What does a balance sheet tell us? Definition of Balance Sheet A balance sheet reports the dollar amounts of a company’s assets, liabilities, and owner’s equity (or stockholders’ equity) as of midnight of the...
What does a balance sheet tell us? Definition of Balance Sheet A balance sheet reports the dollar amounts of a company’s assets, liabilities, and owner’s equity (or stockholders’ equity) as of midnight of the...
Are insurance premiums a fixed cost? The cost of the insurance premiums for a company’s property insurance is likely to be a fixed cost. The cost of worker compensation insurance is likely to be a variable cost....
Why is a negative cash balance reported as a liability? The following will illustrate why a negative cash balance is reported as a liability instead of being reported as a negative asset amount. Company X writes checks...
Why is inventory turnover important? Definition of Inventory Turnover A company’s inventory turnover is often expressed as the company’s cost of goods sold for a year divided by the average cost of inventory during...
What does amortization mean? Definition of Amortization In general, the word amortization means to systematically reduce a balance over time. In accounting, amortization is conceptually similar to the depreciation of a...
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...
Which financial statement shows a corporation's worth? Not one of the financial statements will show a corporation’s worth. The balance sheet, income statement, statement of cash flows, and stockholders’ equity...
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 an unfavorable variance? Definition of a Variance In accounting the term variance usually refers to the difference between an actual amount and a planned or budgeted amount. For example, if a company’s budget...
What is the allowance method? Definition of Allowance Method The allowance method usually refers to one of the two ways for reporting bad debts expense that results from a company selling goods or services on credit....
What is a fixed expense? Definition of Fixed Expense A fixed expense is an expense whose total amount does not change when there is an increase in an activity such as sales or production. The words within a relevant or...
What is the difference between stockholder and stakeholder? Definition of Stockholder A stockholder or shareholder is the owner of shares of a corporation’s common or preferred stock. Definition of Stakeholder A...
What is an asset account? Definition of an Asset Account An asset account is a general ledger account used to sort and store the debit and credit amounts from a company’s transactions involving the company’s...
What are mixed costs? Definition of Mixed Costs In accounting, the term mixed costs refers to costs and expenses that consist of two components: A fixed component, the total of which does not change as the volume of...
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 is a cost center? Definition of Cost Center A cost center is often a department within a company. The manager and employees of a cost center are responsible for its costs but are not directly responsible for...
What is the difference between fixed assets and noncurrent assets? Fixed Assets are Part of Noncurrent Assets Fixed assets are one of several categories of noncurrent assets. Fixed assets are usually reported on the...
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 monetary unit assumption? Definition of Monetary Unit Assumption The monetary unit assumption as it applies to a U.S. corporation is that the U.S.dollar (USD) is stable in the long run. That is, the USD does...
Where can I find financial ratios for my industry? One source for financial ratios by industry is the RMA Annual Statement Studies Financial Ratio Benchmarks. RMA is the acronym for Risk Management Association and...
What is the monthly close? Definition of Monthly Close In accounting, monthly close is a series of steps and procedures that are followed so that a company’s monthly financial statements are in compliance with the...
What does Accumulated Depreciation tell us? Definition of Accumulated Depreciation Accumulated depreciation reports the amount of depreciation that has been recorded from the time an asset was acquired until the date of...
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 the difference between assessed value and appraised value? Definition of Assessed Value Assessed value will likely be the amount that a local or state government has designated for individual properties. This...
What is accrued income? Definition of Accrued Income Accrued income is an amount that: A company has earned The company has a right to receive The collection is probable Has not yet been recorded in the general ledger...
What is a contra expense account? Definition of Contra Expense Account A contra expense account is a general ledger expense account that will intentionally have a credit balance (instead of the debit balance that is...
What causes an increase in break-even point? Definition of Break-even Point The break-even point is the sales volume or sales revenue that is needed to cover the company’s expenses. In other words, it is the point...
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....
Why does our company's balance sheet report its land at cost when it is so much more valuable? Accountants are guided by the cost principle. This requires accountants to report assets at their cost when acquired—not...
In least squares regression, what do y and a represent? Here are the meanings of the components or symbols used in the least squares equation of y = a + bx: y is the dependent variable, such as the estimated or expected...
How much do you depreciate an asset and when? Definition of How and When to Depreciate an Asset Depreciation begins when you place an asset in service and it ends when you take an asset out of service or when you have...
Do I buy a new machine or use an old one? One technique for deciding whether to buy a new machine or to use an old machine is to look at the future cash flows if you buy a new machine and the future cash flows if you use...
What is revenue? Definition of Revenue Revenue is the amount a company receives from selling goods and/or providing services to its customers and clients. A company’s revenue, which is reported on the first line of its...
What is elastic demand? Definition of Elastic Demand Elastic demand is the situation in which demand for a product or service is sensitive to price changes. Elastic demand is a major concern for a manufacturer that...
What are adjusting entries? Definition of Adjusting Entries Adjusting entries are usually made on the last day of an accounting period (year, quarter, month) so that a company’s financial statements comply with the...
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...
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....
Is an entry made for outstanding checks when preparing a bank reconciliation? Definition of Outstanding Checks Outstanding checks are checks written by the company, recorded in the company accounts, but not yet appearing...
What is the current ratio? Definition of Current Ratio The current ratio is a financial ratio that shows the proportion of a company’s current assets to its current liabilities. The current ratio is often classified as...
What is capital surplus? Definition of Capital Surplus In the past, capital surplus was used to describe what is now referred to as paid-in capital in excess of par or Premium on Common Stock. Example of Capital Surplus...
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