What is work-in-process inventory (WIP)? Definition of Work-in-process Inventory Work-in-process (WIP) inventory pertains to the goods for which the manufacturing has begun, but not yet completed. In other words, WIP is...
What is work-in-process inventory (WIP)? Definition of Work-in-process Inventory Work-in-process (WIP) inventory pertains to the goods for which the manufacturing has begun, but not yet completed. In other words, WIP is...
What is inflation accounting? In the U.S., inflation accounting has resulted in optional supplementary disclosures on the effects of 1) general inflation, and 2) changes in the prices of specific types of assets. In...
What is the cost of goods available? Definition of Cost of Goods Available For non-manufacturing companies using the periodic inventory system in its general ledger, the cost of goods available (COGA, or cost of goods...
What are some examples of investing activities? Definition of Investing Activities Investing activities often refers to the cash flows from investing activities, which is one of the three main sections of the statement...
How do you balance a checkbook? Definition of Balance a Checkbook To balance a company checkbook means comparing the amounts on the bank statement (or other bank account detail) to the amount in the company’s...
Are sales discounts reported as an expense? Definition of Sales Discounts Sales discounts are also known as cash discounts or early payment discounts. Sales discounts (along with sales returns and allowances) are...
What is a temporary account? Definition of Temporary Account A temporary account is a general ledger account that begins each accounting year with a zero balance. Then at the end of the year its account balance is...
What is not sufficient funds? Definition of Not Sufficient Funds Not sufficient funds or NSF or insufficient funds is a term to describe a check that has been returned by the bank because the balance in the checking...
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...
How does one prepare a company's first bank statement reconciliation? To prepare a bank reconciliation for a company that never prepared one previously, I would first make a list of outstanding checks. For example, if...
What is a suspense account? Definition of Suspense Account A suspense account is a general ledger account in which amounts are temporarily recorded. The suspense account is used because the appropriate general ledger...
How do I record exterior cement work? Is it an asset or an expense? If the cement work was done to repair or maintain existing cement work, then the expenditure should be recorded as an expense. Even if the cost is very...
What is cycle counting? Cycle counting refers to physically counting a portion of the inventory items on many days throughout the year instead of counting all of the items on a single day near the end of the year. For...
What is a condensed income statement? A condensed income statement is one that summarizes much of the income statement detail into a few captions and amounts. For example, a retailer’s condensed income statement will...
Is there a difference between the accounts Purchases and Inventory? Purchases Account Under the Periodic Inventory System The general ledger account Purchases is used to record the purchases of inventory items under the...
Why are assets and expenses increased with a debit? Definition of Debit In accounting the term debit indicates the left side of a general ledger account or the left side of a T-account. (The right side of an account or a...
What is a memorandum entry? Definition of Memorandum Entry A memorandum entry is a short message entered into the general journal and also entered into a general ledger account. It is not a complete journal entry because...
What are consolidated statements of operations? Consolidated statements of operations is the heading appearing on the financial statement also referred to as the income statement. In a small survey of 14 U.S....
What is the meaning of pro rata? Pro rata is a Latin term that means in proportion. Pro rata is related to prorate, a term used in cost accounting. To illustrate the term pro rata, let’s assume that a company’s...
What is an uncleared cheque? Definition of Uncleared Cheque An uncleared cheque is a cheque (check) that has been written and recorded in the payer’s records, but has not yet been paid by the bank on which it is drawn....
What is the conservatism principle? Definition of Conservatism Principle In accounting, the conservatism principle (or accounting constraint) directs an accountant, who is faced with doubt between two possible...
What is a fiscal year? Definition of Fiscal Year A fiscal year is an accounting year that does not end on December 31. (Accounting years of January 1 through December 31 are known as calendar years.) A fiscal year could...
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...
How can a company with a net loss show a positive cash flow? Definition of Net Loss A net loss occurs when a company’s revenues and gains are less than its operating expenses, other expenses and losses. The net loss or...
Where is the discount on the purchase of office furniture recorded? Definition of Discount on Purchase of Office Furniture The discount on the purchase of office furniture that will be used by a company (as opposed to...
How do you calculate the cost of carrying inventory? Definition of Cost of Carrying Inventory The cost of carrying inventory (or cost of holding inventory) is the sum of the following: Cost of money tied up in inventory,...
In bookkeeping, why are revenues credits? In bookkeeping, revenues are credits because revenues cause owner’s equity or stockholders’ equity to increase. Recall that the accounting equation, Assets = Liabilities +...
What is the effective interest rate for a bond? Definition of Effective Interest Rate of a Bond The effective interest rate of a bond is usually the market interest rate and the bond’s yield-to-maturity (as opposed to...
Why is an amount in the cash flows from investing activities shown in parenthesis? An amount shown in parenthesis within the investing activities section of the cash flow statement indicates that cash was used to...
What is the cash flow statement? Definition of Cash Flow Statement The cash flow statement (officially known as the statement of cash flows) is one of the required financial statements issued by U.S. businesses (and by...
What does it mean to replenish the petty cash fund? Definition of Replenishing Petty Cash Replenishing the petty cash fund means the petty cash custodian requests and receives cash from the company’s regular checking...
What are sundry expenses? Definition of Sundry Expenses In accounting and bookkeeping, sundry expenses are expenses that are small in amount and rare in occurrence. For these rare and insignificant expenses, a company...
Is it a requirement for a small business to have a CPA? Generally, a small business is not required to have a CPA or certified public accountant. A CPA would be needed if the small business must have its financial...
What are assets? Definition of Assets In accounting and bookkeeping, a company’s assets can be defined as: Resources or things of value that are owned by a company as the result of company transactions Prepaid expenses...
What is a trial balance? Definition of a Trial Balance A trial balance is a bookkeeping or accounting report that lists the balances in each of an organization’s general ledger accounts. (Often the accounts with zero...
Is a utility bill an expense? The utility bill for a retailer or for a service company is an expense. Under the accrual basis of accounting, the utility bill is an expense for the period indicated by the meter reading...
of a check after the words “Pay to the order of”. payee This is the name that appears on the face of a check after the words “Pay to the order of”. Mark as wrong Mark as right cleared (or) cleared checks This...
to a customer in December. The company's sales terms require the customer to pay the company in 30 days. The company's income statement reported the sale in December. This is proper under which accounting...
will report deferred revenues and accrued expenses as well as accounts with “payable” in the title. liability (or) liabilities This element of a balance sheet will report deferred revenues and accrued expenses as...
Our Explanation of Improving Profits will assist you in focusing on the costs and revenues that are relevant (and ignoring those which are not relevant) for improving profits and eliminating losses. Examples of the...
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