A business that sells goods from inventory. The business could be a retailer, wholesaler, distributor, manufacturer, etc.
A business that sells goods from inventory. The business could be a retailer, wholesaler, distributor, manufacturer, etc.
Income based upon some assumptions.
See bond sinking fund.
A variance arising in a standard costing system that indicates the difference between the standard amount of variable manufacturing overhead for the good units produced (standard hours times standard rate) and the...
See accounting equation.
What is the net book value of a noncurrent asset? The net book value of a noncurrent asset is the net amount reported on the balance sheet for a long-term asset. To illustrate net book value, let’s assume that several...
A current liability account that reports the amounts owed to the utility companies for electricity, gas, water, phone as of the date of the balance sheet. If a utility bill has not been received, the company will have to...
This loss is not an extraordinary item, since it is not unusual in nature. However, it can appear as a separate line item in the main portion of the income statement. It will be reported at its gross amount (not net of...
Insurance often required by states and paid for by the employer to compensate workers who were injured on the job. The amount of the insurance premiums vary by type of work performed. For example, rates are higher for...
The type of stock that is present at every corporation. (Some corporations have preferred stock in addition to their common stock.) Shares of common stock provide evidence of ownership in a corporation. Holders of common...
The number of years needed to recover the cash amount invested in a project. The calculation uses cash flows rather than accounting income flows. Generally the cash flows are not discounted to reflect the time value of...
A contra liability account arising when the proceeds of a note payable is less than the face amount of the note. The debit balance in this account will be amortized to interest expense over the life of the note.
A temporary account that is debited when cash dividends have been declared (instead of debiting the Retained Earnings account. At the end of the accounting year, the balance in this account is transferred to the Retained...
The U.S. government agency responsible for federal income tax regulations.
The time between when a check is written and when the check clears the bank account on which it is drawn.
Activities that are not specifically associated with a specific product or customer. For example, the costs of an audit and filing information with government agencies are examples of organization-sustaining activities.
The basic general rules upon which more detailed accounting standards are built. To learn more, see Explanation of Accounting Principles.
The general guidelines and principles, standards and detailed rules, plus industry practices that exist for financial reporting. Often referred to by its acronymn GAAP. To learn more, see Explanation of Accounting...
A long-term asset account reported on the balance sheet under the heading of property, plant, and equipment. Included in this account would be copiers, computers, printers, fax machines, etc.
This current liability account reports the amount a company owes the U.S. government as of the balance sheet date for the federal income taxes withheld from its employees’ salaries and wages.
Rates based on a department’s direct and indirect overhead costs and some measure of the department’s activity, such as the department’s machine hours. Departmental rates are more accurate than...
A company’s profit before nonoperating or other items. Other or nonoperating items include interest income, interest expense, and gains and losses on sale of assets used in the business, loss on lawsuit, etc.
An income statement that has more than one subtraction in arriving at net income. An income statement showing gross profit is an indication it is a multiple-step income statement.
Sorting and reporting expenses according to the type of activity for which the expense was incurred. The functional expense classifications for a nonprofit organization would be Program #1, Program #2, Management and...
See membership dues.
Under the accrual method of accounting, this account reports the employer’s expense for the company’s 401(k) plan associated with the employees in the warehouse department during the period indicated in the...
A current asset that reports the amount paid for advertising that has not yet taken place. When the advertising occurs the prepaid advertising is reduced and advertising expense is recorded.
Under the accrual basis of accounting, the account Rent Expense will report the cost of occupying space during the time interval indicated in the heading of the income statement, whether or not the rent was paid within...
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...
Under the accrual method of accounting, the account Salaries Expense: Delivery Dept reports the salaries that the employees in the delivery department have earned during the period indicated in the heading of the income...
Under the accrual method of accounting, this account reports the amount of holiday pay, vacation pay, and sick day pay that the delivery employees have earned during the accounting period indicated in the heading of the...
An unsecured bond. For example, a bond not secured by a lien on the issuer’s property.
This financial statistic is the net income of a corporation after income tax (less any preferred dividends) divided by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the same period of time.
See accrual basis of accounting.
A series of equal amounts occurring at the end of each equal time interval. Also known as an annuity in arrears. An example is the monthly payments on a loan. Another example is the semiannual interest on a bond.
In cost accounting this term means to allocate, apply, apportion, or spread manufacturing overhead costs to the production output. In terms of accounts receivable, assign means to pledge accounts receivable to a lender...
Reports too much. If an error overstates the inventory and the company’s net income, the amount of inventory and the amount of net income being reported is more than the correct amount.
An estimate of an asset’s market value
See outstanding checks.
See activity-based costing.
Featured Review
"I stumbled across the website for AccountingCoach, and I am glad I did. I have always enjoyed bookkeeping, but I have never been formally trained. After receiving and reviewing the material with AccountCoach PRO I can honestly say this is the best product I have every purchased. The lifetime membership is worth the cost. The courses are set up for the beginner to the most advanced and is written in a very clear format. I would recommend AccountingCoach to anyone wanting to learn, or take a refresher course on accounting and bookkeeping." - Jewell B.
Join PRO or PRO Plus and Get Lifetime Access to Our Premium Materials
Read all 2,645 reviewsWe now offer 10 Certificates of Achievement for Introductory Accounting and Bookkeeping: