What is float? Definition of Float In accounting and bookkeeping, float is the time between the writing of a check and the time that the check clears the bank account on which it is drawn. Examples of Float Payer...
What is float? Definition of Float In accounting and bookkeeping, float is the time between the writing of a check and the time that the check clears the bank account on which it is drawn. Examples of Float Payer...
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 burn rate? In business, burn rate is usually the monthly amount of cash spent in the early years of a start-up business. Burn rate is an important metric since the new business must spend time and money...
What is the difference between periodic and perpetual inventory systems? Periodic Inventory System In a periodic system the account Inventory: Has only the ending balance from the previous accounting year Excludes the...
What does a balance sheet tell us? Definition of Balance Sheet A balance sheet reports the dollar amounts of a company’s assets, liabilities, and owner’s equity (or stockholders’ equity) as of midnight of the...
Are depreciation, depletion and amortization similar? In accounting the terms depreciation, depletion and amortization often involve the movement of costs from the balance sheet to the income statement in a systematic...
What is a credit? Definition of a Credit In bookkeeping and accounting, a credit likely refers to the amount entered on the right side of a general ledger account or to the right side of a T-account. A credit could also...
Why are sales a credit? Definition of Sales In accounting, sales are revenues earned when a company transfers ownership of its goods to its customers. Under the accrual basis or method of accounting, the sale occurs when...
What does amortization mean? Definition of Amortization In general, the word amortization means to systematically reduce a balance over time. In accounting, amortization is conceptually similar to the depreciation of a...
Why does commitment and contingencies appear on the balance sheet without an amount? Definition of Commitments and Contingencies Commitments and contingencies is a balance sheet line with no amount reported. The line...
What is an account payable? Definition of an Account Payable An account payable is an amount owed to a supplier or vendor for goods or services that were provided in advance of payment. However, some people use the term...
How do you calculate accrued vacation pay? Definition of Accrued Vacation Pay Accrued vacation pay is the amount of vacation pay that a company’s employees have earned, but the company has not yet paid. Example of...
What is the allowance method? Definition of Allowance Method The allowance method usually refers to one of the two ways for reporting bad debts expense that results from a company selling goods or services on credit....
What are external financial statements? Definition of External Financial Statements External financial statements are those distributed outside of the company’s management. Some of the recipients of the external...
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...
What is the purpose of the Allowance for Doubtful Accounts? Definition of Allowance for Doubtful Accounts The Allowance for Doubtful Accounts or Allowance for Uncollectible Accounts is a general ledger contra account...
What is the debt to equity ratio? Definition of Debt to Equity Ratio The debt to equity ratio or debt-equity ratio is the result of dividing a corporation’s total liabilities by the total amount of stockholders’...
What is goodwill? Definition of Goodwill In accounting, goodwill is an intangible asset associated with a business combination. Goodwill is recorded when a company acquires (purchases) another company and the purchase...
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....
Should an owner's compensation be recorded as an expense or in the Drawing account? If the enterprise is a sole proprietorship, the owner’s compensation should be debited to the Drawing account. If the enterprise is a...
Is an entry made for outstanding checks when preparing a bank reconciliation? Definition of Outstanding Checks Outstanding checks are checks written by the company, recorded in the company accounts, but not yet appearing...
Should capital budgeting decisions be based on cash flows or revenues and expenses? Definition of Capital Budgeting Decisions Capital budgeting assists in the investment decisions regarding assets that will have an...
If a mortgage payment is due on January 1, should the payment be accrued at December 31? The following answer assumes that the accrual basis of accounting (also known as the accrual method of accounting) is being used…...
What is the difference between net cash flow and net income? Definition of Net Cash Flow Net cash flow is the combination of the cash received and the cash disbursed. In other words, it is the combination of the debit...
Are the goods purchased by a retailer an expense or an asset? Definition of Goods Purchased by a Retailer The goods purchased by a retailer are the products or merchandise that it buys and plans to resell. The goods that...
Why does a cost system developed for inventory valuation distort product cost information? The cost system for inventory valuation may have been developed to provide a reasonable total cost of inventory and a reasonable...
Are LIFO inventory amounts ever written-up to their market value? LIFO inventory amounts will not be written-up, even when the current market value of the inventory is far greater than the amount reported on the balance...
Why would someone buy a bond at a premium? Definition of Bond Premium Bond premium or premium on bonds occurs when the bond’s actual interest payments are greater than the interest payments expected by the market. The...
What is meant by nonoperating expenses and losses? Definition of Nonoperating Expenses and Losses Nonoperating expenses are business expenses that are outside of a company’s main or central operations. (Some describe...
Is the deposit for a booth at a future trade show an asset? The deposit for a booth at a future trade show is an asset until the trade show occurs. Once the trade show occurs the deposit amount should be moved from the...
What is the accounts receivable turnover ratio? Definition of Accounts Receivable Turnover Ratio The accounts receivable turnover ratio (or receivables turnover ratio) is an important financial ratio that indicates a...
What is inventory valuation? Definition of Inventory Valuation In the U.S., inventory valuation is the dollar amount associated with the items remaining in a company’s inventory. Generally speaking, the amount is the...
What is operating income? Definition of Operating Income Operating income is defined as a corporation’s operating revenues minus its operating expenses. Operating income will be shown as a subtotal on many...
Why do we charge depreciation? Definition of Depreciation Accountants charge (to expense) Have a significant cost Will be useful for more than a year Will not be useful indefinitely Since the asset land is assumed to be...
What are interim financial statements? Definition of Interim Financial Statements Interim financial statements report amounts for time intervals that are shorter than a company’s annual financial statements. The...
What is budgeting? Definition of Budgeting Budgeting is the process of preparing detailed projections of future amounts. Companies often engage in two types of budgeting: Operational budgeting, and Capital budgeting...
When do you put parentheses ( ) around a number? Definition of Amounts in Parentheses Parentheses around a number could have a variety of meanings. For example, parentheses could indicate any of the following: A negative...
How do I determine my payroll tax liabilities? Your payroll tax liabilities will include the following: Federal, state, and local income taxes withheld from employees’ wages, salaries, bonuses, etc. but not yet...
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...
How do I learn of new accounting rules? The U.S. accounting rules issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) can be found on its free website www.fasb.org/st/. There you will find: FASB Statements...
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