What is financial reporting? Definition of Financial Reporting Financial reporting includes all of a company’s communication of financial information to people outside of the company. Examples of Financial Reporting...
What is financial reporting? Definition of Financial Reporting Financial reporting includes all of a company’s communication of financial information to people outside of the company. Examples of Financial Reporting...
Are dividend payments shown as an expense on the income statement? Definition of Dividend Payments The cash dividends paid to stockholders are a distribution of the corporation’s earnings. Dividends are not an expense...
How do you calculate an asset's salvage value? Definition of Asset Salvage Value In accounting, an asset’s salvage value is the estimated amount that a company will receive at the end of a plant asset’s useful life....
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...
How are fully depreciated assets reported on the balance sheet? Definition of Fully Depreciated Asset A fully depreciated asset is a depreciable asset for which no additional depreciation expense will be recorded. In...
Where are short-term bank loans reported on the statement of cash flows? Definition of Short-Term Bank Loans Short-term bank loans are generally loans that must be repaid within one year of the date of the balance sheet....
How does an expense affect the balance sheet? Definition of Expense An expense is a cost that has been used up, expired, or is directly related to the earning of revenues. Most of a company’s expenses fall into the...
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...
Why do manufacturers use standard costs? One reason for a manufacturer to use standard costs is to plan carefully what its costs will be for the upcoming budgeting year and to then compare the actual costs with those...
Are sales discounts reported as an expense? Definition of Sales Discounts Sales discounts are also known as cash discounts or early payment discounts. Sales discounts (along with sales returns and allowances) are...
What is the difference between a trial balance and a balance sheet? Definition of Trial Balance A trial balance is an internal report that remains in the accounting department. The trial balance lists all of the accounts...
Does paying an account payable affect net income? Definition of Paying Accounts Payable Under the accrual basis of accounting, expenses are recorded when they have occurred, not when they are paid. Therefore, if an...
What increases a break-even point? Definition of Break-even Point The break-even point is the volume of sales in units or in dollars that is equal to a company’s total expenses (including the cost of goods sold). In...
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 a security deposit a current asset? Definition of Security Deposit A security deposit is often an amount paid by a tenant to a landlord to hold until the tenant moves. The amount of the security deposit is refundable...
In accounting, are debit balances good? It is best if you accept the meaning that the word debit has had for 500 years: a debit is an amount entered on the left-side of an account. Don’t add “good” or “bad” or...
What is a service department? Definition of Service Department A service department is usually associated with a manufacturer’s production departments. However, a service department does not produce any of the...
What is comprehensive income? Definition of Comprehensive Income Comprehensive income for a corporation is the combination of the following amounts which occurred during a specified period of time such as a year,...
How do you record the interest that is unpaid on a note payable? Definition of Interest Unpaid on Note Payable Interest that has occurred, but has not been paid as of a balance sheet date, is referred to as accrued...
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...
What is included in cash and cash equivalents? Examples of Cash In accounting, a company’s cash includes the following: currency and coins checks received from customers but not yet deposited checking accounts petty...
What is stock? Definition of Stock In business there are at least common meanings for the term stock: Some people use the word stock to mean inventory. In other words, they mean the goods (products, component parts,...
What is the acid test ratio? Definition of Acid Test Ratio The acid test ratio, which is also known as the quick ratio, compares the total of a company’s cash, temporary marketable securities, and accounts receivable...
What is a restrictive endorsement? Definition of Restrictive Endorsement A restrictive endorsement or restricted endorsement places a limitation on the use of a check or other negotiable financial instrument. Using a...
Where should I enter unpaid wages? Definition of Unpaid Wages Unpaid wages are usually the amounts that hourly-paid employees have earned, but have not yet been paid to the employees. Entering Unpaid Wages Under the...
What is a cost variance? Definition of Cost Variance Generally a cost variance is the difference between the actual amount of a cost and its budgeted or planned amount. For example, if a company had actual repairs...
What is IFRS? IFRS is the acronym for International Financial Reporting Standards. IFRS is used throughout the world except in the United States where U.S. GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) is followed....
What is the provision for bad debts? Definition of Provision for Bad Debts The provision for bad debts could refer to the balance sheet account also known as the Allowance for Bad Debts, Allowance for Doubtful Accounts,...
What is managerial accounting? Definition of Managerial Accounting Managerial accounting is also known as management accounting and it includes many of the topics that are included in cost accounting. Some of the...
Is advertising an asset or an expense? Definition of Advertising Expense Advertising is the amount a company incurs to promote its products, brands, and image via television, radio, magazines, Internet, etc. Since the...
What is the difference between an unadjusted trial balance and an adjusted trial balance? Difference between Unadjusted Trial Balance and Adjusted Trial Balance The differences between an unadjusted trial balance and an...
Where does a bond sinking fund appear on the balance sheet? Definition of Bond Sinking Fund A bond sinking fund is an investment made by a corporation that is restricted for the purpose of retiring its bonds payable,...
If a customer pays for the same invoice twice, should the customer be informed? I say yes. If you become aware of the double payment when posting the customer’s second remittance, I would double check your records...
A term often used when referring to office workers, managers, professionals, and executives. These employees’ pay is often stated as a salary for a month (and not as an hourly pay rate).
A term often used when referring to production workers and other workers who are paid with an hourly pay rate. These workers’ compensation is referred to as “wages” (as opposed to salaries).
Our Explanation of Debits and Credits describes the reasons why various accounts are debited and/or credited. For the examples we provide the logic, use T-accounts for a clearer understanding, and the appropriate general...
Our Explanation of Accounting Basics uses a simple story to introduce important accounting concepts and terminology. It illustrates how transactions will be included in a company's financial statements.
Financial Ratios For multiple-choice and true/false questions, simply press or click on what you think is the correct answer. For fill-in-the-blank questions, press or click on the blank space provided. If you have...
Our Explanation of Evaluating Business Investments compares four of the techniques for reviewing potential capital expenditures. You will be introduced to accounting rate of return, payback, net present value, and...
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