Why are some expenses deferred? Definition of Deferred Expenses Under the accrual basis of accounting, an expense is a cost that is used up, has expired, or is directly related to revenues reported on a company’s...
Why are some expenses deferred? Definition of Deferred Expenses Under the accrual basis of accounting, an expense is a cost that is used up, has expired, or is directly related to revenues reported on a company’s...
What is meant by owner's draws? Definition of Owner’s Draws Owner’s draws are withdrawals of a sole proprietorship’s cash or other assets made by the owner for the owner’s personal use. The account in which the...
What are capital expenditures? Definition of Capital Expenditures Capital expenditures are the amounts spent for tangible assets that will be used for more than one year in the operations of a business. Capital...
How can a company with a net loss show a positive cash flow? Definition of Net Loss A net loss occurs when a company’s revenues and gains are less than its operating expenses, other expenses and losses. The net loss or...
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...
Where does the interest paid on bank loans get reported on the statement of cash flows. Definition of Interest on Bank Loans The interest on bank loans is usually an expense of the accounting period in which the interest...
I don't understand the conservatism principle. Why do losses get recorded but not gains? Conservatism has to do with uncertainty. When uncertainty exists between two alternatives that appear to be reasonable, the...
Which assets are classified as current assets? Definition of Current Assets Current assets include cash and assets that are expected to turn to cash within one year of the balance sheet date. Current assets also include...
Is the cost of goods sold an expense? Why the Cost of Goods Sold is an Expense We often think of expenses as salaries, advertising, rent, commissions, interest, and so on. However, the cost of goods sold is also an...
What is a temporary account? Definition of Temporary Account A temporary account is a general ledger account that begins each accounting year with a zero balance. Then at the end of the year its account balance is...
What is an uncleared cheque? Definition of Uncleared Cheque An uncleared cheque is a cheque (check) that has been written and recorded in the payer’s records, but has not yet been paid by the bank on which it is drawn....
What is the journal entry to record a one-year subscription for a magazine? Ways to Record One-Year Subscriptions Let’s assume that the cost of the one-year subscription for a monthly trade publication is $120. Let’s...
Where is the discount on the purchase of office furniture recorded? Definition of Discount on Purchase of Office Furniture The discount on the purchase of office furniture that will be used by a company (as opposed to...
utilities expense of $300 so that the December income statement provides a better measure of December’s profitability. Also the December 31 balance sheet will report a liability such as utilities payable of $300 to...
How do you calculate the cost of goods sold for a retailer? Formula for Calculating a Retailer’s Cost of Goods Sold A retailer’s cost of goods sold is: The cost of the retailer’s beginning inventory Plus the cost...
Are sales discounts reported as an expense? Definition of Sales Discounts Sales discounts are also known as cash discounts or early payment discounts. Sales discounts (along with sales returns and allowances) are...
What is the meaning of pro rata? Pro rata is a Latin term that means in proportion. Pro rata is related to prorate, a term used in cost accounting. To illustrate the term pro rata, let’s assume that a company’s...
What is LIFO? Definition of LIFO LIFO is the acronym for last-in, first-out, which is a cost flow assumption often used by U.S. corporations in moving costs from inventory to the cost of goods sold. Under LIFO, the most...
What is a plant asset? What is a Plant Asset A plant asset is an asset with a useful life of more than one year that is used in producing revenues in a business’s operations. Plant assets are also known as fixed...
What is net purchases? Definition of Net Purchases Net purchases refers to the combination of the amounts found in the following general ledger temporary accounts: Purchases (gross amount for goods purchased) Purchases...
Is the current portion of long term debt adjusted monthly? A monthly adjustment to the current portion of long term debt is necessary when: 1. the company issues monthly balance sheets, and 2. the amount to be paid on a...
What is inflation accounting? In the U.S., inflation accounting has resulted in optional supplementary disclosures on the effects of 1) general inflation, and 2) changes in the prices of specific types of assets. In...
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...
What is the cash flow statement? Definition of Cash Flow Statement The cash flow statement (officially known as the statement of cash flows) is one of the required financial statements issued by U.S. businesses (and by...
What is the difference between book depreciation and tax depreciation? Definition of Book Depreciation Book depreciation is the amount recorded in the company’s general ledger accounts and reported on the company’s...
How are the balance sheet and income statement connected? Connection between Balance Sheet and Income Statement The connection between the balance sheet and the income statement results from: The use of double-entry...
How do you account for the rebate on an automobile? The rebate on the purchase of an automobile should be recorded as a reduction of the automobile’s cost. The lower automobile cost will result in lower depreciation...
Does collecting a customer's accounts receivable affect net income? Definition of Accounts Receivable Accounts receivable is a current asset that results when a company reports revenues from sales of products or the...
What is depreciation? Definition of Depreciation In accounting, depreciation is the assigning or allocating of the cost of a plant asset (other than land) to expense in the accounting periods that are within the...
What is FIFO? Definition of FIFO In accounting, FIFO is the acronym for First-In, First-Out. It is a cost flow assumption usually associated with the valuation of inventory and the cost of goods sold. Under FIFO, 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 a condensed income statement? A condensed income statement is one that summarizes much of the income statement detail into a few captions and amounts. For example, a retailer’s condensed income statement will...
Is there a difference between the accounts Purchases and Inventory? Purchases Account Under the Periodic Inventory System The general ledger account Purchases is used to record the purchases of inventory items under the...
What is the difference between receivables and accounts receivable? Definition of Accounts Receivables Accounts receivable are usually current assets that result from selling goods or providing services to customers on...
What causes a corporation's market value to be greater than its book value? One cause of a corporation’s market value being greater than its book value is the accountant’s cost principle. In order for an item to be...
What is an invoice? Definition of Invoice An invoice is a dated bill prepared by the seller of goods sold (or services provided) which includes brief descriptions of the items, quantities of items and their unit prices,...
What is a fringe benefit rate? Definition of Fringe Benefit Rate A fringe benefit rate is a percentage that results from dividing the cost of an employee’s fringe benefits by the wages paid to the employee for the...
What is a memorandum entry? Definition of Memorandum Entry A memorandum entry is a short message entered into the general journal and also entered into a general ledger account. It is not a complete journal entry because...
What is self-insurance? Self-insurance means no insurance. For example, if a retailer decides to self-insure its buildings, the retailer will not have an insurance policy to pay for losses that may occur to its...
What are payroll withholding taxes? Definition of Payroll Withholding Taxes In the U.S. payroll withholding taxes are the taxes that an employer is required to deduct from its employees’ gross wages, salaries, bonuses,...
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