What is the days' sales in accounts receivable ratio? Definition of Days’ Sales in Accounts Receivable The days’ sales in accounts receivable ratio (also known as the average collection period) tells you the number...
What is the days' sales in accounts receivable ratio? Definition of Days’ Sales in Accounts Receivable The days’ sales in accounts receivable ratio (also known as the average collection period) tells you the number...
How should a mortgage loan payable be reported on a classified balance sheet? Definition of a Mortgage Loan Payable The account Mortgage Loan Payable contains the principal amount owed on a mortgage loan. (Any interest...
What is the purpose of assigning accounts receivable? The purpose of assigning accounts receivable is to provide collateral in order to obtain a loan. To illustrate, let’s assume that a corporation receives a special...
At what point are revenues considered to be earned? Revenues, which are derived from an entity’s main activities such as the sale of merchandise or the performance of service, are considered to be earned when the...
What are balance sheet accounts? Definition of Balance Sheet Accounts Balance sheet accounts are one of two types of general ledger accounts. (The other accounts in the general ledger are the income statement accounts.)...
What are direct materials? Definition of Direct Materials Direct materials are defined as: Traceable matter that is converted by a manufacturer into products Part of manufacturer’s production costs A variable cost of a...
What is a transposition error? Definition of Transposition Error A transposition error occurs when an amount is recorded incorrectly as the result of switching the positions of two (or more) digits. The switching of the...
What is not sufficient funds? Definition of Not Sufficient Funds Not sufficient funds or NSF or insufficient funds is a term to describe a check that has been returned by the bank because the balance in the checking...
What is the FUTA tax? Definition of FUTA Tax FUTA is the acronym for the Federal Unemployment Tax Act and is associated with a federal payroll or employment tax paid solely by the employer. (This unemployment tax is in...
Can you help me understand the golden rules of accounting? The golden rules of accounting are not presented in any of the U.S. accounting books that I have reviewed. I assume the reason for omitting the golden rules of...
What is the statement of comprehensive income? Definition of Statement of Comprehensive Income The statement of comprehensive income is one of the five financial statements required in a complete set of financial...
What is the difference between vertical analysis and horizontal analysis? Definition of Vertical Analysis Vertical analysis expresses each amount on a financial statement as a percentage of another amount. The vertical...
What is work-in-process inventory (WIP)? Definition of Work-in-process Inventory Work-in-process (WIP) inventory pertains to the goods for which the manufacturing has begun, but not yet completed. In other words, WIP is...
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...
How do you calculate the cost of carrying inventory? Definition of Cost of Carrying Inventory The cost of carrying inventory (or cost of holding inventory) is the sum of the following: Cost of money tied up in inventory,...
Why are the amounts on the financial statements rounded to thousands or millions? Definition of Rounding Amounts on Financial Statements Rounding the amounts on a company’s financial statements means dropping the less...
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 quick ratio? Definition of Quick Ratio The quick ratio is a financial ratio used to gauge a company’s liquidity. The quick ratio is also known as the acid test ratio. The quick ratio compares the total...
How do you calculate staff turnover? To calculate staff turnover, I would use the W-2 wage statements for the most recent year. My first step would be to sort the W-2’s into meaningful groups such as full-time...
What is payroll accounting? Definition of Payroll Accounting Payroll accounting involves a company’s recording of its employees’ compensation including: gross wages, salaries, bonuses, commissions, and so on that...
How do cash dividends affect the financial statements? Definition of Cash Dividends Cash dividends are a distribution of a corporation’s earnings to its stockholders or shareholders. For cash dividends to occur, the...
What is the difference between the current ratio and the quick ratio? Definition of Current Ratio The current ratio is the proportion, quotient, or relationship between the amount of a company’s current assets and the...
When do you adjust the amount of prepaid expenses? Definition of Adjusting Prepaid Expenses The balance in the current asset account Prepaid Expenses should be adjusted prior to a company issuing its financial...
What is net sales? Definition of Net Sales Under the accrual basis of accounting, net sales is the total amount of goods shipped/delivered to customers during a specified period of time minus any early payment discounts...
Why is income received in advance a liability? Definition of Income Received in Advance Under the accrual method of accounting, when a company receives money from a customer prior to earning it, the company will have to...
What is the difference between cost and expense? Definition of Cost A cost might be an expense or it might be an asset. Definition of Expense An expense is a cost that has expired or was necessary in order to earn...
What is a mortgage loan? Definition of Mortgage Loan A mortgage loan is a loan associated with the purchase of real estate, such as a home or buildings used in a business. As part of the loan process, the lender files a...
How do the responsibilities of a bookkeeper differ from those of an accountant? I see a bookkeeper’s responsibilities as getting the business transactions into the company’s general ledger. This involves a tremendous...
What is the proper use of the words lend and borrow? If a company is granted a loan from its bank, the company is borrowing money from its bank, and the bank is lending money to one of its customers. In other words, the...
What is a bill payable? Definition of Bill Payable A bill payable is a document which shows the amount owed for goods or services received on credit (meaning not paid at the time that the goods or services were...
What is retained earnings? Definition of Retained Earnings Retained earnings is the cumulative amount of earnings since the corporation was formed minus the cumulative amount of dividends that were declared. Retained...
What is the accounts receivable collection period? Definition of Accounts Receivable Collection Period The accounts receivable collection period is similar to the days sales outstanding or the days sales in accounts...
What is the segregation of duties? Definition of Segregation of Duties The segregation of duties involves dividing a task so that more than one person is involve in the company’s transactions. By segregating duties, it...
What is the difference between entries in a general journal versus a general ledger? Definition of General Journal The general journal is described as the book of original entry. Today the general journal is used to...
What is ERP? Definition of ERP In accounting, ERP is the acronym for enterprise resource planning. ERP could be described as a database software package that supports all of a business’s processes and operations...
Is a prepaid expense recorded initially as an expense? Definition of Prepaid Expense A prepaid expense refers to an amount that a company has paid and a portion or all of it will be an expense in a later accounting...
What is the cost of goods available? Definition of Cost of Goods Available For non-manufacturing companies using the periodic inventory system in its general ledger, the cost of goods available (COGA, or cost of goods...
How do the income statements of a sole proprietorship and a regular corporation differ? Definition of Income Statements of Sole Proprietorship and Regular Corporation The income statement of a sole proprietorship and a...
Will I be able to pass the CPA Exam after studying the accounting material on AccountingCoach.com? AccountingCoach.com contains introductory accounting material. While you need to master the principles and concepts...
What is the employer matching of FICA? Definition of FICA FICA is the acronym for Federal Insurance Contributions Act, which requires employers to withhold the following from each employee’s paycheck: Social Security...
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