Is the sales tax on merchandise purchased for resale included in inventory? In our state, sales tax is paid only by the end customer. In other words, a retailer does not pay sales tax on merchandise that is purchased for...
Is the sales tax on merchandise purchased for resale included in inventory? In our state, sales tax is paid only by the end customer. In other words, a retailer does not pay sales tax on merchandise that is purchased for...
Why can a retailer record its purchase of merchandise as a debit to purchases within the cost of goods sold, instead of the asset inventory? Before we explain why companies will record the purchases of merchandise in the...
What is cycle counting? Cycle counting refers to physically counting a portion of the inventory items on many days throughout the year instead of counting all of the items on a single day near the end of the year. For...
How do you determine whether a person is an independent contractor or an employee? To assist you in determining whether someone is an independent contractor or an employee, you should refer to the Internal Revenue...
What is burn rate? In business, burn rate is usually the monthly amount of cash spent in the early years of a start-up business. Burn rate is an important metric since the new business must spend time and money...
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...
What causes a corporation's market value to be greater than its book value? One cause of a corporation’s market value being greater than its book value is the accountant’s cost principle. In order for an item to be...
money to the business, the entry will be to debit Cash and credit a liability account such as Notes Payable. (If Amy invests an asset other than cash, the business will record the cash equivalent or fair market value of...
) amount of retained earnings is reported as a separate line within stockholders’ equity. The owner’s drawing account in a sole proprietorship will have a debit balance. Hence, if it is reported as a separate line,...
What is the meaning of pro rata? Pro rata is a Latin term that means in proportion. Pro rata is related to prorate, a term used in cost accounting. To illustrate the term pro rata, let’s assume that a company’s...
Why is an amount in the cash flows from investing activities shown in parenthesis? An amount shown in parenthesis within the investing activities section of the cash flow statement indicates that cash was used to...
What is the cost of goods manufactured? Definition of Cost of Goods Manufactured The cost of goods manufactured is a calculation of the production costs of the goods that were completed during an accounting period. In...
How are dividends paid when there are dividends in arrears? Definition of Dividends in Arrears Dividends in arrears exist when a corporation has: Cumulative preferred stock Omitted past dividends on the cumulative...
the appraisal amounts as a logical way to divide up the cost of $220,000 between land and building. Here is one approach: Assign or allocate $44,000 to the account Land. This is 20% of the $220,000 cost. Assign or...
What is a noncurrent asset? Definition of Noncurrent Asset A noncurrent asset is an asset that is not expected to turn to cash within one year of date shown on a company’s balance sheet. (This assumes that the company...
the warranty period will be debited to the Warranty Liability account—thereby reducing the liability balance. Join PRO to Track Progress Mark the Question as Read Must-Watch Video Learn How to Advance Your Accounting...
What is the difference between stocks and bonds? Definition of Stocks Stocks, or shares of capital stock, represent an ownership interest in a corporation. Every corporation has common stock. Some corporations issue...
What is the meaning of systematic and rational allocation? Definition of Systematic and Rational Allocation Systematic and rational allocation is typically included in the definition of depreciation. In this context, it...
What is ERP? Definition of ERP In accounting, ERP is the acronym for enterprise resource planning. ERP could be described as a database software package that supports all of a business’s processes and operations...
What is the difference between FIFO and LIFO? Difference Between FIFO and LIFO The difference between FIFO and LIFO will exist only if the unit costs of a company’s products are increasing or decreasing. U.S. companies...
What is the difference between loan interest and bank loan repayment? Definition of Loan Interest Loan interest is the expense a borrower incurs for using a lender’s money. Loan interest is also the income earned by a...
What is an unpresented check? An unpresented check is a check written by a company and entered in its records, but the check has not yet cleared the company’s checking account. In other words, the check has not yet...
What is an invoice? Definition of Invoice An invoice is a dated bill prepared by the seller of goods sold (or services provided) which includes brief descriptions of the items, quantities of items and their unit prices,...
What is FIFO? Definition of FIFO In accounting, FIFO is the acronym for First-In, First-Out. It is a cost flow assumption usually associated with the valuation of inventory and the cost of goods sold. Under FIFO, the...
What is a compilation? Definition of Compilation A compilation refers to a company’s financial statements that have been prepared or compiled by an outside accountant. A compilation is usually part of an accounting...
What does it mean to reclassify an amount? Definition of Reclassify an Amount To reclassify an amount likely means to move an amount from one general ledger account to another general ledger account. Example of...
How do you record the sale of land? Definition of Sale of Land Assume that a retailer sells land that it had been holding for a future store. The retailer must remove the cost of the land from its general ledger asset...
will be a debit of $1,000 to the income statement account Depreciation Expense and a credit of $1,000 to the balance sheet contra asset account Accumulated Depreciation. Depreciation on the Income Statement The...
What is the cost of goods available? Definition of Cost of Goods Available For non-manufacturing companies using the periodic inventory system in its general ledger, the cost of goods available (COGA, or cost of goods...
What is float? Definition of Float In accounting and bookkeeping, float is the time between the writing of a check and the time that the check clears the bank account on which it is drawn. Examples of Float Payer...
What is a comparative income statement? A comparative income statement will consist of two or three columns of amounts appearing to the right of the account titles or descriptions. For example, the income statement for...
What is a calendar year? Definition of Calendar Year A calendar year is the 12 consecutive months from January through December. In other words, it is the 365 days (366 days in a leap year) beginning on January 1 and...
which is lower than the market interest rate for similar bonds. The difference between the amount received and the face or maturity amount is recorded in the corporation’s general ledger contra liability account...
How do you record a check that clears the bank months after it was voided? Since you had voided the check months earlier, your general ledger no longer reflects 1) the original credit to the cash account, and 2) the...
What is a stockholder? Definition of Stockholder A stockholder (also known as a shareholder) is the owner of one or more shares of a corporation’s capital stock. A stockholder is considered to be separate from the...
four months earlier and the check has not yet cleared the company’s bank account. Example of Writing Off an Old Outstanding Check On January 22, a company issued a check for $124 for a business expense. As of June 30,...
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...
What are payroll withholding taxes? Definition of Payroll Withholding Taxes In the U.S. payroll withholding taxes are the taxes that an employer is required to deduct from its employees’ gross wages, salaries, bonuses,...
What is a letter of credit? A letter of credit is a letter or document issued by a bank for use by one of its customers. The letter of credit states that the bank will guarantee payment up to the stated amount for...
What is the difference between expenses and payments? Definition of Expenses and Payments Under the accrual method of accounting, expenses are costs that have been used up or have been incurred in the process of earning...
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