What is a lease? Definition of a Lease Typically, a lease is a written agreement between an owner of property (land, building, equipment, vehicle, etc.) and a person or business that will use the property for a stated...
What is a lease? Definition of a Lease Typically, a lease is a written agreement between an owner of property (land, building, equipment, vehicle, etc.) and a person or business that will use the property for a stated...
What is inventory valuation? Definition of Inventory Valuation In the U.S., inventory valuation is the dollar amount associated with the items remaining in a company’s inventory. Generally speaking, the amount is the...
If a customer pays for the same invoice twice, should the customer be informed? I say yes. If you become aware of the double payment when posting the customer’s second remittance, I would double check your records...
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...
What is net income? Definition of Net Income Net income is the positive result of a company’s revenues and gains minus its expenses and losses. A negative result is referred to as net loss. (There are a few gains and...
What are some tips to make learning debits and credits easy? Here are five tips to make learning debits and credits easier: The accounts for expenses are nearly always debited. For example, when a company pays its...
What is a deferred credit? A deferred credit could mean money received in advance of it being earned, such as deferred revenue, unearned revenue, or customer advances. A deferred credit could also result from complicated...
What does it mean to report expenses by function? Definition of Reporting Expenses by Function Reporting expenses by function means to classify and report expenses according to the type of activity for which the expenses...
What is a suspense account? Definition of Suspense Account A suspense account is a general ledger account in which amounts are temporarily recorded. The suspense account is used because the appropriate general ledger...
How do I determine my payroll tax liabilities? Your payroll tax liabilities will include the following: Federal, state, and local income taxes withheld from employees’ wages, salaries, bonuses, etc. but not yet...
What is the profit and loss statement? Definition of Profit and Loss Statement The profit and loss statement, or P&L, is a name sometimes used to describe a company’s income statement, statement of income, statement of...
What are cost flow assumptions? Definition of Cost Flow Assumptions The term cost flow assumptions refers to the manner in which costs are removed from a company’s inventory and are reported as the cost of goods sold....
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 are nonmanufacturing overhead costs? Definition of Nonmanufacturing Overhead Costs Nonmanufacturing overhead costs are the business expenses that are outside of a company’s manufacturing operations. In other...
What is gross profit? Definition of Gross Profit Gross profit is defined as net sales minus the cost of goods sold. Gross profit is sometimes referred to as gross margin. (However, gross margin can also mean the gross...
What are the ways to value inventory? Definition of Valuing Inventory Generally, the financial statements of a U.S. company must report its inventory at its historical cost (not at its selling prices). Inventories are to...
Is the sales tax paid on merchandise that you will resell an expense? I believe that most states have sales tax exemptions for merchandise purchased for resale. Check with your state’s sales tax department to see if...
Are payroll withholding taxes an expense or a liability? Definition of Payroll Withholding Taxes Payroll withholding taxes are amounts withheld from employees’ wages and salaries. The amounts withheld are actually the...
Are income taxes affected by accelerated depreciation? Definition of Accelerated Depreciation Accelerated depreciation means the cost of an asset used in a business will be charged to Depreciation Expense at a faster...
What is a deferred expense? Definition of Deferred Expense A deferred expense refers to a cost that has occurred but it will be reported as an expense in one or more future accounting periods. To accomplish this, the...
What is financial leverage? Definition of Financial Leverage Financial leverage which is also known as leverage or trading on equity, refers to the use of debt to acquire additional assets. The use of financial leverage...
How does one prepare a company's first bank statement reconciliation? To prepare a bank reconciliation for a company that never prepared one previously, I would first make a list of outstanding checks. For example, if...
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 IFRS? IFRS is the acronym for International Financial Reporting Standards. IFRS is used throughout the world except in the United States where U.S. GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) is followed....
Reducing the Need for Accruing Expenses One day I was explaining to the owner of a small business that I would have to accrue for the shipping expenses associated with his company’s sales. Since the shipping company...
What are common-size financial statements? Common-size financial statements present the financial statement amounts as a percentage of a base number. For example, the common-size income statement will report the revenue...
What is the difference between the terms capitalize and depreciate? Definition of Capitalize In accounting, the term capitalize refers to adding an amount to the balance sheet as an asset (as opposed to immediately...
A credit is not a normal balance for what accounts? Definition of Credit Balance A credit balance refers to the balance on the right side of a general ledger account or T-account. Normally, the liability and owner’s...
What is accelerated depreciation? Definition of Accelerated Depreciation Accelerated depreciation is the allocation of a plant asset‘s cost at a faster rate than straight-line depreciation. Compared to straight-line...
Where is treasury stock reported on the balance sheet? Under the cost method of recording treasury stock, the cost of treasury stock is reported at the end of the Stockholders’ Equity section of the balance sheet....
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 a debenture? A debenture is an unsecured bond. In other words, a debenture is a bond without a lien on specific assets owned by the issuing corporation. Join PRO to Track Progress Mark the Question as Read...
What are LIFO layers? Definition of LIFO Layer LIFO is the acronym for Last-In, First-Out. In the context of inventory, it means that the cost of the most recently purchased units will be the first costs to be matched...
What is NPV? Definition of NPV NPV is the acronym for net present value, which can be calculated as follows: The present value of the future cash inflows Minus the cash investment Example of NPV Assume that a company...
What is liquidity? Definition of Liquidity Liquidity is a company’s ability to convert its assets to cash in order to pay its liabilities when they are due. Current Assets Generally, the assets that are expected to...
What are the methods for separating mixed costs into fixed and variable? Definition of Mixed Costs Mixed costs are partially a fixed cost and partially a variable cost. Mixed costs are also known as semivariable costs....
What is the return on stockholders' equity (after tax) ratio? Definition of Return on Stockholders’ Equity The financial ratio return on stockholders’ equity (or return on equity) is calculated by dividing a...
Is a postdated check considered to be currency? A postdated check—a check with a date that is later than the current date—is not considered to be currency. Further, the postdated check should not be reported as part...
What is decentralization? Definition of Decentralization Decentralization refers to a company’s top management delegating authority to subunits or segments of the company such as a company consisting of a consumer...
What is the debt to total assets ratio? Definition of Debt to Total Assets Ratio The debt to total assets ratio is an indicator of a company’s financial leverage. It tells you the percentage of a company’s total...
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