a basic understanding of a corporation's balance sheet (or statement of financial position). You will gain insights regarding the assets, liabilities, and...
Financial Ratios(Quick Test #2) Download PDF After you have answered all 50 questions, click "Grade This Quick Test" at the bottom of the page to view your grade and receive feedback on your answers. Note: Some of the...
Our Explanation of Bookkeeping provides you with a rich understanding of the recording of transactions. It then discusses the additional steps necessary for preparing accurate financial statements. This is great for...
Our Explanation of Improving Profits will assist you in focusing on the costs and revenues that are relevant (and ignoring those which are not relevant) for improving profits and eliminating losses. Examples of the...
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 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...
Accounts Receivable and Bad Debts Expense Accounts Receivable Accounts receivable refers to a company’s unsecured claim for money it is owed by a customer or client for goods and/or services the company had provided on...
What is deferred revenue? Deferred Revenue Deferred revenue is money received by a company in advance of having earned it. In other words, deferred revenues are not yet revenues and therefore cannot yet be reported on...
What is an imprest system of petty cash? Definition of Petty Cash Petty cash refers to a small amount of currency and coins that a company uses to pay small amounts without writing a check. The amount of petty cash (also...
Are the goods purchased by a retailer an expense or an asset? Definition of Goods Purchased by a Retailer The goods purchased by a retailer are the products or merchandise that it buys and plans to resell. The goods that...
What do overabsorbed and underabsorbed mean? Definition of Overabsorbed and Underabsorbed In cost accounting, overabsorbed and underabsorbed pertain to a manufacturer’s manufacturing overhead costs. The manufacturing...
Should inventories be reported at their cost or at their selling prices? Definition of Inventory Cost Inventories are reported at cost, not at selling prices. A retailer’s inventory cost is the cost to purchase the...
Are direct costs fixed and indirect costs variable? Direct Costs vs. Indirect Costs The terms direct costs and indirect costs could be referring to a product, a department, a machine, geographic market, etc. (which are...
Since our Explanation of Cash Flow Statement illustrates how the amounts are determined, you will get a better understanding of this very important financial statement. No longer will you look at only the income...
What is the significance of FOB Shipping Point and FOB Destination? Significance of FOB Shipping Point and FOB Destination The terms FOB shipping point and FOB destination have significance in accounting because they...
What is a limitation of the inventory turnover ratio? Definition of Inventory Turnover Ratio The inventory turnover ratio is often calculated by dividing a company’s cost of goods sold for a recent year by the average...
Featured Review
"I am currently a staff accountant (following a career change) with a B.S. in accounting, and MBA. I have 20 years of experience in the retail industry, and 10 years in the accounting industry across diverse sub-industries, e.g. government, digital media, non-profit, etc. I became a PRO user to increase my knowledge via continuing education, become a more valuable employee for current and future employers, and to use the information provided to assist with studying for the two-part CMA exam in 2024. I like the comprehensive nature of the materials, such as the explanation, quizzes, and various other creative tactics to facilitate learning, e.g. flashcards, word puzzles, and crossword. I have benefitted from your materials primarily through additional hard-skill learning and retention. The 30+ categories presented are very well rounded and detailed, which is so useful for individuals hoping to accelerate their learning path." - Jon G.
Join PRO or PRO Plus and Get Lifetime Access to Our Premium Materials
Read all 2,645 reviews
For the past 52 years, Harold Averkamp (CPA, MBA) has
worked as an accounting supervisor, manager, consultant, university instructor, and innovator in teaching accounting online. He is the sole author of all the materials on AccountingCoach.com.
We now offer 10 Certificates of Achievement for Introductory Accounting and Bookkeeping: