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 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 difference between assets and fixed assets? Assets are resources owned by a company as the result of transactions. Examples of assets are cash, accounts receivable, inventory, prepaid insurance, land,...
Financial Statements (Word Scramble) Download PDF To see each answer, press or click on the blue "Unscramble" button. If you have difficulty answering the following questions, learn more about this topic by reading our...
Our Explanation of Bonds Payable covers the recording of bonds, the accrual of interest expense, and the amortization of the discount and premium on bonds payable. You gain an understanding on why the market value of...
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...
What is the difference between bad debt and doubtful debt? Definition of Bad Debt and Doubtful Debt In accounting, the terms bad debt and doubtful debt usually refer to the amounts owed by a company’s customers who...
Our Explanation of Financial Statements provides you with the highlights of each of the five external financial statements issued by U.S. corporations. Our insights will give you a good understanding of what the...
What is the difference between equity financing and debt financing? Definition of Equity Financing Equity financing involves increasing the owner’s equity of a sole proprietorship or increasing the stockholders’...
What is leverage? Definition of Leverage In accounting and finance, leverage is the use of a significant amount of debt to purchase an asset, operate a company, acquire another company, etc. Since the cost of debt is...
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...
What is discount on bonds payable? Definition of Discount on Bonds Payable Discount on bonds payable (or bond discount) occurs when a corporation issues bonds and receives less than the bonds’ face or maturity amount....
Our Explanation of Bookkeeping provides you with a rich understanding of the recording of transactions. It then discusses the additional steps necessary for preparing accurate financial statements. This is great for...
Is a money market account a current asset or a fixed asset? A money market account is a current asset unless it is restricted for a long-term purpose. The amount of an unrestricted money market account will likely be...
A liability account whose balance is the unpaid principal balance as of the balance sheet date. The amount of principal required to be paid within 12 months of the balance sheet date is reported as a current liability....
An asset representing the right to receive the principal amount contained in a written promissory note. Principal that is to be received within one year of the balance sheet date is reported as a current asset. Any...
A major classification on the balance sheet. It is the second long term asset section after current assets. Included are land, buildings, leasehold improvements, equipment, furniture, fixtures, delivery trucks,...
A long-term asset which indicates the cost of the constructed improvements to land, such as driveways, walkways, lighting, and parking lots. Land Improvements will be depreciated over their useful life by debiting the...
Equipment is a noncurrent or long-term asset account which reports the cost of the equipment. Equipment will be depreciated over its useful life by debiting the income statement account Depreciation Expense and crediting...
Also referred to as peripheral activities. A company’s activities outside of its main activities of buying/producing and selling. Examples include a retailer’s financing function involving interest revenue...
A bond (long term note) that can be exchanged by the holder for a specified number of shares of stock in the company. The convertibility feature usually allows for the bond to have a lower interest rate when it is...
A long term asset account containing the cost of delivery equipment acquired by a company and used in its business. The account will appear on the balance sheet under the heading of Property, Plant and Equipment. There...
Accounts that have some restrictions. For example, an investment account and a cash account might be restricted for the construction of a new factory. The restrictions mean that these accounts be reported as a long-term...
Our Explanation of Bonds Payable covers the recording of bonds, the accrual of interest expense, and the amortization of the discount and premium on bonds payable. You gain an understanding on why the market value of...
Our Explanation of Bonds Payable covers the recording of bonds, the accrual of interest expense, and the amortization of the discount and premium on bonds payable. You gain an understanding on why the market value of...
Our Explanation of Bonds Payable covers the recording of bonds, the accrual of interest expense, and the amortization of the discount and premium on bonds payable. You gain an understanding on why the market value of...
What is reported as property, plant and equipment? Definition of Property, Plant and Equipment Property, plant and equipment is the long-term asset or noncurrent asset section of the balance sheet that reports the...
How should a mortgage loan payable be reported on a classified balance sheet? Definition of a Mortgage Loan Payable The account Mortgage Loan Payable contains the principal amount owed on a mortgage loan. (Any interest...
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...
What are assets? Definition of Assets In accounting and bookkeeping, a company’s assets can be defined as: Resources or things of value that are owned by a company as the result of company transactions Prepaid expenses...
What is the net book value of a noncurrent asset? The net book value of a noncurrent asset is the net amount reported on the balance sheet for a long-term asset. To illustrate net book value, let’s assume that several...
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...
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...
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...
Working Capital and Liquidity Working Capital Working capital is defined as current assets minus current liabilities. Therefore, a company with current assets of $43,000 and current liabilities of $38,000 has working...
Are depreciation, depletion and amortization similar? In accounting the terms depreciation, depletion and amortization often involve the movement of costs from the balance sheet to the income statement in a systematic...
What is solvency? Definition of Solvency I use the term solvency to mean a company is able to 1) pay its obligations when they come due, and 2) continue in business. Some people look to a company’s working capital to...
Cash Flow Statement Cash Flow Statement The cash flow statement is officially known as the statement of cash flows (SCF). It reports the major cash inflows and outflows that have occurred during the accounting period...
What is hurdle rate? Definition of Hurdle Rate In capital budgeting, the term hurdle rate is the minimum rate that a company wants to earn when investing in a project. Therefore, the hurdle rate is also referred to as...
How do I calculate the after-tax cost of debt? Definition of After-Tax Cost of Debt The after-tax cost of debt is the interest paid on the debt minus the income tax savings as the result of deducting the interest expense...
Why does a bond's price decrease when interest rates increase? Definition of Bond’s Price A bond’s price is the present value of the following future cash amounts: The cash interest payments that occur every six...
Featured Review
"I am currently an accounts payable specialist for a hospital in my city residence. I became a PRO user years ago because I was looking for a website that could assist in improving my bookkeeping skills, as I wish to eventually open my own business one day. I really like the use of the materials, such as the chapter breakdowns, the summaries I can read over, the quizzes to ensure I learned what I was reading, and so much more. I feel I have greatly benefitted using the materials, as they helped build my confidence in becoming a self-employed bookkeeper in the near future. Thank you for building such a useful tool for learning accounting and bookkeeping; I see you are still #1 Best Overall Voted by Google and most websites." - Daryl T.
Join PRO or PRO Plus and Get Lifetime Access to Our Premium Materials
Read all 2,645 reviews
For the past 52 years, Harold Averkamp (CPA, MBA) has
worked as an accounting supervisor, manager, consultant, university instructor, and innovator in teaching accounting online. He is the sole author of all the materials on AccountingCoach.com.
We now offer 10 Certificates of Achievement for Introductory Accounting and Bookkeeping: