This current liability account will show the amount a company owes for items or services purchased on credit and for which there was not a promissory note. This account is often referred to as trade payables (as opposed...
This current liability account will show the amount a company owes for items or services purchased on credit and for which there was not a promissory note. This account is often referred to as trade payables (as opposed...
See managerial accounting.
To assign or allocate on a logical basis. For example, the materials price variance in a standard costing system is prorated to the following categories: materials inventory, work-in-process inventory, finished goods...
A financial ratio that expresses the income statement effect from employing an asset as a percentage of the asset’s cost on the balance sheet.
See hurdle rate.
What is a capital account? Definition of Capital Account In accounting and bookkeeping, a capital account is a general ledger account that is part of the balance sheet classification: Owner’s equity (in a sole...
The net amount of revenues and gains minus expenses and losses for the sole proprietorship owned by Matt Jones. After the financial statements are prepared for the year, this amount will be transferred to Matt Jones,...
See paid-in capital in excess of par value – common stock.
Rather than the previous year’s budget being the starting point for the next budget, a zero-based budget assumes no activities: everything in the budget must be justified.
One of the cost flow assumptions associated with the periodic inventory system. The first (oldest) costs are removed from inventory first and are charged to the income statement as cost of goods sold. The recent costs...
The accounting or bookkeeping system that does not utilize computer software for entering transactions into journals and ledgers.
What is a credit memo? Definition of Credit Memo One type of credit memo is issued by a seller in order to reduce the amount that a customer owes from a previously issued sales invoice. Another type of credit memo, or...
A journal entry made on the first day of a new accounting period to undo the accrual type adjusting entries made prior to the preparation of the financial statements dated one day earlier. Reversing entries allow for an...
A depreciation technique where a constant percentage (such as 200%, 150%, or 125%) is applied to the book value of an asset. (As an asset is depreciated its book value declines.) This technique results in greater...
Part of a company’s administration that is responsible for preparing the financial statements, maintaining the general ledger, paying bills, billing customers, payroll, cost accounting, financial analysis, and...
The cost accounting system where similar units are mass produced. Costs are collected by department and are then assigned to the units produced.
An asset account which reports the carrying amount of a company’s investment in another enterprise.
A weighted-average of the cost of a company’s debt, common stock, and preferred stock.
See first in, first out (FIFO).
A balance on the left side of an account in the general ledger. Typically expenses, losses, and assets have debit balances.
A statistical tool used to determine the coefficients of the two or more independent variables involved in estimating the amount of the dependent variable. It utilizes the least-squares method for determining the...
The amount at which the holder of preferred stock or bonds must sell the stock or bonds back to the issuing corporation. The call price is disclosed in the indenture. The call price might be the face or par amount plus...
A balance sheet with at least two columns of amounts. The column of amounts that is closest to the words will be the most recent amounts. The column furthest from the words will contain the oldest amounts. The older...
See compound interest.
A term that describes the steps when processing transactions (analyzing, journalizing, posting, preparing trial balances, adjusting, preparing financial statements) in a manual accounting system. Today many of the steps...
See return on capital employed.
The point at which several products emerge from a common process.
A journal entry with more than the minimum of one debit and one credit. Example: a debit to Cash of $500 and a credit to Sales of $475 and a credit to Sales Tax Payable of $25.
An intangible asset reported on the balance sheet at the company’s cost (or lower). Often, successful trade names were developed by companies over many years. As a result the cost of the trade name is minimal, but...
A term used in evaluating business investments. It represents the targeted rate that a company needs to earn. It is also referred to as the discount rate, because this rate is used to discount the future cash flows to...
What is net working capital? Definition of Net Working Capital Net working capital is the amount (as opposed to being a ratio) remaining after subtracting a company’s total amount of current liabilities from its total...
A document issued to a customer by a seller which reduces the seller’s accounts receivable and its net sales. It also reduces the buyer’s accounts payable and net purchases. A document issued by a bank that...
See inventory: finished goods (FG).
The balance sheet classification that is reported immediately after current assets and before property, plant, and equipment.
Why is inventory turnover important? Definition of Inventory Turnover A company’s inventory turnover is often expressed as the company’s cost of goods sold for a year divided by the average cost of inventory during...
A stockholders’ equity account with a credit balance. The credit balance results when a corporation sells some of its treasury stock for an amount that exceeds the corporation’s cost of the treasury stock...
Is Accounts Payable a debit or a credit or both? Definition of an Accounts Payable Credit Since Accounts Payable is a liability account, it should have a credit balance. The credit balance indicates the amount that a...
The reduction in inventory quantities resulting in the removal of older layers of costs. With continuously higher costs, the older layers are likely to be low costs under LIFO. Removing these old, low costs will cause an...
A bill issued by a seller of merchandise or by the provider of services. The seller refers to the invoice as a sales invoice and the buyer refers to the same invoice as a vendor invoice.
Featured Review
"Currently working as a finance officer leading a small finance team, and entrusted with accounting responsibilities, your platform has been an invaluable resource throughout this career development. The in-depth structure of your materials, coupled with seamless cloud-based accessibility, has aided my understanding of intricate accounting functions. Becoming a PRO user was a natural choice to gain comprehensive insights into complex financial scenarios and descriptions—especially when relocating to an English-speaking country and needing to understand the professional terminology—while getting lifetime access. Your site's practice-oriented approach has significantly bolstered my practical expertise, particularly at the beginning of my journey, allowing me to navigate nuanced accounting tasks with confidence. The constant online access has been a game-changer in refining my accounting skills." - Sarah J.
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: