noncurrent (or long-term) assets. For example, capital expenditures (amounts spent for property, plant and equipment used in the business) and the purchase of long-term investments are uses of cash and therefore will be...
noncurrent (or long-term) assets. For example, capital expenditures (amounts spent for property, plant and equipment used in the business) and the purchase of long-term investments are uses of cash and therefore will be...
Since our Explanation of Cash Flow Statement illustrates how the amounts are determined, you will get a better understanding of this very important financial statement. No longer will you look at only the income...
What is other comprehensive income? Definition of Other Comprehensive Income Other comprehensive income, or OCI, consists of items that have an effect on the balance sheet amounts, but the effect is not reported on the...
What is the difference between information and data? I was taught that information is useful data. The point is there are lots of data (plural of datum) everywhere, and most of the data will not be useful to a decision...
How is petty cash reported on the financial statements? Definition of Petty Cash Petty Cash is a small amount of money that a company has available to pay small amounts without writing a company check. The money might be...
What is a contingent asset? Definition of Contingent Asset A contingent asset is a potential asset that is associated with a potential gain. The asset and gain are contingent because they are dependent upon some future...
If a company issues stocks or bonds to pay outstanding debt, should this noncash transaction be included in the cash flow statement? If a company issues stocks or bonds for cash and then pays off the debt, the...
What is a dividend and why is it needed? A dividend paid by a corporation is a distribution of profits to the owners of the corporation. The owners of a corporation are known as stockholders or shareholders. (In a sole...
What is a debenture? A debenture is an unsecured bond. In other words, a debenture is a bond without a lien on specific assets owned by the issuing corporation. Join PRO to Track Progress Mark the Question as Read...
What is a post-dated check? Definition of a Post-dated Check A post-dated check (or post-dated cheque) is a check written with a future date. In other words, the date that appears on the check is after the date when the...
Should a retailer's delivery surcharges be reported as revenues or as other income? I believe that a retailer’s delivery surcharges are a price adjustment and should be reported as operating revenues. The surcharges...
Is an automobile loan payment an expense? Only the interest portion of an automobile loan payment is an expense. The principal portion of the loan payment is a reduction of the loan balance, which is reported as a Note...
What is accounts payable? Definition of Accounts Payable Accounts payable involves the amounts owed by a company to its suppliers (vendors) for goods or services the company received on credit. Accounts payable is also...
What is gross pay? Definition of Gross Pay Gross pay is the amount an employee is paid before the employer withholds FICA (Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes), income taxes (federal, state, local) if applicable,...
What is the difference between a bookkeeper and an accountant? Before I provide a distinction, you should be aware that some people use the words interchangeably. Even though I was the accountant, treasurer, and CFO of a...
Is an entry made for outstanding checks when preparing a bank reconciliation? Definition of Outstanding Checks Outstanding checks are checks written by the company, recorded in the company accounts, but not yet appearing...
What is a lien? Definition of Lien A lien is a legal document filed by a creditor (lender) in order to record its claim on certain assets of the debtor (borrower). The lien is likely filed at the county government office...
What is the difference between an invoice and a voucher? Definition of an Invoice An invoice received from a vendor is a billing for goods or services that it had provided. The vendor’s invoice will include the...
What is a natural business year? Definition of Natural Business Year A natural business year is the period of 12 consecutive months (or 52-53 consecutive weeks) ending at a low point of the organization’s activities...
What is the segregation of duties? Definition of Segregation of Duties The segregation of duties involves dividing a task so that more than one person is involve in the company’s transactions. By segregating duties, it...
What is Form 10-K? Definition of Form 10-K Form 10-K is a required annual report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by U.S. corporations whose common stock is publicly traded. It is common for a...
What is the difference between stockholder and shareholder? Definition of Stockholder and Shareholder The term stockholder or shareholder typically describes an investor who own shares of a corporation’s common stock....
Why are accruals needed every month? Reasons for Monthly Accruals Accrual adjusting entries are needed monthly only if a company issues monthly financial statements. Two reasons for the monthly accrual adjusting entries...
What are accrual adjusting entries? Definition of Accrual Adjusting Entries Accrual adjusting entries or simply accruals are one of three types of adjusting entries which are prepared at the end of an accounting period...
What is the difference between public sector and private sector? Definition of Public Sector Public sector refers to: government-owned organizations, and government-provided services (Note: public sector entity is...
Where do dividends appear on the financial statements? Definition of Dividends Cash dividends are a distribution of a company’s profits. Financial Statements of a Corporation The main financial statements of a...
Are commissions considered to be revenues or expenses? Definition of Commissions Revenues or Expenses The company or person earning and receiving commissions (such as a percentage of sales) will have commissions revenue....
What is Construction Work-in-Progress? Definition of Construction Work-in-Progress Construction Work-in-Progress is a noncurrent asset account in which the costs of constructing long-term, fixed assets are recorded. The...
What is a basis point? A basis point is a hundredth (1/100) of a percentage point. Expressed another way, one percentage point is equal to 100 basis points. This means that if an interest rate drops by 1/2 of a...
What are accrued liabilities? Definition of Accrued Liabilities Accrued liabilities are usually expenses that have been incurred by a company as of the end of an accounting period, but the amounts have not yet been paid...
What is the difference between the current ratio and the acid test ratio? The difference between the current ratio and the acid test ratio (or quick ratio) mainly involves the current assets inventory and prepaid...
Are undeposited checks reported as cash? Undeposited checks that are not postdated (not dated with a future date) are reported as cash. Accountants define cash as more than just currency and coins. For example,...
What is the difference between stockholder and stakeholder? Definition of Stockholder A stockholder or shareholder is the owner of shares of a corporation’s common or preferred stock. Definition of Stakeholder A...
What is an account? Definition of Account In accounting, an account is a record in the general ledger that is used to sort and store transactions. For example, companies will have a Cash account in which to record every...
When are expenses credited? Definition of Expenses Credited Normally, the general ledger accounts for expenses are debited and are expected to have debit balances. The reason they are debited is they cause the normal...
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 the entry for the down payment from a signed contract? Definition of Down Payment on a Contract A down payment on a signed contract means a company has received money in advance of doing the work specified in the...
What are term bonds and serial bonds? Term bonds are bonds which mature or come due on a single date. Serial bonds are bonds which do not mature or come due on a single date. Instead, serial bonds have maturity dates...
Why do bonds rarely sell for their maturity value? The reasons why bonds rarely sell for their maturity value are: The interest paid is usually fixed at the interest rate that is stated on the face of the bond. As a...
Are retained earnings an asset? Definition of Retained Earnings Usually, retained earnings consists of a corporation’s earnings since the corporation was formed minus the amount that was distributed to the stockholders...
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