Is the cost of goods sold an expense? Why the Cost of Goods Sold is an Expense We often think of expenses as salaries, advertising, rent, commissions, interest, and so on. However, the cost of goods sold is also an...
Is the cost of goods sold an expense? Why the Cost of Goods Sold is an Expense We often think of expenses as salaries, advertising, rent, commissions, interest, and so on. However, the cost of goods sold is also an...
Does collecting a customer's accounts receivable affect net income? Definition of Accounts Receivable Accounts receivable is a current asset that results when a company reports revenues from sales of products or the...
What is the effective interest rate for a bond? Definition of Effective Interest Rate of a Bond The effective interest rate of a bond is usually the market interest rate and the bond’s yield-to-maturity (as opposed to...
How do I write off old outstanding checks? Definition of an Old Outstanding Check We will assume that an outstanding check has appeared on the outstanding check list that is part of the company’s bank reconciliation...
What is Subchapter S? Subchapter S refers to a section of Chapter 1 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. A subchapter S corporation, which is also referred to as an S corporation, is a corporation that does not pay the...
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...
How do you calculate ending inventory? Physically Counting the Items in Inventory One method for calculating the cost of a company’s ending inventory is to 1) physically count the quantity of each of the items in...
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 accrued payroll? Definition of Accrued Payroll Accrued payroll includes wages, salaries, commissions, bonuses, and other payroll related expenses that have been earned by a company’s employees, but have not yet...
What is the difference between a bookkeeper and an accounting clerk? I envision a bookkeeper as a person employed by a smaller company and being responsible for recording nearly all of its transactions. Hence, the...
If cash and a note are exchanged for a plant asset, is the amount of the note used in the depreciation calculation? A plant asset’s cost is depreciated, unless the asset is land. Cost is defined as the cash or cash...
What is work-in-process inventory (WIP)? Definition of Work-in-process Inventory Work-in-process (WIP) inventory pertains to the goods for which the manufacturing has begun, but not yet completed. In other words, WIP is...
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 is the fixed asset turnover ratio? Definition of Fixed Asset Turnover Ratio The fixed asset turnover ratio shows the relationship between a company’s annual net sales and the net amount of its fixed assets. The...
What is Big 4 Accounting? In accounting, the Big 4 refers to the four largest public accounting and auditing firms: Deloitte PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC Ernst & Young (EY) KPMG These certified public accounting (CPA)...
What is a/c? Definition of a/c In accounting, a/c is the abbreviation for account. Example of a/c An accountant might leave the following note for a subordinate: “Please review the balance in the a/c Interest...
How do you amortize goodwill? Definition of Amortize Goodwill Prior to 2001, to amortize goodwill meant to consistently and in uniform increments move the reported amount of the intangible asset goodwill from the balance...
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? Definition of Inventory Inventory is a very significant current asset for retailers, distributors, and manufacturers. Inventory serves as a buffer between 1) a company’s sales of goods, and 2) its...
What is the carrying amount? Definition of Carrying Amount The term carrying amount is also known as book value or carrying value. The term carrying amount is often used when there is a valuation account associated with...
Is it a requirement for a small business to have a CPA? Generally, a small business is not required to have a CPA or certified public accountant. A CPA would be needed if the small business must have its financial...
Why isn't a corporation's dividend shown on its income statement? Definition of Dividend A dividend paid by a corporation on its common stock is a distribution of the corporation’s net income (earnings, profits). The...
How should the cost of a yearly subscription for a newspaper be recorded? Definition of Recording a Yearly Subscription Typically, yearly subscriptions are paid in advance or at the start of the subscription period. If...
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 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...
Is a security deposit for a rental agreement recorded in a liability account? The person paying the security deposit would credit the asset account Cash and would debit the asset account Security Deposits. The person...
How can a company with a net loss show a positive cash flow? Definition of Net Loss A net loss occurs when a company’s revenues and gains are less than its operating expenses, other expenses and losses. The net loss or...
What does drop ship mean? One example of drop ship is a manufacturer shipping goods directly to one of its customers’ customer (instead of delivering the goods to the customer that placed the order with the...
What is the difference between adjusting entries and correcting entries? Definition of Adjusting Entries Generally, adjusting entries are required at the end of every accounting period so that a company’s financial...
What is notes receivable? Definition of Notes Receivable Notes receivable is an asset of a company, bank or other organization that holds a written promissory note from another party. (The other party will have a note...
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 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 the purpose of assigning accounts receivable? The purpose of assigning accounts receivable is to provide collateral in order to obtain a loan. To illustrate, let’s assume that a corporation receives a special...
What is the effect on financial ratios when using LIFO instead of FIFO? Definition of Effect of LIFO Instead of FIFO During periods of significantly increasing costs, the LIFO cost flow assumption instead of the FIFO...
What is cash from operating activities? Definition of Cash from Operating Activities Cash from operating activities usually refers to the first section of the statement of cash flows. Cash from operating activities...
What are gross sales? Definition of Gross Sales Gross sales are the amounts a company earned from selling its products. The amounts originate from the company’s sales invoices but the total will be adjusted to the...
What is the free cash flow ratio? Definition of Free Cash Flow Free cash flow for a year is an amount (as opposed to a ratio or percentage) usually defined as: net cash provided by operating activities for the year minus...
What is the difference between dividends and interest expense? Definition of Dividends Dividends are a distribution of a corporation’s earnings to its stockholders. Dividends are not an expense of the corporation and...
How is a voucher used in accounts payable? Definition of Voucher A voucher is often a prenumbered form used in the accounts payable department to standardize and enhance a company’s internal control over payments to...
Is income tax an expense or liability? Definition of Income Tax In the accounting for a regular U.S. corporation, income tax usually refers to the federal, state, local, and foreign countries’ taxes that are levied...
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