The formal planning for significant expenditures, such as property, plant and equipment.
The formal planning for significant expenditures, such as property, plant and equipment.
The actual cost incurred for manufacturing costs that does not change as production volume changes. Examples include the property tax, rent, and depreciation of the factory building and equipment, and the salaries of the...
Often referred to as fixed assets. This would include long term assets such as buildings and equipment used by a company. Plant assets (other than land) will be depreciated over their useful lives.
Long term assets that are not classified as investments, property, plant, equipment, or intangible assets. An example is bond issue costs that are amortized to expense over the life of the bonds.
The balance sheet classification that is reported immediately after current assets and before property, plant, and equipment.
Assets associated with depreciation. Examples include buildings, equipment, furniture, fixtures, trucks, automobiles, etc.
A balance sheet with classifications (groupings or categories) such as current assets, property plant and equipment, current liabilities, long term liabilities, etc. To learn more, see Explanation of Balance Sheet.
The time required to set up a piece of production equipment.
Work-in-progress is the long-term asset account that is used to report the amounts spent on the construction of buildings and equipment until the asset is completed and put into service.
A reference to stockholders’ equity. See paid-in capital. Also an adjective that references property, plant and equipment used in a business; for example, capital expenditures and capital budgeting.
The income statement account which contains a portion of the cost of plant and equipment that is being matched to the time interval shown in the heading of the income statement. (There is no depreciation expense for...
A long-term asset account that reports a company’s cost of automobiles, trucks, etc. The account is reported under the balance sheet classification property, plant, and equipment. Vehicles are depreciated over...
The actual cost incurred for manufacturing costs other than direct materials and direct labor which increase as production volume increases. Examples include manufacturing supplies and electricity to operate the...
Our Explanation of Accounting Basics uses a simple story to introduce important accounting concepts and terminology. It illustrates how transactions will be included in a company's financial statements.
Our Explanation of Accounts Payable provides insights on the bill paying process in a large company. Included are discussions of the three-way match, early payment discounts, end of period accruals, and more.
Our Explanation of Accounting Basics uses a simple story to introduce important accounting concepts and terminology. It illustrates how transactions will be included in a company's financial statements.
Our Explanation of Financial Ratios includes calculations and descriptions of 15 financial ratios. As you calculate the financial ratios you will also gain a deeper understanding of a company's operations and financial...
the heading income statements. Seasoned business owners often refer to this financial statement as the P&L, which is short for profit and loss statement. The word statements (instead of statement) is used in the...
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,...
A potential liability dependent upon some future event occurring or not occurring. For example, a company is named as a defendant in a $1 million lawsuit. Does that mean the company automatically has a liability of $1...
What is comprehensive income? Definition of Comprehensive Income Comprehensive income for a corporation is the combination of the following amounts which occurred during a specified period of time such as a year,...
How do you reduce the break-even point? Definition of Break-even Point The break-even point is the number of units or amount of revenues needed for the company’s income statement to report zero net income or zero net...
Are dividend payments shown as an expense on the income statement? Definition of Dividend Payments The cash dividends paid to stockholders are a distribution of the corporation’s earnings. Dividends are not an expense...
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year with a zero balance. The temporary accounts include the income statement accounts (revenue, expense, gain, loss, income summary) and also the drawing account of a sole proprietorship. The balances in these accounts...
in the business minus the owner’s draws or withdrawals from the business plus the net income (or minus the net loss) since the business began. Owner’s equity is viewed as a residual claim on the business assets...
a positive net income of $75,000. As a result, the corporation’s balance sheet at the end of the second year will report Retained earnings $115,000. In its third year the corporation had a net loss of $195,000....
be reviewed annually to see if there is an impairment, and potentially record an impairment loss. Private companies may opt to amortize goodwill generally over a 10-year period and thereby minimize the cost and...
Is the sales tax on merchandise purchased for resale included in inventory? In our state, sales tax is paid only by the end customer. In other words, a retailer does not pay sales tax on merchandise that is purchased for...
How do you record the sales tax on the purchase of an asset? Accountants define the cost of an asset as all of the costs that are necessary to obtain the asset and to get it ready for use. If your state does not allow an...
Is the sales tax paid on merchandise that you will resell an expense? I believe that most states have sales tax exemptions for merchandise purchased for resale. Check with your state’s sales tax department to see if...
Does sales commission get reported in the income statement? Definition of Sales Commissions Sales commissions are amounts earned by selling another company’s goods or services and paid by the company whose goods or...
How do you calculate the break-even point in terms of sales? Definition of Break-even Point in Sales Dollars The break-even point in sales dollars can be calculated by dividing a company’s total fixed expenses by the...
to the accounting equation: assets = liabilities + stockholders’ equity Assets Assets are the resources that a corporation owns as a result of a purchase transaction. Examples of a corporation’s assets include cash,...
Our Explanation of Debits and Credits describes the reasons why various accounts are debited and/or credited. For the examples we provide the logic, use T-accounts for a clearer understanding, and the appropriate general...
Depreciation Depreciation In accounting, depreciation is the spreading (allocation) of an asset’s cost over the many accounting periods in which it is used. The assets that are depreciated include buildings, equipment,...
Our Explanation of Debits and Credits describes the reasons why various accounts are debited and/or credited. For the examples we provide the logic, use T-accounts for a clearer understanding, and the appropriate general...
What is theoretical capacity? Theoretical capacity is the level of a manufacturer’s production that would be attained if all of its equipment and operations performed continuously at their optimum efficiency....
The amount needed to replace an asset such as inventory, equipment, buildings, etc. If an asset’s replacement cost is greater than the asset’s carrying amount, the cost principle prohibits the use of the...
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