What is a journal? Definition of a Journal In accounting and bookkeeping, a journal is a record of financial transactions in order by date. Traditionally, a journal has been defined as the book of original entry. The...
What is a journal? Definition of a Journal In accounting and bookkeeping, a journal is a record of financial transactions in order by date. Traditionally, a journal has been defined as the book of original entry. The...
What is an unpresented cheque or check and does it require an adjustment to the balance sheet? Definition of Unpresented Cheque or Check An unpresented cheque is a check that a company has written, but the check has not...
How do I record an advance to an employee and the deduction? Definition of Advance to an Employee A cash advance to an employee is usually a temporary loan by a company to an employee. In other words, the company is the...
What is a controller's cushion? A controller’s cushion or controller’s reserve involves temporarily recording too much expense for an item that the controller calculates. For example, the controller might budget...
What is the debt to total assets ratio? Definition of Debt to Total Assets Ratio The debt to total assets ratio is an indicator of a company’s financial leverage. It tells you the percentage of a company’s total...
What is a deferred cost? Definition of Deferred Cost A deferred cost is a cost that is already recorded in a company’s accounts, but at least some of the cost should not be expensed until a future accounting period....
What are the disclosures for a manufacturer's inventory? A manufacturer should disclose the following categories of inventory: raw materials, work-in-process, finished goods, manufacturing supplies, and packaging...
What is the difference between gross profit margin and gross margin? Definition of Gross Profit Gross profit is an amount that is computed as follows: A company’s net Sales minus its cost of goods sold A product’s...
What is the three-way match? Definition of Three-Way Match In the accounting and bookkeeping area of accounts payable, the three-way match refers to a procedure used when processing an invoice received from a vendor or...
What is inventory shrinkage? Definition of Inventory Shrinkage Inventory shrinkage is a term to describe the loss of inventory. The shrinkage could be the result of theft, breakage, poor recordkeeping, etc. The term...
Where should a business report cash which is restricted to purchase a long-term asset? The cash which a business has restricted to purchase a long-term asset should be reported on the balance sheet under the asset...
What is net sales? Definition of Net Sales Under the accrual basis of accounting, net sales is the total amount of goods shipped/delivered to customers during a specified period of time minus any early payment discounts...
Are payroll withholding taxes an expense or a liability? Definition of Payroll Withholding Taxes Payroll withholding taxes are amounts withheld from employees’ wages and salaries. The amounts withheld are actually the...
What is the expanded accounting equation? Definition of Expanded Accounting Equation The expanded accounting equation provides more details for the owner’s equity amount shown in the basic accounting equation. The...
Will I be able to pass the CPA Exam after studying the accounting material on AccountingCoach.com? AccountingCoach.com contains introductory accounting material. While you need to master the principles and concepts...
What is an overdraft? Definition of Overdraft An overdraft (also known as a bank overdraft) generally means that the amount of a company’s checks being presented at the bank for payment exceeded the amount on deposit....
What is the meaning of aging? Definition of Aging In accounting, the term aging is often associated with a company’s accounts receivable. Accounts receivable arise when a company provides goods or services and allows...
What is premium on common stock? Definition of Premium on Common Stock If a corporation’s common stock has a par value and the corporation receives more than the par value when issuing a new share of the stock, the...
What are accrued liabilities? Definition of Accrued Liabilities Accrued liabilities are usually expenses that have been incurred by a company as of the end of an accounting period, but the amounts have not yet been paid...
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 rubber check? A rubber check is a check that is not paid (or honored) by the bank on which it is drawn. The reason the check is not paid is the maker’s account had insufficient funds or not sufficient funds...
What is a deferred asset? Definition of Deferred Asset A deferred asset represents costs that have occurred, but because of certain circumstances the costs will be reported as expenses at a later time. You might consider...
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 salvage value? Definition of Salvage Value In accounting, salvage value is the amount that is expected to be received at the end of a plant asset‘s useful life. Salvage value is sometimes referred to as...
What is an accounting period? Definition of Accounting Period An accounting period is the period of time covered by a company’s financial statements. Common accounting periods for external financial statements include...
Why is it necessary to allocate a lump sum payment to individual items? It is necessary to allocate a lump sum payment to individual items in order to record a fair portion of the lump sum in each of the proper general...
How does petty cash affect expenses? Definition of Petty Cash Petty cash is a small amount of currency and coins that a company has available to make very small payments instead of requesting and processing a company...
What is a purchase return? Definition of Purchase Return A purchase return occurs when a buyer returns merchandise that it had purchased from a supplier. Since the return of purchased merchandise is time consuming and...
How do I learn more about the CPA Exam? You can learn more about the Uniform CPA Exam at our free Accounting Career Center. Within our Accounting Career Center are direct links to the state boards of accountancy, CPA...
Where in the chart of accounts is a suspense account located? Suspense Account in the Chart of Accounts A suspense account could be located in any one of these sections of an organization’s chart of accounts: Asset...
Are liabilities always a bad thing? Definition of Liabilities Liabilities are a company’s obligations and are usually defined as a claim on the company’s assets. However, liabilities (and stockholders’ equity) can...
Are bonds payable reported as a current liability if they mature in six months? Definition of Bonds Payable Bonds payable are formal, long-term obligations that promise to pay interest every six months and the principal...
What does the term organic growth mean? Organic growth often refers to the growth in a company’s sales that did not occur because of an acquisition of another company. Expressed another way, organic growth is...
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 materiality? Definition of Materiality In accounting, materiality refers to the relative size of an amount. Relatively large amounts are material, while relatively small amounts are not material (or immaterial)....
What is the double declining balance method of depreciation? Definition of Double Declining Balance Method of Depreciation The double declining balance method of depreciation, also known as the 200% declining balance...
What is the bookkeeping equation? Definition of Bookkeeping Equation The bookkeeping equation (or accounting equation) is similar to the structure of the balance sheet: For a sole proprietorship: Assets = Liabilities +...
Can you help me understand the golden rules of accounting? The golden rules of accounting are not presented in any of the U.S. accounting books that I have reviewed. I assume the reason for omitting the golden rules of...
Is the drawing account a capital account? Definition of Drawing Account A sole proprietorship will have a drawing account in which the owner’s withdrawals or draws of cash or other assets are recorded. The amounts of...
What is the days' sales in accounts receivable ratio? Definition of Days’ Sales in Accounts Receivable The days’ sales in accounts receivable ratio (also known as the average collection period) tells you the number...
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