Our Explanation of Financial Statements provides you with the highlights of each of the five external financial statements issued by U.S. corporations. Our insights will give you a good understanding of what the...
Our Explanation of Financial Statements provides you with the highlights of each of the five external financial statements issued by U.S. corporations. Our insights will give you a good understanding of what 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...
Our Explanation of Bookkeeping provides you with a rich understanding of the recording of transactions. It then discusses the additional steps necessary for preparing accurate financial statements. This is great for...
Our Explanation of Bookkeeping provides you with a rich understanding of the recording of transactions. It then discusses the additional steps necessary for preparing accurate financial statements. This is great for...
What is a stock split? Definition of Stock Split A stock split usually refers to a corporation dividing its existing number of shares of common stock into a greater number of shares. For instance, a corporation with...
How do you record a return deposit item on a bank statement? Definition of Return Deposit Item A return deposit item is usually a customer’s check that was part of a company’s bank deposit. When the company’s bank...
What is a voided check? A voided check is a check written or partially written but then canceled or deleted by the maker of the check. The notation of “void” is used because checks are prenumbered for control...
What is a deferred credit? A deferred credit could mean money received in advance of it being earned, such as deferred revenue, unearned revenue, or customer advances. A deferred credit could also result from complicated...
What is recorded in the Wages and Salaries Expense account? Definition of Wages and Salaries Expense The account Wages and Salaries Expense (or separate accounts such as Wages Expense or Salaries Expense) are used to...
What is the definition of net sales? Definition of Net Sales Net sales is a company’s gross sales of products minus any sales discounts and sales returns and allowances. When a company makes a sale, the general ledger...
What is a current liability? Definition of Current Liability A current liability is: An obligation that will be due within one year of the date of the company’s balance sheet, and Will require the use of a current...
What is prepaid insurance? Definition of Prepaid Insurance Prepaid insurance is the portion of an insurance premium that has been paid in advance and has not expired as of the date of a company’s balance sheet. This...
What is a journal entry? Definition of a Journal Entry In manual accounting or bookkeeping systems, business transactions are first recorded in a journal…hence the term journal entry. Journal entries that are recorded...
Why does our company's balance sheet report its land at cost when it is so much more valuable? Accountants are guided by the cost principle. This requires accountants to report assets at their cost when acquired—not...
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 I start a petty cash fund? Definition of Petty Cash Fund A petty cash fund is a small amount of money available to pay small amounts without requiring the processing of a business check. Example of Starting a...
What is the earnings per share (EPS) ratio? Definition of Earnings per Share The earnings per share ratio, or simply earnings per share, or EPS, is a corporation’s 1) net income (or earnings) after tax that is...
Are fixed assets the same as plant assets? Definition of Fixed Assets and Plant Assets My experience indicates that people use the term fixed assets to mean the same as plant assets. As a result, I define both fixed...
What is depletion? Definition of Depletion In accounting, depletion refers to the expensing of a company’s cost of a natural resource. Ultimately, it means moving a natural resource’s cost from the company’s...
How does the aging of accounts receivable determine bad debts expense? Definition of Aging of Accounts Receivable The aging of accounts receivable sorts the amounts that a company is owed (from customers who had...
How do drawings affect the financial statements? Definition of Drawings Drawings are the withdrawals of a sole proprietorship’s business assets by the owner for the owner’s personal use. The drawings or draws by the...
What does a bookkeeper do? Definition of Bookkeeper A bookkeeper’s role at a company varies by the size and nature of the business. At a very small company without an accountant, the bookkeeper’s duties are likely to...
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 working capital turnover ratio? Definition of Working Capital Turnover Ratio The working capital turnover ratio is also referred to as net sales to working capital. It indicates a company’s effectiveness in...
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...
Why is interest expense a nonoperating expense? Definition of Interest Expense as a Nonoperating Expense Interest expense is the cost of borrowing money. For most companies the borrowing of money is not part of their...
What is a defined benefit pension plan? A defined benefit pension plan is a retirement plan in which the employer commits to paying a specified monthly payment to each eligible employee when he or she retires at a stated...
What is the difference between Notes Payable and Accounts Payable? Definition of Notes Payable The account Notes Payable is a liability account in which a borrower’s written promise to pay a lender is recorded. (The...
Why is Accumulated Depreciation an asset account? Definition of Accumulated Depreciation The account Accumulated Depreciation reports the total amount of depreciation expense that has been recorded from the time the...
What is the debt to equity ratio? Definition of Debt to Equity Ratio The debt to equity ratio or debt-equity ratio is the result of dividing a corporation’s total liabilities by the total amount of stockholders’...
What is the definition of capital market? Often, capital market refers to the structured market for trading stocks and bonds. Examples are the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange, NASDAQ, and the New...
What are net assets? Definition of Net Assets Net assets is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. Examples of Net Assets In a sole proprietorship the amount of net assets is reported as owner’s equity. In a...
If a customer pays for the same invoice twice, should the customer be informed? I say yes. If you become aware of the double payment when posting the customer’s second remittance, I would double check your records...
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...
What type of account is the Dividends account? Definition of Dividends Account When a corporation declares a cash dividend, the amount declared will reduce the amount of the corporation’s retained earnings. Instead of...
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...
What are dividends? In accounting, dividends often refers to the cash dividends that a corporation pays to its stockholders (or shareholders). Dividends are often paid quarterly, but could be paid at other times. For a...
What are operating expenses? Definition of Operating Expenses Operating expenses are the costs that have been used up (expired) as part of a company’s main operating activities during the period shown in the heading of...
How do you account for a project under construction? Accounting for a Project Under Construction If a company is constructing a major project such as a building, assembly line, etc., the amounts spent on the project will...
What is the role of a company's controller? Definition of Company Controller A company’s controller is considered to be the chief accounting officer and the head of the accounting department. Role of the Controller As...
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