What if an employee's actual vacation payment is greater than the amount that has been accrued? Let’s assume that a company’s accounting year ends on December 31 and the company has only one employee who worked the...
What if an employee's actual vacation payment is greater than the amount that has been accrued? Let’s assume that a company’s accounting year ends on December 31 and the company has only one employee who worked the...
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...
What is workers' compensation insurance? Workers’ compensation insurance is likely to be an insurance policy obtained by a company to cover the medical costs and lost wages for its employees’ work-related injuries...
What is the free cash flow ratio? Definition of Free Cash Flow Free cash flow for a year is an amount (as opposed to a ratio or percentage) usually defined as: net cash provided by operating activities for the year minus...
What are the disclosures for a manufacturer's inventory? A manufacturer should disclose the following categories of inventory: raw materials, work-in-process, finished goods, manufacturing supplies, and packaging...
What are the two methods for recording prepaid expenses? Definition of Prepaid Expenses Prepaid expenses refers to payments made in advance and part of the amount will become an expense in a future accounting period. A...
How do you treat voided checks on the bank reconciliation? Definition of Voided Check on Bank Reconciliation If a check was voided in the current month but was written in the previous month and appeared on the previous...
What are fixed assets? Definition of Fixed Assets Fixed assets are a company’s tangible, noncurrent assets that are used in its business operations. The word fixed indicates that these assets will not be used up,...
When do you adjust the amount of prepaid expenses? Definition of Adjusting Prepaid Expenses The balance in the current asset account Prepaid Expenses should be adjusted prior to a company issuing its financial...
What is the difference between cash flow and free cash flow? Definition of Cash Flow Cash flow refers to the amounts of cash that a company, investment or project generates. The cash that a company generates is different...
What is the effect on financial ratios when using LIFO instead of FIFO? Definition of Effect of LIFO Instead of FIFO During periods of significantly increasing costs, the LIFO cost flow assumption instead of the FIFO...
What is work-in-process inventory (WIP)? Definition of Work-in-process Inventory Work-in-process (WIP) inventory pertains to the goods for which the manufacturing has begun, but not yet completed. In other words, WIP is...
What is the difference between dividends and interest expense? Definition of Dividends Dividends are a distribution of a corporation’s earnings to its stockholders. Dividends are not an expense of the corporation and...
When do you put parentheses ( ) around a number? Definition of Amounts in Parentheses Parentheses around a number could have a variety of meanings. For example, parentheses could indicate any of the following: A negative...
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...
Where do I record the refund of a registration fee? If the registration fee refers to a fee expense that you had originally paid but the amount is now being refunded to you, I would credit the same expense account that...
How do you calculate the cost of carrying inventory? Definition of Cost of Carrying Inventory The cost of carrying inventory (or cost of holding inventory) is the sum of the following: Cost of money tied up in inventory,...
What is the advantage of using historical cost on the balance sheet for property, plant and equipment? Definition of Historical Cost Historical cost is the original cost of an asset including all the necessary costs to...
What is a noncurrent asset? Definition of Noncurrent Asset A noncurrent asset is an asset that is not expected to turn to cash within one year of date shown on a company’s balance sheet. (This assumes that the company...
Why isn't a corporation's dividend shown on its income statement? Definition of Dividend A dividend paid by a corporation on its common stock is a distribution of the corporation’s net income (earnings, profits). The...
Is the cost of land, buildings, and machinery a fixed cost? Land, Buildings and Machinery are Fixed Assets It is common for people to refer to land, buildings, and machinery as fixed assets. They are also referred to as...
What is a lease? Definition of a Lease Typically, a lease is a written agreement between an owner of property (land, building, equipment, vehicle, etc.) and a person or business that will use the property for a stated...
If cash and a note are exchanged for a plant asset, is the amount of the note used in the depreciation calculation? A plant asset’s cost is depreciated, unless the asset is land. Cost is defined as the cash or cash...
What is depreciation? Definition of Depreciation In accounting, depreciation is the assigning or allocating of the cost of a plant asset (other than land) to expense in the accounting periods that are within the...
What is the return on stockholders' equity (after tax) ratio? Definition of Return on Stockholders’ Equity The financial ratio return on stockholders’ equity (or return on equity) is calculated by dividing a...
What is an impairment? Definition of Impairment The term impairment is associated with an asset currently having a market value that is less than the asset’s book value . A test is done to determine whether the...
How many years is the appropriate time for depreciating leasehold improvements? Leasehold improvements should be depreciated or amortized according to the lessee’s normal depreciation policy except that the time period...
What is an intangible asset? Definition of Intangible Asset An intangible asset is an asset that you cannot touch, since it lacks physical substance. Accountants record intangible assets at their cost when they are...
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...
Where can I find free CPA exam questions? We recently learned of the following website that offers free CPA exam questions: www.cpareviewforfree.com. This free CPA review site contains an enormous amount of CPA exam...
Can I take the CPA Exam with a bachelor's degree? To be eligible for taking the CPA Exam you must meet the requirements of the board of accountancy in the U.S. state (or jurisdiction) in which you plan to take the CPA...
Can I take the CPA exam without having a bachelor degree? You will need to inquire with your state or jurisdiction about its requirements to take or sit for the CPA Exam. Generally, you will need to have a minimum of 150...
What GPA is needed to be hired by a CPA firm? There is no single GPA (grade point average) that assures you of being hired by a CPA firm. I have seen firms pass over a student with a near-perfect GPA (3.97 out of 4.0)...
What is the difference between gains and proceeds in terms of long-term assets? Definition of Long-term Assets Long-term assets, which are also referred to as noncurrent assets, are assets that generally are not expected...
Which financial statement shows a corporation's worth? Not one of the financial statements will show a corporation’s worth. The balance sheet, income statement, statement of cash flows, and stockholders’ equity...
What are net assets? Definition of Net Assets Net assets is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. Examples of Net Assets In a sole proprietorship the amount of net assets is reported as owner’s equity. In a...
Why is inventory turnover important? Definition of Inventory Turnover A company’s inventory turnover is often expressed as the company’s cost of goods sold for a year divided by the average cost of inventory during...
What is the difference between product costs and period costs? A manufacturer’s product costs are the direct materials, direct labor, and manufacturing overhead used in making its products. (Manufacturing overhead is...
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 accumulated other comprehensive income? Definition of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income Accumulated other comprehensive income is a separate line within the stockholders’ equity section of the balance...
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