Market interest rate, current return, effective interest rate. Also see yield to maturity.
Market interest rate, current return, effective interest rate. Also see yield to maturity.
The amount paid or contributed by stockholders in exchange for shares of a corporation’s stock.
What is capitalized interest? Definition of Capitalized Interest Capitalized interest is the interest on debt that was used to finance a self-constructed, long-term asset. The capitalized interest for the company’s...
See credit memo.
A company might construct a building and then sell the building to an investor who in turn leases the building back to the company.
The abbreviation of the accounting and bookkeeping term credit.
Payroll taxes include 1) the taxes withheld from employees’ wages and salaries such as Social Security tax, Medicare tax, federal income tax, and state income tax, 2) the employers’ portion of the Social...
The provider of goods or services. Also known as the vendor.
Point of sale.
Amount of depletion charged to expense on the income statement for the period indicated in its heading. The amount is also credited to the contra asset account Accumulated Depletion.
The party receiving goods to be sold. See consigned goods.
The inability to pay liabilities as they become due. Some consider a company to be insolvent when its current liabilities exceed its current assets.
The result of subtracting total liabilities from total assets. It is also the term used by not-for-profit organizations instead of owner’s equity or stockholders’ equity. To learn more see our Explanation of...
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...
Individuals elected by the common stockholders of a corporation to represent the stockholders and to establish the policies of the corporation. The board of directors appoints the officers of the corporation and declares...
See carrying amount.
Actions taken or not taken prior to issuing financial statements in order to improve the amounts appearing in the financial statements.
The relationship between two variables. There can be correlation without a cause-and-effect relationship. Also see coefficient of correlation.
A word to describe whether a company is able to earn more revenues than expenses.
Costs that have been divided up and assigned to periods, departments, products, etc. In depreciation it is the asset’s cost that is assigned to each of the years that the asset is in use. In cost accounting it is...
Is income tax an expense or liability? Definition of Income Tax In the accounting for a regular U.S. corporation, income tax usually refers to the federal, state, local, and foreign countries’ taxes that are levied...
See deferred expense.
The products with significant value that emerge at a split-off point in a process. When a joint product has little value it is referred to as a by-product.
A temporary account used in the periodic inventory system to record the purchases of merchandise for resale. (Purchases of equipment or supplies are not recorded in the purchases account.) This account reports the gross...
Spreading the physical counting of inventory throughout the year. For example, a company may physically count a different 10% of its inventory each month instead of counting 100% of its inventory once per year.
A company’s receipts that appear on the company’s records but do not yet appear on the bank statement. For example, a retail store’s receipts of March 31 are deposited after banking hours on March 31 or...
The current liability account which reports the amount of salaries earned by a company’s employees, but which have not yet been paid by the company.
The difference between assets and liabilities, such as stockholders’ equity, owner’s equity, or a nonprofit organization’s net assets. Also used to indicate an owner’s interest in a personal...
See external financial reporting.
Management information system.
What is income smoothing? Definition of Income Smoothing Income smoothing involves reducing the fluctuations in a corporation’s earnings. The reductions in fluctuations can result from some legitimate business methods...
A reduction in the cost of goods purchased that is allowed by the supplier based on the authorized return of goods. Also a general ledger account in which the purchase returns are recorded under the periodic inventory...
A detailed plan with dollar amounts. Examples of budgets used in business include the cash budget, sales budget, production budget, department budgets, the master budget, and the capital expenditures budget. Some budgets...
See economic order quantity (EOQ) model.
See Statement of Financial Accounting Standards.
An asset account in a bank’s general ledger that indicates the amount at which the bank is reporting or carrying its investments.
Under the accrual basis of accounting, this account reports the cost of the electricity, heat, sewer, and water used during the period indicated in the heading of the income statement. Because utility companies deliver...
Cash that can be used only for the purpose intended.
The systematic allocation of the discount, premium, or issue costs of a bond to expense over the life of the bond. The systematic allocation of an intangible asset to expense over a certain period of time. The systematic...
See not sufficient funds (NSF) check.
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