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 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 does it mean to check the extensions and to foot an invoice? To check the extensions on a purchase invoice means to verify that the number of units of each item multiplied by its unit cost agrees with the total...
How do you account for bond issue costs? Definition of Bond Issue Costs The costs associated with issuing bonds are debited to a contra liability account such as Bond Issue Costs. Over the life of the bonds, the issue...
What is illusory profit? Illusory profit, also called phantom profit, is the difference between 1) the profit reported using historical costs required by US GAAP, and 2) the profit computed using replacement costs....
What is the amortization of premium on bonds payable? Definition of Amortization of Premium on Bonds Payable The amortization of the premium on bonds payable is the systematic movement of the amount of premium received...
What are the disclosures for a manufacturer's inventory? A manufacturer should disclose the following categories of inventory: raw materials, work-in-process, finished goods, manufacturing supplies, and packaging...
Where do I record the refund of a registration fee? If the registration fee refers to a fee expense that you had originally paid but the amount is now being refunded to you, I would credit the same expense account that...
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...
What are accrued liabilities? Definition of Accrued Liabilities Accrued liabilities are usually expenses that have been incurred by a company as of the end of an accounting period, but the amounts have not yet been paid...
What is the difference between an unadjusted trial balance and an adjusted trial balance? Difference between Unadjusted Trial Balance and Adjusted Trial Balance The differences between an unadjusted trial balance and an...
How does petty cash affect expenses? Definition of Petty Cash Petty cash is a small amount of currency and coins that a company has available to make very small payments instead of requesting and processing a company...
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 causes an unfavorable fixed overhead budget variance? An unfavorable fixed overhead budget variance results when the actual amount spent on fixed manufacturing overhead costs exceeds the budgeted amount. The fixed...
What is the difference between prime costs and conversion costs? Cost Categories of a Manufactured Product Prime costs and conversion costs pertain to the three cost categories of a manufactured product: Direct materials...
What are the advantages of departmentalizing manufacturing overhead costs? The departmentalizing of manufacturing overhead costs allows for better planning and control if the head of each department is held responsible...
Isn't all overhead fixed? Not all overhead is fixed. Some manufacturing overhead costs, which are also referred to as indirect factory costs, are variable. A common example of a variable overhead cost is the electricity...
What is the coefficient of correlation? Definition of Coefficient of Correlation In simple linear regression analysis, the coefficient of correlation (or correlation coefficient) is a statistic which indicates an...
What is yield to maturity? Definition of Yield to Maturity Yield to maturity is the total return that will be earned by someone who purchases a bond and holds it until its maturity date. The yield to maturity might also...
What is the dividend yield? The dividend yield is the annual cash dividend per share of common stock divided by the market price of a share of the common stock. Usually, fast growing corporations have a low dividend...
What is the price earnings ratio? The price earnings ratio, or P/E ratio, is the market price per share of common stock divided by the earnings per share of common stock. A corporation with a high price earnings ratio is...
What are direct costs? Definition of Direct Costs Direct costs are directly traceable to a cost object such as a product or a department. In other words, direct costs do not have to be allocated to a product, department,...
What is the coefficient of determination? The coefficient of determination is a statistic which indicates the percentage change in the amount of the dependent variable that is “explained by” the changes in the...
What does overstated mean? Definition of Overstated When an accountant uses the term overstated, it means two things: The reported amount is incorrect, and The reported amount is more than the true or correct amount. In...
What is GAAP? Definition of GAAP GAAP is the acronym for generally accepted accounting principles. GAAP consists of the following: Basic underlying accounting principles, assumptions, and concepts such as the cost...
What is absorption costing? Definition of Absorption Costing Absorption costing (also known as full absorption costing) indicates that all of the manufacturing costs have been assigned to (absorbed by) the units of goods...
Is there a relationship between direct materials variances and direct labor variances? Definition of Direct Materials Variances Direct materials variances (pertaining to standard costing) commonly consist of two...
What is a budget variance? A budget variance results when an actual amount is different from a planned or budgeted amount. A budget variance can occur for revenues and for expenses. Join PRO to Track Progress Mark the...
Why does the fixed cost per unit change? Definition of Fixed Cost per Unit Fixed costs such as rent, salaries, depreciation, etc. generally do not change in total within a reasonable range of volume or activity. On the...
What is a BOM? Definition of BOM BOM is the acronym for bill of materials. A BOM is a listing of the quantities of each of the materials used to manufacture a product. Industrial manufacturers are likely to have an...
What is the difference between Present Value (PV) and Net Present Value (NPV)? Definition of Present Value (PV) Present value or PV is the result of discounting one or more future amounts to the present. The greater the...
Are repairs to office equipment and factory equipment period costs? Repairs to office equipment are period costs. That is, the cost of the repairs to office equipment will be reported as a selling, general and...
What is the difference between a cost center and a profit center? Definition of Cost Center A cost center is a subunit of a company that is responsible only for its costs. A few examples of cost centers are: Production...
What is the normal balance of the direct materials variance accounts? I don’t believe there is a normal balance. If a company pays exactly the standard cost of its direct materials, there will be no balance in the...
Is a favorable variance always an indicator of efficiency in operation? In a standard costing system, some favorable variances are not indicators of efficiency in operations. For example, the materials price variance,...
Is the depreciation of delivery trucks a period cost or is it manufacturing overhead? The depreciation on the trucks used to deliver products to customers is a period cost. The depreciation on delivery trucks will be...
What is the meaning of a favorable budget variance? Definition of a Favorable Budget Variance A favorable budget variance means that the actual amount that occurred was better for the company (or organization) than the...
What is value billing? Value billing is a way of billing a client for services provided. Basically, the amount billed is based on the value of the service (or information) instead of the number of hours spent. The...
Why use normal costing instead of actual costing? Definition of Normal Costing For a manufacturer, normal costing means assigning the following costs to the actual goods produced each month: Actual direct materials...
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...
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...
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