A section of a publicly traded corporation’s annual report to the SEC (Form 10-K). This section contains extensive information from management about the corporation’s financial condition and its operations.
A section of a publicly traded corporation’s annual report to the SEC (Form 10-K). This section contains extensive information from management about the corporation’s financial condition and its operations.
Goodwill is a long-term (or noncurrent) asset categorized as an intangible asset. Goodwill arises when a company acquires another entire business. The amount of goodwill is the cost to purchase the business minus the...
The most common example is the correction of an error from a prior year. When such a correction is made, it is reported in the current period’s statement of retained earnings rather than in the current...
A listing of all of the accounts in the general ledger with account balances after the closing entries have been posted. This means that the listing would consist of only the balance sheet accounts with balances. The...
See contingent gain.
Another company that supplies goods or performs services. Also known as a vendor.
The optimum purchase (or production) quantity which minimizes the combined total cost of carrying inventory and processing additional purchase orders (or production setups).
Suppliers. Companies that provide goods or services.
Under the accrual basis of accounting the account Supplies Expense reports the amount of supplies that were used during the time interval indicated in the heading of the income statement. Supplies that are on hand...
The underlying true cause of a cost occurring. In other words, the root cause is more than a mere correlation between an event and a cost. There is a real cause and effect relationship.
An income statement account at a financial institution used to record and report the amounts earned from fees charged to customers.
A statistical tool that uses the least-squares method to estimate the fixed and variable components of mixed costs.
See accrued rent expense. Also see accrued rent income.
Verifiable, objective (not subjective), and you can depend on it.
See inventory: work-in-process (WIP).
See managerial accounting.
A liability account used to record an amount received from a customer before a service has been provided or before goods have been shipped. This account is referred to as a deferred revenue account and could be entitled...
Long term assets that are not classified as investments, property, plant, equipment, or intangible assets. An example is bond issue costs that are amortized to expense over the life of the bonds.
The balance sheet classification that is reported immediately after current assets and before property, plant, and equipment.
This current liability account will show the amount a company owes for items or services purchased on credit and for which there was not a promissory note. This account is often referred to as trade payables (as opposed...
An income statement account for expense items that are too insignificant to have their own separate general ledger accounts.
See chief financial officer.
The current asset that represents the amount of interest revenue that was reported as earned, but has not yet been received.
Operating expenses are the costs of a company’s main operations that have been used up during the period indicated on the income statement. For example, a retailer’s operating expenses consist of its cost of...
Also referred to as factory burden, factory overhead, indirect manufacturing costs, and manufacturing support costs. To learn more, see Explanation of Manufacturing Overhead.
See sum-of-the-years’ digits method of depreciation.
In accounting and bookkeeping this term is used to describe paying a vendor more than once for the amount owed.
For a retailer, wholesaler, and distributor the primary activities would be the buying of merchandise and then the sale of that merchandise. A manufacturer’s primary activities would be the production and sale of...
See International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
Activities that are not specifically associated with a specific product or customer. For example, the costs of an audit and filing information with government agencies are examples of organization-sustaining activities.
The leading accounting and bookkeeping software for small businesses in the United States. QuickBooks is the registered trademark of Intuit Inc.
A driver of a change in the amount of a dependent variable. The independent variable is usually represented by “x”, the dependent variable by “y”, the rate of change by “b”, and the...
The amounts earned on money invested. Often this is interest and dividends earned on a company’s investment in stocks and bonds of other companies.
See discount on bonds payable.
The ratio of the market value of a share of common stock to the earnings per share of common stock. For example, if a corporation earned $3 per share and its stock is trading at $36, it’s price earnings ratio is...
A nongovernment group of seven members assisted by a large research staff which is responsible for the setting of accounting standards, rules, and principles for financial reporting by U.S. entities. Go to www.fasb.org...
Also referred to as the fixed overhead spending variance. The difference between the actual fixed overhead incurred and the amount of fixed overhead that had been budgeted.
An individual owner of a business that is not incorporated.
In accounting this is the rate used to discount future cash flows in order to determine their present value.
Featured Review
"I am a partner in a small family accounting firm in Pennsylvania. I became a PRO user so I could review and refresh on the basics, as well as new items and regulations that pop up every other day. I love the way each subject is organized for easy access and review. I can go in, read the materials, and take an exam at the end to help solidify the concepts in my mind. It's always helpful to be able to go back and refresh my memory as I age and tend to concentrate in only specific areas of accounting. I have also benefited from the website by being able to review material when clients have questions or any particular situations that need further research on my part." - Steve
Join PRO or PRO Plus and Get Lifetime Access to Our Premium Materials
Read all 2,645 reviewsWe now offer 10 Certificates of Achievement for Introductory Accounting and Bookkeeping: