What is the difference between an accrual and a deferral? Definition of an Accrual An accrual pertains to: expenses that should be reported now, but have not yet been recorded or paid, and revenues that should be...
What is the difference between an accrual and a deferral? Definition of an Accrual An accrual pertains to: expenses that should be reported now, but have not yet been recorded or paid, and revenues that should be...
What is the difference between an invoice and a voucher? Definition of an Invoice An invoice received from a vendor is a billing for goods or services that it had provided. The vendor’s invoice will include the...
What is managerial accounting? Definition of Managerial Accounting Managerial accounting is also known as management accounting and it includes many of the topics that are included in cost accounting. Some of the...
What is a credit? Definition of a Credit In bookkeeping and accounting, a credit likely refers to the amount entered on the right side of a general ledger account or to the right side of a T-account. A credit could also...
Is depreciation an operating expense? Depreciation Could Be Either an Operating Expense or a Non-operating Expense Depreciation is an operating expense if the asset being depreciated is used in an organization’s main...
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...
What is a rubber check? A rubber check is a check that is not paid (or honored) by the bank on which it is drawn. The reason the check is not paid is the maker’s account had insufficient funds or not sufficient funds...
What is a static budget? Definition of Static Budget A static budget is a budget in which the amounts will not change even with significant changes in volume. In contrast to a static budget, a company’s sales...
What is the difference between fixed assets and noncurrent assets? Fixed Assets are Part of Noncurrent Assets Fixed assets are one of several categories of noncurrent assets. Fixed assets are usually reported on the...
What is the inventory turnover ratio? Definition of Inventory Turnover Ratio The inventory turnover ratio is an important financial ratio that indicates a company’s past ability to sell its goods. Converting inventory...
What are mixed costs? Definition of Mixed Costs In accounting, the term mixed costs refers to costs and expenses that consist of two components: A fixed component, the total of which does not change as the volume of...
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...
What is manufacturing overhead and what does it include? Definition of Manufacturing Overhead Manufacturing overhead (also known as factory overhead, factory burden, production overhead) involves a company’s...
Isn't objectivity violated when estimates are used in bookkeeping and accounting? The use of estimates does not necessarily violate objectivity. If it is not possible to determine the exact amount of an expense and/or...
What is the difference between the terms capitalize and depreciate? Definition of Capitalize In accounting, the term capitalize refers to adding an amount to the balance sheet as an asset (as opposed to immediately...
Are there two ABC methods in accounting? Some accountants use ABC to mean Activity Based Costing. Under this ABC a manufacturer will use many cost drivers to assign overhead costs to products. The objective of Activity...
What is the debt ratio? Definition of Debt Ratio The debt ratio is also known as the debt to asset ratio or the total debt to total assets ratio. Hence, the formula for the debt ratio is: total liabilities divided by...
What is a flexible budget variance? Definition of Flexible Budget and Flexible Budget Variance First, a flexible budget is a budget in which some amounts will increase or decrease when the level of activity changes. A...
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...
What is a liquidity ratio? Definition of Liquidity Ratio A liquidity ratio is a financial ratio that indicates whether a company’s current assets will be sufficient to meet the company’s obligations when they become...
What is a cost driver? Ideally, a cost driver is an activity that is the root cause of why a cost occurs. In the past century, the root cause of indirect manufacturing costs has changed from a single cost driver (such as...
What is a deferred cost? Definition of Deferred Cost A deferred cost is a cost that is already recorded in a company’s accounts, but at least some of the cost should not be expensed until a future accounting period....
What adjustment is needed when a check that was written in a previous month appears on the current month's bank statement? A check written in any previous month but not appearing on previous bank statements, should have...
Is a loan payment an expense? Definition of Loan Payment Generally a loan payment consists of: An interest payment, which is an expense A principal payment, which reduces the loan’s principal balance If the interest...
What is the difference between interest expense and interest payable? Definition of Interest Expense Assuming the accrual method of accounting, interest expense is the amount of interest that was incurred on debt during...
What is job order costing? Definition of Job Order Costing Job order costing or job costing is a system for assigning and accumulating manufacturing costs of an individual unit of output. The job order costing system is...
What is budgeting? Definition of Budgeting Budgeting is the process of preparing detailed projections of future amounts. Companies often engage in two types of budgeting: Operational budgeting, and Capital budgeting...
Are salaried employees entitled to overtime pay? Some salaried employees are entitled to overtime pay. The salaried employees entitled to overtime pay are referred to as nonexempt employees. Nonexempt means that the...
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...
How is the material usage variance account reported on the financial statements? Definition of Materials Usage Variance The materials usage variance (in a standard costing system) results from using more or less than the...
What is a BOM? Definition of BOM BOM is the acronym for bill of materials. A BOM is a listing of the quantities of each of the materials used to manufacture a product. Industrial manufacturers are likely to have an...
What is trading on equity? Definition of Trading on Equity Trading on equity, which is also referred to as financial leverage, occurs when a corporation uses bonds, other debt, and preferred stock to increase its...
Why are expenses debited? Why Expenses Are Debited Expenses cause owner’s equity to decrease. Since owner’s equity’s normal balance is a credit balance, an expense must be recorded as a debit. At the end of the...
What is the entry when a contract is signed? Accounting Entry When Signing a Contract Merely signing a contract does not by itself require a journal entry. In other words, signing a contract for a future transaction does...
What is the difference between a differential cost and an incremental cost? Definition of Differential Cost and Incremental Cost I use the terms differential cost and incremental cost to mean the same thing: the...
Why would someone buy a bond at a premium? Definition of Bond Premium Bond premium or premium on bonds occurs when the bond’s actual interest payments are greater than the interest payments expected by the market. The...
What is the difference between a debit and a debit balance? Definition of Debit A debit is an entry on the left side of a T-account. A debit entry is used to record assets, expenses, losses, and owner’s draws in their...
What is a burden rate in inventory? I assume that the burden rate in inventory refers to a manufacturer’s indirect manufacturing costs, which are also referred to as factory overhead, indirect production costs, and...
When does a negative cash balance appear on the balance sheet? Definition of Negative Cash Balance A negative cash balance results when the cash account in a company’s general ledger has a credit balance. The credit or...
What is the accounting entry to close the sole proprietorship drawing account? Definition of Sole Proprietorship Drawing Account The drawing or withdrawal account for a sole proprietorship is a temporary owner equity’s...
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