What is the difference between a cost center and a profit center? Definition of Cost Center A cost center is a subunit of a company that is responsible only for its costs. A few examples of cost centers are: Production...
What is the difference between a cost center and a profit center? Definition of Cost Center A cost center is a subunit of a company that is responsible only for its costs. A few examples of cost centers are: Production...
What is interest payable? Definition of Interest Payable Interest payable is the interest expense that has been incurred (has already occurred) but has not been paid as of the date of the balance sheet. [Interest payable...
What does double entry mean? Definition of Double Entry In accounting, double entry means that every transaction will involve at least two accounts. Double entry also requires that one account be debited and the other...
Should trademarks be included on the balance sheet? Definition of Trademark In the U.S. a trademark could be a word, phrase, logo, etc. registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. If a company purchases a...
What is treasury stock? Definition of Treasury Stock Treasury stock is usually a corporation’s previously issued shares of common stock that have been purchased from the stockholders, but the corporation has not...
Can you help me to understand credit memo and debit memo in the bank reconciliation? Definition of Bank Credit Memo A bank credit memo is an item on a company’s bank account statement that increases a company’s...
What is an escrow payment? An escrow payment is an amount deposited with another party and it is to be released only for its specified purpose. The following is one example of an escrow payment. A borrower and lender...
What is historical cost? Definition of Historical Cost Historical cost is a term used instead of the term cost. Cost and historical cost usually mean the original cost at the time of a transaction. The term historical...
How is a short term bank loan recorded? Definition of Short Term Bank Loan When a company borrows money from its bank and agrees to repay the loan amount within a year, the company will record the loan by increasing its...
Where is accrued income reported in the balance sheet? Definition of Accrued Income Accrued income refers to amounts that have been earned, but the amounts have not yet been received. For example, a corporation may have...
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...
What is an unpresented cheque or check and does it require an adjustment to the balance sheet? Definition of Unpresented Cheque or Check An unpresented cheque is a check that a company has written, but the check has not...
What is a fringe benefit rate? Definition of Fringe Benefit Rate A fringe benefit rate is a percentage that results from dividing the cost of an employee’s fringe benefits by the wages paid to the employee for the...
What is a deferral? Definition of Deferral A deferral often refers to an amount that was paid or received, but the amount cannot be reported on the current income statement since it will be an expense or revenue of a...
What is the entry to remove equipment that is sold before it is fully depreciated? Entries To Record a Sale of Equipment When equipment that is used in a business is disposed of (sold) for cash before it is fully...
What does it mean to rotate stock? Definition of Rotating Inventory Stock To rotate stock means to arrange the oldest units in inventory so they are sold before the newer units. The goal is to avoid losses due to getting...
How are the balance sheet and income statement connected? Connection between Balance Sheet and Income Statement The connection between the balance sheet and the income statement results from: The use of double-entry...
What is a credit memo? Definition of Credit Memo One type of credit memo is issued by a seller in order to reduce the amount that a customer owes from a previously issued sales invoice. Another type of credit memo, or...
What is the difference between a note payable and a bond payable? Definition of Note Payable and Bond Payable For accounting purposes, a note payable and a bond payable have the following similarities: Formal written...
What are production costs? Definition of Production Costs In managerial accounting and cost accounting, production costs are the costs that occur in the manufacturing facilities. Production costs are also referred to as...
What are goods in transit? Definition of Goods in Transit Goods in transit refers to inventory items and other products that have been shipped by a seller, but have not yet reached the purchaser. When goods are in...
What is interest expense? Definition of Interest Expense Interest expense is the cost of borrowing money during a specified period of time. Interest expense is occurring daily, but the interest is likely to be paid...
What is bad debts? Definition of Bad Debts The term bad debts usually refers to accounts receivable (or trade accounts receivable) that will not be collected. (Bad debts is also used for notes receivable that will not be...
How do you treat voided checks on the bank reconciliation? Definition of Voided Check on Bank Reconciliation If a check was voided in the current month but was written in the previous month and appeared on the previous...
What is accumulated depreciation? Definition of Accumulated Depreciation Accumulated depreciation is the total amount of a plant asset’s cost that has been allocated to depreciation expense (or to manufacturing...
What is the entry for a loan to an employee? Definition of Loan to Employee A loan to an employee is money advanced by the company to assist the employee. If the employee is expected to repay the loan within one year of...
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 purchase discounts lost? Definition of Purchase Discounts Lost The account Purchase Discounts Lost is a general ledger account used by a company that records vendors’ invoices using the net method. A debit...
What is the difference between actual overhead and applied overhead? Definition of Actual Overhead In the context of actual and applied overhead, actual overhead refers to a manufacturer’s indirect manufacturing costs....
What is a sole proprietorship? Definition of Sole Proprietorship A sole proprietorship is a form of business organization that is owned by one person and is easy to start. The owner is referred to as a sole proprietor....
What is stockholders' equity? Definition of Stockholders’ Equity Stockholders’ equity (also known as shareholders’ equity) is reported on a corporation’s balance sheet and its amount is the difference between the...
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...
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...
Which items on a bank reconciliation will require a journal entry? Journal Entries for Bank Reconciliation The items on the bank reconciliation that require a journal entry are the items noted as adjustments to books....
What are the reasons for high inventory days? Definition of Inventory Days I assume that inventory days is referring to the days’ sales in inventory. If so, then inventory days is also related to the inventory turnover...
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...
What is a memorandum entry? Definition of Memorandum Entry A memorandum entry is a short message entered into the general journal and also entered into a general ledger account. It is not a complete journal entry because...
Why are average balance sheet amounts used in calculating the turnover ratios? In the calculation of a turnover ratio, the numerator is an amount from an annual income statement, while the denominator is a balance sheet...
Should an owner's compensation be recorded as an expense or in the Drawing account? If the enterprise is a sole proprietorship, the owner’s compensation should be debited to the Drawing account. If the enterprise is a...
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...
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