A mathematical tool to optimize profits (contribution margin) given a limited amount of inputs and other constraints.
A mathematical tool to optimize profits (contribution margin) given a limited amount of inputs and other constraints.
An amount that is expensed immediately. For example, routine repair costs on equipment are revenue expenditures because they are charged directly to an income statement account such as Repairs and Maintenance Expense.
The amount of owner’s equity or stockholders’ equity reported on a company’s balance sheet. This is not an indication of the company’s fair market value.
In financial accounting this term refers to the amount of debt excluding interest. Payments on mortgage loans usually require monthly payments of principal and interest.
Federal government securities with a fixed interest rate and maturing in more than 10 years.
Also referred to as shareholders’ equity. At a corporation it is the residual or difference of assets minus liabilities. To learn more about stockholders’ equity, see our Stockholders’ Equity Outline.
Also known as the acid test ratio. This ratio compares the amount of cash + marketable securities + accounts receivable to the amount of current liabilities. To learn more, see Explanation of Financial Ratios.
Sorting and reporting expenses by the nature of the expense such as salaries, wages, rent, utilities, supplies, depreciation, advertising, and so on.
U.S. social security system.
Accounts that are closed at the end of each accounting year. Included are the income statement accounts (revenues, expenses, gains, losses), summary accounts (such as income summary), and a sole proprietor’s...
See income statement. To learn more, see Explanation of Income Statement.
An employee’s pretax compensation based on hours worked times an hourly rate of pay. Production workers and nonmanagement employees are usually paid wages. To learn more, see Explanation of Payroll Accounting.
Cash that can be used only for the purpose intended.
The net amount of revenues and gains minus expenses and losses for the current year for the sole proprietorship owned by R. Smith. After the financial statements are prepared for the year, this amount will be transferred...
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Inventory that is less than the expected amount. It might be associated with theft or damage.
A mathematical technique that determines the best-fitting line through a series of points. This is used in regression analysis.
An employee fringe benefit provided by an employer that allows employees to be paid for a limited number of days per year when the employees are ill.
A book of original entry that requires that both the account being debited and the account being credited be listed along with the respective amounts. Because of accounting software and special journals there are...
Also known as freight-out or as delivery expense. This is an operating expense further classified as a selling expense. It results when merchandise is sold with terms of FOB destination.
A phrase used in standard costing. The production that is acceptable (not rejected products) and which is assigned manufacturing costs of direct materials, direct labor, and manufacturing overhead.
A temporary holding place for amounts that need further analysis.
See direct labor efficiency variance and variable manufacturing overhead efficiency variance.
A loan having the security of a lien on the borrower’s real estate.
Includes the main financial statements (income statement, balance sheet, statement of cash flows, statement of retained earnings, statement of stockholders’ equity) plus other financial information such as annual...
See variable manufacturing overhead spending variance and fixed manufacturing overhead budget variance. To learn more, see Explanation of Standard Costing.
The contra asset account which accumulates the amount of Depreciation Expense taken on Equipment since the equipment was acquired. As a contra asset account it will have a credit balance.
Financial statements issued between the official annual financial statements. For example, quarterly financial statements are interim financial statements.
A current liability account that reports the amounts of cash dividends that have been declared by the board of directors but not yet distributed to the stockholders.
Income or revenue earned by a company that is outside of its main operating activities. For a retailer the interest earned on its temporary investments is a nonoperating revenue (or nonoperating income).
The discounted value of a series of equal amounts occurring at the end of each equal time interval. To learn more, see our Present Value of an Ordinary Annuity Outline.
A current asset account that reports the amount of future rent expense that was paid in advance of the rental period. The amount reported on the balance sheet is the amount that has not yet been used or expired as of the...
In some countries turnover refers to sales. Turnover is also associated with some financial ratios such as the inventory turnover ratio, the accounts receivable turnover ratio, and asset turnover ratio.
In regression analysis this is a statistic (designated as r-squared) indicating the percentage of the change occurring in the dependent variable that is explained by the change in the independent variable(s). The percent...
See contra equity account.
To receive money in exchange for a promise to repay the amount to the lender.
Advertising Expense is the income statement account which reports the dollar amount of ads run during the period shown in the income statement. Advertising Expense will be reported under selling expenses on the income...
A general ledger inventory account that has a credit balance instead of an asset’s usual debit balance. An example is the account Reduction of Inventory to Net Realizable Value.
A method of payment used in place of a paper check.
See sum-of-the-years’ digits method of depreciation.
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