What does crossfoot mean? Definition of Crossfoot or Crossfooting Accountants and auditors use the word foot to mean adding one or more columns of numbers. When there are several columns of numbers along with a...
What does crossfoot mean? Definition of Crossfoot or Crossfooting Accountants and auditors use the word foot to mean adding one or more columns of numbers. When there are several columns of numbers along with a...
Why is an increase in inventory shown as a negative amount in the statement of cash flows? Meaning of a Negative Amount on Statement of Cash Flows A negative amount on the statement of cash flows (SCF) indicates that the...
What is an asset's useful life? Definition of Asset’s Useful Life An asset’s useful life is the estimated period of time (or total amount of activity) that a long-lived asset will be economically feasible for use in...
What is practical capacity? Definition of Practical Capacity Practical capacity is a manufacturer’s level of output (often expressed in machine hours, barrels, pounds, etc.). Practical capacity is less than its...
What is boilerplate? In business, boilerplate is a term to describe the standard wording that is contained in warranties and other documents. Generally, the information that is boilerplate is not subject to change....
What is prime cost? Definition of Prime Cost In cost accounting, the prime cost of a manufactured product is the combination of the following: Direct materials cost Direct labor cost The indirect manufacturing costs...
What is an outlier? In cost accounting, an outlier could be a cost or its related level of activity that is out of line with other observations. An outlier can be detected by plotting each observation’s cost and...
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...
What is a noncash expense? Definition of a Noncash Expense A noncash expense is an expense that is reported on the income statement of the current accounting period, but the related cash payment took place in another...
What is the debt ratio? Definition of Debt Ratio The debt ratio is also known as the debt to asset ratio or the total debt to total assets ratio. Hence, the formula for the debt ratio is: total liabilities divided by...
What is EOQ? Definition of EOQ EOQ is the acronym for economic order quantity. The economic order quantity is the optimum quantity of an item to be purchased at one time in order to minimize the combined annual costs of...
What is an expense? Definition of Expense Under the accrual method of accounting, an expense is a cost that is reported on the income statement for the period in which: The cost best matches the related revenues The cost...
Should inventories be reported at their cost or at their selling prices? Definition of Inventory Cost Inventories are reported at cost, not at selling prices. A retailer’s inventory cost is the cost to purchase the...
What are the elements of financial statements? Definition of Elements of Financial Statements The elements of financial statements are the classes of items contained in the financial statements. Examples of Elements of...
Which financial statement tells the value of a business? None of the financial statements will report the value of a business. The main financial statements (balance sheet, income statement, statement of cash flows,...
What is a lump sum payment? A lump sum payment is often associated with a single amount paid to acquire a group of items. For instance, a corporation might pay $50,000 for the inventory and equipment of a small...
What are nonmanufacturing overhead costs? Definition of Nonmanufacturing Overhead Costs Nonmanufacturing overhead costs are the business expenses that are outside of a company’s manufacturing operations. In other...
What is the difference between income and profit? Definition of Income The term income is used differently by many people. For some, income means the money coming in, such as What is your family income? What is your...
What is the distinction between debtor and creditor? Definition of Debtor A debtor is a person or enterprise that owes money to another party. The party to whom the money is owed might be a supplier, bank, or other...
What is a liquidity ratio? Definition of Liquidity Ratio A liquidity ratio is a financial ratio that indicates whether a company’s current assets will be sufficient to meet the company’s obligations when they become...
What is a mortgage loan? Definition of Mortgage Loan A mortgage loan is a loan associated with the purchase of real estate, such as a home or buildings used in a business. As part of the loan process, the lender files a...
What is the full disclosure principle? Definition of Full Disclosure Principle The full disclosure principle requires a company to provide the necessary information so that people who are accustomed to reading financial...
What is the stated interest rate of a bond payable? Definition of Stated Interest Rate of a Bond The stated interest rate of a bond payable is the annual interest rate that is printed on the face of the bond and stated...
Are fixed assets the same as plant assets? Definition of Fixed Assets and Plant Assets My experience indicates that people use the term fixed assets to mean the same as plant assets. As a result, I define both fixed...
What is net working capital? Definition of Net Working Capital Net working capital is the amount (as opposed to being a ratio) remaining after subtracting a company’s total amount of current liabilities from its total...
What is the meaning of debtor? Definition of Debtor A debtor is a person, company, or other entity that owes money. In other words, the debtor has a debt or legal obligation to pay the amount owed. Example of Debtor If...
Are salaried employees entitled to overtime pay? Some salaried employees are entitled to overtime pay. The salaried employees entitled to overtime pay are referred to as nonexempt employees. Nonexempt means that the...
What is NIFO? NIFO is the acronym for next-in, first-out. NIFO is a cost flow assumption, just as FIFO and LIFO are cost flow assumptions. However, NIFO is not acceptable for financial reporting since it calls for a...
How do I calculate the cost of goods sold for a manufacturing company? Calculation of the Cost of Goods Sold for a Manufacturer The calculation of the cost of goods sold for a manufacturing company is: Beginning...
What is bookkeeping? Definition of Bookkeeping Bookkeeping includes the recording, storing and retrieving of financial transactions for a business, nonprofit organization, individual, etc. Examples of Bookkeeping Tasks...
Are earnings different from profits? Earnings and profits are often used interchangeably. Others might make a distinction between the two words. In the case of earnings per share, earnings means a corporation’s net...
What is the cost principle? Definition of Cost Principle The cost principle is one of the basic underlying guidelines in accounting. It is also known as the historical cost principle. The cost principle requires that...
What is the gross margin ratio? Definition of Gross Margin Ratio The gross margin ratio is a percentage resulting from dividing the amount of a company’s gross profit by the amount of its net sales. (The gross margin...
What entry is made when selling a fixed asset? Defining the Entries When Selling a Fixed Asset When a fixed asset or plant asset is sold, there are several things that must take place: The fixed asset’s depreciation...
How can I learn bookkeeping? You can learn bookkeeping at no cost on our website AccountingCoach.com. We recently expanded our Explanation of Bookkeeping, and we have many other topics that are relevant including debits...
What is a balance sheet and why is it prepared? Definition of Balance Sheet The balance sheet is prepared in order to report an organization’s financial position at the end of an accounting period, such as midnight on...
Is there a difference between an expense and an expenditure? Definition of Expense An expense is reported on the income statement in the period in which the cost matches the related sales, has expired, was used up, or...
What is long-term debt? Definition of Long-term Debt In accounting, long-term debt generally refers to a company’s loans and other liabilities that will not become due within one year of the balance sheet date. (The...
What is the difference between an invoice and a statement? Definition of an Invoice An invoice received from a supplier shows the items purchased, the cost per unit, the total cost or extension of each item, the total of...
How does inflation affect the cost of goods sold? Inflation and the Cost of Goods Sold Generally speaking, a company selling goods during periods of inflation will see an increase in its cost of goods sold. When and by...
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