What is the face value of a bond payable? Definition of Face Value of a Bond Payable The face value of a bond payable is the amount printed on the bond. The face value is also referred to as the following: Face amount...
What is the face value of a bond payable? Definition of Face Value of a Bond Payable The face value of a bond payable is the amount printed on the bond. The face value is also referred to as the following: Face amount...
Is a money market account a current asset or a fixed asset? A money market account is a current asset unless it is restricted for a long-term purpose. The amount of an unrestricted money market account will likely be...
What are accruals? Definition of Accruals The accounting and bookkeeping term accruals refers to adjustments that must be made before a company’s financial statements are issued. Accruals involve the following types of...
What is the employer's Social Security tax rate for 2022 and 2023? Employer’s Social Security Payroll Tax for 2022 The employer’s Social Security payroll tax rate for 2022 (January 1 through December 31, 2022) is the...
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...
How can a business increase its cash flow from operations? A business can increase its cash flow from operations (or operating activities) by looking closely at each of its current assets and current liabilities. For...
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...
What is a post-dated check? Definition of a Post-dated Check A post-dated check (or post-dated cheque) is a check written with a future date. In other words, the date that appears on the check is after the date when the...
What is a favorable variance? Definition of a Variance In accounting the term variance usually refers to the difference between an actual amount and a planned or budgeted amount. For example, if a company’s budget for...
Where does a bond sinking fund appear on the balance sheet? Definition of Bond Sinking Fund A bond sinking fund is an investment made by a corporation that is restricted for the purpose of retiring its bonds payable,...
What are accrued expenses and when are they recorded? Accrued Expenses Accrued expenses are expenses that have occurred but are not yet recorded in the company’s general ledger. This means these expenses will not...
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 difference between loan interest and bank loan repayment? Definition of Loan Interest Loan interest is the expense a borrower incurs for using a lender’s money. Loan interest is also the income earned by a...
What is interest payable? Definition of Interest Payable Interest payable is the interest expense that has been incurred (has already occurred) but has not been paid as of the date of the balance sheet. [Interest payable...
Why will some asset accounts have a credit balance? Definition of Asset Account Balances In accounting, asset accounts normally have debit balances. That is, the general ledger accounts for assets typically have their...
Why are revenues credited? Why Revenues are Credited Revenues cause owner’s equity to increase. Since the normal balance for owner’s equity is a credit balance, revenues must be recorded as a credit. At the end of...
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 the entry for a loan to an employee? Definition of Loan to Employee A loan to an employee is money advanced by the company to assist the employee. If the employee is expected to repay the loan within one year of...
What is a dividend? Definition of Dividend Generally, the term dividend refers to a cash dividend, which is distribution of a portion of a corporation’s earnings to its stockholders in the form of cash. The cash...
Is it possible to have a balance sheet for a single day? A balance sheet presents the amounts of a company’s assets, liabilities, and owner’s equity as of an instant or moment in time within a day. Usually it is the...
Is the direct method still used in the statement of cash flows? The direct method is one of two methods allowed for preparing the statement of cash flows (or cash flow statement). The direct method is recommended by the...
What is a creditor? Definition of Creditor A creditor could be a bank, supplier or person that has provided money, goods, or services to a company and expects to be paid at a later date. In other words, the company owes...
What is the difference between fixed assets and noncurrent assets? Fixed Assets are Part of Noncurrent Assets Fixed assets are one of several categories of noncurrent assets. Fixed assets are usually reported on the...
What is the difference between adjusting entries and correcting entries? Definition of Adjusting Entries Generally, adjusting entries are required at the end of every accounting period so that a company’s financial...
Are commissions considered to be revenues or expenses? Definition of Commissions Revenues or Expenses The company or person earning and receiving commissions (such as a percentage of sales) will have commissions revenue....
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...
What is a long-term liability? Definition of Long-term Liability A long-term liability is an obligation resulting from a previous event that is not due within one year of the date of the balance sheet (or not due within...
What is a contingent liability? Definition of Contingent Liability A contingent liability is a potential liability that may or may not become an actual liability. Whether the contingent liability becomes an actual...
What are the reasons for high inventory days? Definition of Inventory Days I assume that inventory days is referring to the days’ sales in inventory. If so, then inventory days is also related to the inventory turnover...
What is the abbreviation for debit and credit? Abbreviation for Debit and Credit The abbreviation for debit is dr. and the abbreviation for credit is cr. Apparently the “dr.” is associated with the term used in Italy...
What is the difference in salaries between a bookkeeper and an accountant? I estimate that a bookkeeper’s salary will be less than half of an accountant’s salary. For example, an accountant with a year or two of...
What does NOI stand for? NOI is the acronym for net operating income. Net operating income is also referred to as income from operations. NOI excludes discontinued operations, extraordinary items, and nonoperating (or...
What are wages payable? Definition of Wages Payable Wages payable refers to the wages that a company’s employees have earned, but have not yet been paid. Under the accrual method of accounting, this amount is likely...
Where is accrued income reported in the balance sheet? Definition of Accrued Income Accrued income refers to amounts that have been earned, but the amounts have not yet been received. For example, a corporation may have...
Which items on a bank reconciliation will require a journal entry? Journal Entries for Bank Reconciliation The items on the bank reconciliation that require a journal entry are the items noted as adjustments to books....
What is an escrow payment? An escrow payment is an amount deposited with another party and it is to be released only for its specified purpose. The following is one example of an escrow payment. A borrower and lender...
How do I calculate the amount of sales tax that is included in total receipts? Sales Tax Calculation To calculate the sales tax that is included in a company’s receipts, divide the total amount received (for the items...
What is a toxic asset? I would define a toxic asset as an investment whose value has dropped significantly and there is no market in which to sell the asset. To illustrate, let’s assume that at the peak of the real...
How is a short term bank loan recorded? Definition of Short Term Bank Loan When a company borrows money from its bank and agrees to repay the loan amount within a year, the company will record the loan by increasing its...
Why does a company's profit appear as a credit on its balance sheet? The accounting equation and the double entry system provide an explanation why a company’s profit appears as a credit on its balance sheet. Asset...
Featured Review
"I am a principal for my own company. In addition, I also serve as an executive director for a community-development financial institution in the Mid-Atlantic region. I became a PRO user because I wanted to deepen my understanding of accounting concepts. I also wanted to be able to engage more effectively with financial counterparties at my job, and to be able to more effectively budget, forecast, and deepen my understanding of corporate finance. I like the materials because they are relevant, easily accessible, and organized in such a way that even a novice can benefit from walking through them in a stepwise manner. When I first learned of AccountingCoach, I was a business analyst. Through leveraging the concepts via the AccountingCoach website, I was able to parlay my financial acumen into a deeper understanding of financial concepts, which assisted me in being promoted to management, and eventually gave me the confidence to step out and found my own company. I highly recommend the tools, and I'm very thankful to Harold Averkamp for putting this content together and continuing to provide it. For anyone considering leveraging the AccountingCoach suite of tools, I highly recommend that you begin—you'll be glad that you did!" - Rennard 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: