What is the accounting entry when an order is received? There is no accounting entry recorded in a company’s general ledger accounts when an order is received. The reason is that a sale or sales revenues has not yet...
What is the accounting entry when an order is received? There is no accounting entry recorded in a company’s general ledger accounts when an order is received. The reason is that a sale or sales revenues has not yet...
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 the gross profit method? Gross Profit Method Definition The gross profit method is a technique used to estimate the amount of ending inventory. The technique could be used for monthly financial statements when a...
What is a revenue expenditure? Definition of Revenue Expenditure A revenue expenditure is a cost that will be an expense in the accounting period when the expenditure takes place. Revenue expenditures are often discussed...
What is a contingent asset? Definition of Contingent Asset A contingent asset is a potential asset that is associated with a potential gain. The asset and gain are contingent because they are dependent upon some future...
How do you calculate staff turnover? To calculate staff turnover, I would use the W-2 wage statements for the most recent year. My first step would be to sort the W-2’s into meaningful groups such as full-time...
What is the book value per share of stock? Definition of Book Value per Share of Stock The book value of a corporation is the amount of its stockholders’ equity. Assuming the corporation does not have preferred stock...
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 is a natural business year? Definition of Natural Business Year A natural business year is the period of 12 consecutive months (or 52-53 consecutive weeks) ending at a low point of the organization’s activities...
How do I learn of new accounting rules? The U.S. accounting rules issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) can be found on its free website www.fasb.org/st/. There you will find: FASB Statements...
What is a post-closing trial balance? Definition of Post-closing Trial Balance A post-closing trial balance is a trial balance which is prepared after all of the temporary accounts in the general ledger have been closed....
What is the total asset turnover ratio? Definition of Total Asset Turnover Ratio The total asset turnover ratio indicates the relationship between a company’s net sales for a specified year to the average amount of...
Why is it necessary to allocate a lump sum payment to individual items? It is necessary to allocate a lump sum payment to individual items in order to record a fair portion of the lump sum in each of the proper general...
What is the difference between expense and loss? Definition of Expense An expense is a cost that a company incurs or uses up when it earns revenues. Examples of Expenses A few examples of the many expenses that a company...
What is the consistency principle? Definition of Consistency In accounting, consistency requires that a company’s financial statements follow the same accounting principles, methods, practices and procedures from one...
What is the accounting cycle? Definition of Accounting Cycle The accounting cycle is often described as a process that includes the following steps: Identifying, collecting and analyzing documents and transactions...
Where can I get official information for federal payroll taxes? For official information on federal payroll taxes we recommend the Internal Revenue Service Publication 15 which is known by two names: Circular E and...
What is the difference between interest expense and interest payable? Definition of Interest Expense Assuming the accrual method of accounting, interest expense is the amount of interest that was incurred on debt during...
What are fixed assets? Definition of Fixed Assets Fixed assets are a company’s tangible, noncurrent assets that are used in its business operations. The word fixed indicates that these assets will not be used up,...
What are accrual adjusting entries? Definition of Accrual Adjusting Entries Accrual adjusting entries or simply accruals are one of three types of adjusting entries which are prepared at the end of an accounting period...
What is net sales? Definition of Net Sales Under the accrual basis of accounting, net sales is the total amount of goods shipped/delivered to customers during a specified period of time minus any early payment discounts...
Why would a company use LIFO instead of FIFO? Definitions of FIFO and LIFO FIFO and LIFO are two of the cost flow assumptions used by U.S. companies with inventory items. FIFO moves the first/oldest costs from inventory...
Weekly Income Statement When I became a director of a meatpacking company, I was concerned about the thin profit margins, the corporation’s lack of working capital, and my inexperience in the industry. The company...
What is the difference between gross profit margin and gross margin? Definition of Gross Profit Gross profit is an amount that is computed as follows: A company’s net Sales minus its cost of goods sold A product’s...
Kindly illustrate various depreciation methods. Definition of Depreciation Depreciation is the systematic allocation of the cost of an asset to Depreciation Expenses over the asset’s useful life. If an asset will have...
Why is a product that sells for $50 reported in inventory at its cost of $40? Generally, items in inventory are valued at their cost—not their selling prices—because of the cost principle. Another reason for not...
What is the expanded accounting equation? Definition of Expanded Accounting Equation The expanded accounting equation provides more details for the owner’s equity amount shown in the basic accounting equation. The...
What is equity? Definitions and Examples of Equity Equity has several definitions that pertain to accounting: Equity can indicate an ownership interest in a business, such as stockholders’ equity or owner’s equity....
What is the bookkeeping equation? Definition of Bookkeeping Equation The bookkeeping equation (or accounting equation) is similar to the structure of the balance sheet: For a sole proprietorship: Assets = Liabilities +...
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...
Are liabilities always a bad thing? Definition of Liabilities Liabilities are a company’s obligations and are usually defined as a claim on the company’s assets. However, liabilities (and stockholders’ equity) can...
What is a deferred cost? Definition of Deferred Cost A deferred cost is a cost that is already recorded in a company’s accounts, but at least some of the cost should not be expensed until a future accounting period....
Do variance accounts have an impact on financial statements? Or are they for performance evaluation only? Since the financial statements must reflect the cost principle, both the standard costs and the variances must be...
What is meant by the term relevance in accounting? Definition of Relevance In accounting, the term relevance could mean one of the following: An amount, disclosure, etc. that will make a difference to the decision maker...
What is the difference between a deferred expense and a prepaid expense? Definition of Deferred Expense and Prepaid Expense Deferred expense and prepaid expense both refer to a payment that was made, but due to the...
When do you put parentheses ( ) around a number? Definition of Amounts in Parentheses Parentheses around a number could have a variety of meanings. For example, parentheses could indicate any of the following: A negative...
Why is there a large difference between share value and stockholders' equity? There can be many reasons why the market value of a corporation’s stock is much greater than the amount of stockholders’ equity reported...
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...
What is inventory shrinkage? Definition of Inventory Shrinkage Inventory shrinkage is a term to describe the loss of inventory. The shrinkage could be the result of theft, breakage, poor recordkeeping, etc. The term...
What are reversing entries and why are they used? Definition of Reversing Entries Reversing entries are made on the first day of an accounting period to remove accrual adjusting entries that were made at the end of the...
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