What are quick assets? Definition of Quick Assets Quick assets are a company’s current assets which can quickly be converted into cash. Quick assets provide the liquidity necessary to pay the company’s obligations...
What are quick assets? Definition of Quick Assets Quick assets are a company’s current assets which can quickly be converted into cash. Quick assets provide the liquidity necessary to pay the company’s obligations...
What is cost incurred? Definition of Cost Incurred A cost incurred is a cost that a company (or other organization) becomes liable for. Example of Cost Incurred Assume that a retailer begins operations on December 1 and...
What is a limitation of the inventory turnover ratio? Definition of Inventory Turnover Ratio The inventory turnover ratio is often calculated by dividing a company’s cost of goods sold for a recent year by the average...
How do you amortize goodwill? Definition of Amortize Goodwill Prior to 2001, to amortize goodwill meant to consistently and in uniform increments move the reported amount of the intangible asset goodwill from the balance...
What is a letter of credit? A letter of credit is a letter or document issued by a bank for use by one of its customers. The letter of credit states that the bank will guarantee payment up to the stated amount for...
What is the difference between a balance sheet of a nonprofit organization and a for-profit business? Definition of Balance Sheet The balance sheet is one of the main financial statements issued organizations. The...
What is Subchapter S? Subchapter S refers to a section of Chapter 1 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. A subchapter S corporation, which is also referred to as an S corporation, is a corporation that does not pay the...
What is the annual wage limit? Definition of Annual Wage Limit Annual wage limit is a payroll accounting term that is associated with the Social Security payroll tax. (The annual wage limit is also known as the annual...
Does the income statement explain the change in the equity section of a balance sheet? The income statement could explain the change in the equity section of a balance sheet. However, there are likely to be some other...
What is the days' sales in inventory ratio? Definition of Days’ Sales in Inventory The financial ratio days’ sales in inventory tells you the number of days it took a company to sell its inventory during a recent...
What is the difference between revenues and earnings? Definition of Revenues and Earnings Revenues are the amounts earned from providing goods or services to customers during the period shown in the heading of the income...
What is a stockholder? Definition of Stockholder A stockholder (also known as a shareholder) is the owner of one or more shares of a corporation’s capital stock. A stockholder is considered to be separate from the...
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...
What are cost flow assumptions? Definition of Cost Flow Assumptions The term cost flow assumptions refers to the manner in which costs are removed from a company’s inventory and are reported as the cost of goods sold....
What is the cost of sales? Definition of Cost of Sales Cost of sales is often a line shown on a manufacturer’s or retailer’s income statement instead of cost of goods sold. The cost of sales for a manufacturer is the...
What are some reasons that cause the balance on the bank statement to differ from the cash balance on the books? Reasons a Bank Balance Will Differ from a Company’s Balance Some of the reasons for a difference between...
How can a company have a profit but not have cash? Definition of Profit Under the accrual basis of accounting, profit is the amount of revenues earned minus the amount of expenses incurred. Note that revenues are not...
What is a blank endorsement? In the case of a check payable to John Smith (the payee), a blank endorsement would be the signature of John Smith on the back side of the check without any other words above or below his...
What is a bookkeeper? Definition of Bookkeeper A bookkeeper is usually employed by a small to mid-size company (or other organization) to process and record the large volume of transactions involving sales, purchases,...
What does capitalize mean? Definition of Capitalize In accounting, the word capitalize means to record an expenditure as an asset. The cost of this asset is then allocated to expense over its useful life. (If the...
Are income taxes affected by accelerated depreciation? Definition of Accelerated Depreciation Accelerated depreciation means the cost of an asset used in a business will be charged to Depreciation Expense at a faster...
How do I record money received for an insurance claim on inventory loss? Definition of Money from Insurance Claim for Inventory Loss Let’s assume that a company has insurance on its inventory and its inventory is...
What is the difference between cash flow and free cash flow? Definition of Cash Flow Cash flow refers to the amounts of cash that a company, investment or project generates. The cash that a company generates is different...
What is the effect on financial ratios when using LIFO instead of FIFO? Definition of Effect of LIFO Instead of FIFO During periods of significantly increasing costs, the LIFO cost flow assumption instead of the FIFO...
What is the difference between dividends and interest expense? Definition of Dividends Dividends are a distribution of a corporation’s earnings to its stockholders. Dividends are not an expense of the corporation and...
What is bad debts? Definition of Bad Debts The term bad debts usually refers to accounts receivable (or trade accounts receivable) that will not be collected. (Bad debts is also used for notes receivable that will not be...
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...
What is a noncurrent asset? Definition of Noncurrent Asset A noncurrent asset is an asset that is not expected to turn to cash within one year of date shown on a company’s balance sheet. (This assumes that the company...
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, profits). The...
What is a lease? Definition of a Lease Typically, a lease is a written agreement between an owner of property (land, building, equipment, vehicle, etc.) and a person or business that will use the property for a stated...
If cash and a note are exchanged for a plant asset, is the amount of the note used in the depreciation calculation? A plant asset’s cost is depreciated, unless the asset is land. Cost is defined as the cash or cash...
What is the return on stockholders' equity (after tax) ratio? Definition of Return on Stockholders’ Equity The financial ratio return on stockholders’ equity (or return on equity) is calculated by dividing a...
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...
What is carriage outwards? Definition of Carriage Outwards Carriage outwards refers to the transportation costs that a seller must pay when it sells merchandise with the terms FOB Destination. Carriage outwards is also...
If inventory is understated at the end of the year, what is the effect on net income? Definition of Inventory is Understated If inventory is understated at the end of the year, it means that the amount of inventory being...
How many years is the appropriate time for depreciating leasehold improvements? Leasehold improvements should be depreciated or amortized according to the lessee’s normal depreciation policy except that the time period...
What is prime cost? Definition of Prime Cost In cost accounting, the prime cost of a manufactured product is the combination of the following: Direct materials cost Direct labor cost The indirect manufacturing costs...
What is practical capacity? Definition of Practical Capacity Practical capacity is a manufacturer’s level of output (often expressed in machine hours, barrels, pounds, etc.). Practical capacity is less than its...
What is an outlier? In cost accounting, an outlier could be a cost or its related level of activity that is out of line with other observations. An outlier can be detected by plotting each observation’s cost and...
What is boilerplate? In business, boilerplate is a term to describe the standard wording that is contained in warranties and other documents. Generally, the information that is boilerplate is not subject to change....
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