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 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 capital stock? Definition of Capital Stock Capital stock refers to the shares of ownership that have been issued by a corporation. The amount received by the corporation when its shares of capital stock were...
What is a deferred asset? Definition of Deferred Asset A deferred asset represents costs that have occurred, but because of certain circumstances the costs will be reported as expenses at a later time. You might consider...
What does the term organic growth mean? Organic growth often refers to the growth in a company’s sales that did not occur because of an acquisition of another company. Expressed another way, organic growth is...
Why are expenses debited? Why Expenses Are Debited Expenses cause owner’s equity to decrease. Since owner’s equity’s normal balance is a credit balance, an expense must be recorded as a debit. At the end of the...
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 a ledger and a trial balance? Definition of a Ledger A ledger is often defined as a book of accounts. Today the ledger and its accounts are likely to be an electronic record or file....
Where does accrued interest on notes receivable get reported on the balance sheet? Definition of Accrued Interest on Notes Receivable Accrued interest on notes receivable is the amount of interest the lender has earned,...
Is the provision for doubtful debts an operating expense? Definition of Provision for Doubtful Debts Some companies use Provision for Doubtful Debts as the name of the contra-asset account which is reported on the...
Is a loan payment an expense? Definition of Loan Payment Generally a loan payment consists of: An interest payment, which is an expense A principal payment, which reduces the loan’s principal balance If the interest...
What is a BOM? Definition of BOM BOM is the acronym for bill of materials. A BOM is a listing of the quantities of each of the materials used to manufacture a product. Industrial manufacturers are likely to have an...
What are the required financial statements? The required financial statements for U.S. business corporations are: Statement of income. This financial statement is also known as the statement of operations, statement of...
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,...
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...
What is the expanded accounting equation? Definition of Expanded Accounting Equation The expanded accounting equation provides more details for the owner’s equity amount shown in the basic accounting equation. The...
Where should a business report cash which is restricted to purchase a long-term asset? The cash which a business has restricted to purchase a long-term asset should be reported on the balance sheet under the asset...
What is accounting? Definition of Accounting Accounting is the recording of financial transactions along with storing, sorting, retrieving, summarizing, and presenting the results in various reports and analyses....
What is an overdraft? Definition of Overdraft An overdraft (also known as a bank overdraft) generally means that the amount of a company’s checks being presented at the bank for payment exceeded the amount on deposit....
Will I be able to pass the CPA Exam after studying the accounting material on AccountingCoach.com? AccountingCoach.com contains introductory accounting material. While you need to master the principles and concepts...
What is a deposit in transit? Definition of Deposit in Transit A company’s deposit in transit is the currency and customers’ checks that have been received and are rightfully reported as cash on the date received,...
What is accrued income? Definition of Accrued Income Accrued income is an amount that: A company has earned The company has a right to receive The collection is probable Has not yet been recorded in the general ledger...
How do you calculate the actual or real interest rate on a bond investment? Definition of Actual or Real Interest Rate on a Bond Investment The actual or real interest rate on a bond payable is also known as effective...
What is a financial statement? Definition of Financial Statement Generally, the term financial statement could be referring to: General-purpose, external financial reports that are distributed by a company to people...
What are debits and credits? Definition of Debits and Credits Debits and credits are terms used in accounting and bookkeeping systems for the past five centuries. They are part of the double entry system which results in...
What is the difference between entries in a general journal versus a general ledger? Definition of General Journal The general journal is described as the book of original entry. Today the general journal is used to...
What is a journal? Definition of a Journal In accounting and bookkeeping, a journal is a record of financial transactions in order by date. Traditionally, a journal has been defined as the book of original entry. The...
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 inventory shrinkage? Definition of Inventory Shrinkage Inventory shrinkage is a term to describe the loss of inventory. The shrinkage could be the result of theft, breakage, poor recordkeeping, etc. The term...
Are payroll withholding taxes an expense or a liability? Definition of Payroll Withholding Taxes Payroll withholding taxes are amounts withheld from employees’ wages and salaries. The amounts withheld are actually the...
What is a rubber check? A rubber check is a check that is not paid (or honored) by the bank on which it is drawn. The reason the check is not paid is the maker’s account had insufficient funds or not sufficient funds...
What is accrued interest? Definition of Accrued Interest Accrued interest is the amount of loan interest that has already occurred, but has not yet been paid by the borrower and not yet received by the lender. Under the...
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 toxic asset? I would define a toxic asset as an investment whose value has dropped significantly and there is no market in which to sell the asset. To illustrate, let’s assume that at the peak of the real...
Is it possible to have a balance sheet for a single day? A balance sheet presents the amounts of a company’s assets, liabilities, and owner’s equity as of an instant or moment in time within a day. Usually it is the...
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...
What is the accounting entry to close the sole proprietorship drawing account? Definition of Sole Proprietorship Drawing Account The drawing or withdrawal account for a sole proprietorship is a temporary owner equity’s...
A corporation has a large balance in retained earnings. Does that mean that its dividends to stockholders will be increasing? Definition of Retained Earnings Retained earnings is one part of a corporation’s...
What is a transposition error? Definition of Transposition Error A transposition error occurs when an amount is recorded incorrectly as the result of switching the positions of two (or more) digits. The switching of the...
What is an accounting period? Definition of Accounting Period An accounting period is the period of time covered by a company’s financial statements. Common accounting periods for external financial statements include...
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