Our Explanation of Improving Profits will assist you in focusing on the costs and revenues that are relevant (and ignoring those which are not relevant) for improving profits and eliminating losses. Examples of the...
Our Explanation of Improving Profits will assist you in focusing on the costs and revenues that are relevant (and ignoring those which are not relevant) for improving profits and eliminating losses. Examples of the...
of inventory should include all costs necessary to acquire the items and to get them ready for sale. When inventory items are acquired or produced at varying costs, the company will need to make an assumption on how to...
Our Explanation of Payroll Accounting discusses the taxes and benefits which are withheld from employees' pay as well as the taxes and benefits that are expenses for the employers. Also provided are examples of the...
Our Explanation of the Balance Sheet provides you with a basic understanding of a corporation's balance sheet (or statement of financial position). You will gain insights regarding the assets, liabilities, and...
What is a budget variance? A budget variance results when an actual amount is different from a planned or budgeted amount. A budget variance can occur for revenues and for expenses. Join PRO to Track Progress Mark the...
How do I calculate IRR and NPV? Definition of IRR The internal rate of return (IRR) method or model determines the interest rate that discounts all cash inflows and cash outflows to a net present value of $0. In other...
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 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...
What is the difference between Present Value (PV) and Net Present Value (NPV)? Definition of Present Value (PV) Present value or PV is the result of discounting one or more future amounts to the present. The greater the...
What causes an increase in break-even point? Definition of Break-even Point The break-even point is the sales volume or sales revenue that is needed to cover the company’s expenses. In other words, it is the point...
What is an implicit interest rate? Definition of Implicit Interest Rate An implicit interest rate is one that is not stated explicitly. Example of Implicit Interest Rate Assume that I lend you $4,623 and you agree to...
What is a non-discount method in capital budgeting? Definition of Non-discount Method of Capital Budgeting A non-discount method of capital budgeting is one that does not consider the time value of money. In other words,...
What is an unfavorable variance? Definition of a Variance In accounting the term variance usually refers to the difference between an actual amount and a planned or budgeted amount. For example, if a company’s budget...
What is trend analysis? Definition of Trend Analysis In the analysis of financial information, trend analysis is the presentation of amounts from several years all expressed as a percentage of a base year. Trend analysis...
amount for warehouse rent (and every other expense) for the next budget is $0. Any budgeted expense greater than $0 must be justified. While zero-based budgeting will be more time consuming than focusing on incremental...
. The specified rate could be the investor’s cost of capital or it could be another hurdle rate that must be earned. Advantages of using the net present value to evaluate investments include the following: All of an...
What is an independent variable? In accounting, an independent variable is ideally a factor that causes a change in the total amount of the dependent variable. In other words, an independent variable should be something...
, the inventory turnover ratio divides a company’s cost of goods sold for a recent year by the company’s average inventory during that year. Perhaps the most frequently used accounting ratio is the current ratio,...
What is the meaning of base year? In accounting, base year may refer to the year in which a U.S. business had adopted the LIFO cost flow assumption for valuing its inventory and its cost of goods sold. Under the...
How do you calculate Return on Capital Employed (ROCE)? Return on capital employed is used as a measurement of the performance of a division of a company. It assumes that the division is not responsible for its financing...
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...
What is a dependent variable? In accounting, a dependent variable is likely to be the total of a mixed cost that will change as the result of several factors. A factor that causes the change in the total cost is referred...
What is sales mix? Definition of Sales Mix Sales mix is the relative proportion or ratio of a business’s products that are sold. Sales mix is important because a company’s products usually have different degrees of...
Do I buy a new machine or use an old one? One technique for deciding whether to buy a new machine or to use an old machine is to look at the future cash flows if you buy a new machine and the future cash flows if you use...
What is responsibility accounting? Definition of Responsibility Accounting Responsibility accounting involves the internal accounting and budgeting for each responsibility center within a company. The objective of...
consider a project, its internal rate of return must equal or exceed the hurdle rate. The hurdle rate is also used to discount a project’s future cash flows to its net present value. Example of Hurdle Rate The...
What is the dividend payout ratio? The dividend payout ratio, or simply the payout ratio, is the percentage of a corporation’s earnings that is paid out in the form of cash dividends. The calculation of the dividend...
or moment, there is an inconsistency between the numerator and the denominator. For example, the numerator in the inventory turnover ratio is the cost of goods sold for the 365-day year, while the denominator reflects...
What is synergy? In business the term synergy is often associated with the merger or acquisition of companies. Synergy implies that the outcomes resulting from the merger of two companies will be greater than the sum...
What is ROI? Definition of ROI ROI is the acronym for return on investment. Traditionally, ROI related 1) the income statement profit to the 2) the balance sheet investment. A drawback of ROI is that the accounting...
What is disinvestment? In business, disinvestment means to sell off certain assets such as a manufacturing plant, a division or subsidiary, or product line. Disinvestment is sometimes described as the opposite of capital...
What causes a variation in profit margin and turnover ratios between industries? Mega grocery stores, discount stores, and warehouse clubs often have small profit margins but have high turnover ratios. The small profit...
What do negative variances indicate? Definition of Negative Variances on Accounting Reports Negative variances are the unfavorable differences between two amounts, such as: The amount by which actual revenues were less...
What is the average collection period? Definition of Average Collection Period The average collection period is the average number of days between 1) the dates that credit sales were made, and 2) the dates that the money...
What is separation of duties? What is Separation of Duties The separation of duties is one of various internal control techniques for safeguarding a company’s assets. By separating employee’s duties, the likelihood...
What are the benefits of a revenue budget? The main benefit of a revenue budget is that it requires looking into the future. The revenue budget should contain the assumptions made about the future and the details about...
What is NPV? Definition of NPV NPV is the acronym for net present value, which can be calculated as follows: The present value of the future cash inflows Minus the cash investment Example of NPV Assume that a company...
Why does the internal rate of return equate to a net present value of zero? Internal rate of return and net present value are discounted cash flow techniques. To discount means to remove the interest contained within the...
What is the normal balance of the direct materials variance accounts? I don’t believe there is a normal balance. If a company pays exactly the standard cost of its direct materials, there will be no balance in the...
is helpful in determining the two components of a mixed cost (also known as semivariable cost): The amount that is fixed or constant The variable rate (the rate by which the total cost changes when there is one...
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