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 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...
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...
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...
Where do dividends appear on the financial statements? Definition of Dividends Cash dividends are a distribution of a company’s profits. Financial Statements of a Corporation The main financial statements of a...
What is the difference between an invoice and a voucher? Definition of an Invoice An invoice received from a vendor is a billing for goods or services that it had provided. The vendor’s invoice will include the...
What is GAAP? Definition of GAAP GAAP is the acronym for generally accepted accounting principles. GAAP consists of the following: Basic underlying accounting principles, assumptions, and concepts such as the cost...
What is a recurring journal entry? Definition of Recurring Journal Entry A recurring journal entry is a journal entry that is recorded in every accounting period. Some recurring journal entries will involve the same...
What is a restrictive endorsement? Definition of Restrictive Endorsement A restrictive endorsement or restricted endorsement places a limitation on the use of a check or other negotiable financial instrument. Using a...
What is the gross profit method? Gross Profit Method Definition The gross profit method is a technique used to estimate the amount of ending inventory. The technique could be used for monthly financial statements when a...
How do you report a write-down in inventory? Definition of Write-down in Inventory Under FIFO and average cost methods, when the net realizable value of inventory is less than the cost of the inventory, there needs to be...
What is a contra expense account? Definition of Contra Expense Account A contra expense account is a general ledger expense account that will intentionally have a credit balance (instead of the debit balance that is...
What is bad debts expense? Definition of Bad Debts Expense Bad debts expense is related to a company’s current asset accounts receivable. Bad debts expense is also referred to as uncollectible accounts expense or...
What is the difference between stockholder and stakeholder? Definition of Stockholder A stockholder or shareholder is the owner of shares of a corporation’s common or preferred stock. Definition of Stakeholder A...
Why and how do you adjust the inventory account in the periodic method? Definition of Inventory Account in Periodic Method Under the periodic method or periodic system, the account Inventory is dormant throughout the...
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 is the payout ratio? The payout ratio indicates the percentage of a corporation’s earnings which are distributed as cash dividends to its stockholders. Typically, the payout ratio is computed by using the per...
Does paying an account payable affect net income? Definition of Paying Accounts Payable Under the accrual basis of accounting, expenses are recorded when they have occurred, not when they are paid. Therefore, if an...
How do you record an asset that was partially financed? Example of Recording an Asset that was Partially Financed Assume that your company purchased a car for $10,000 by paying cash of $4,000 and signing a promissory...
Is the sales tax paid on merchandise that you will resell an expense? I believe that most states have sales tax exemptions for merchandise purchased for resale. Check with your state’s sales tax department to see if...
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 a contra inventory account? A contra inventory account is a general ledger account with a credit balance. The credit balance in the contra inventory account will be combined with the debit balance in the...
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...
What is an account? Definition of Account In accounting, an account is a record in the general ledger that is used to sort and store transactions. For example, companies will have a Cash account in which to record every...
What does it mean to check the extensions and to foot an invoice? To check the extensions on a purchase invoice means to verify that the number of units of each item multiplied by its unit cost agrees with the total...
What is the consistency principle? Definition of Consistency In accounting, consistency requires that a company’s financial statements follow the same accounting principles, methods, practices and procedures from one...
What is the entry for an employee's personal phone calls included in the company's bill? Let’s assume that an employee has made personal phone calls of $20 which are included in the company’s phone bill of $100....
What is contained on a 10-column worksheet? The 10-column worksheet that I am familiar with will have the general ledger account titles in the first column followed by ten columns of amounts. There will be one debit and...
What is gross pay? Definition of Gross Pay Gross pay is the amount an employee is paid before the employer withholds FICA (Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes), income taxes (federal, state, local) if applicable,...
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...
What is a certificate of deposit? Definition of Certificate of Deposit A certificate of deposit, also referred to as a CD, is a time deposit at a bank, credit union, or other financial institution. A certificate of...
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 the meaning of sundry and sundry debtors? Definition of Sundry Sundry can mean various, miscellaneous, or diverse. Definition of Sundry Debtors Sundry debtors could be referring to a company’s customers who...
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 difference between a land improvement and a leasehold improvement? Definition of Land Improvement A land improvement is a long-term (long-lived) asset resulting from a physical addition to a company’s land....
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 gross margin? Definition of Gross Margin Gross margin is the amount remaining after a retailer or manufacturer subtracts its cost of goods sold from its net sales. In other words, gross margin is the retailer’s...
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...
What are reversing entries and why are they used? Definition of Reversing Entries Reversing entries are made on the first day of an accounting period to remove accrual adjusting entries that were made at the end of the...
What conditions cause a discount on bonds payable? Discount on bonds payable occurs when a bond’s stated interest rate is less than the bond market’s interest rate. If a $1,000,000 bond issue promises to pay interest...
What is the accounting equation? Definition of Accounting Equation The accounting equation of a sole proprietorship is assets = liabilities + owner’s equity. For a corporation, the accounting equation is assets =...
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