What is a plant-wide overhead rate? Definition of Plant-wide Overhead Rate A plant-wide overhead rate is often a single rate per hour or a percentage of some cost that is used to allocate or assign a company’s...
What is a plant-wide overhead rate? Definition of Plant-wide Overhead Rate A plant-wide overhead rate is often a single rate per hour or a percentage of some cost that is used to allocate or assign a company’s...
What is an implicit interest rate? Definition of Implicit Interest Rate An implicit interest rate is one that is not stated explicitly. Example of Implicit Interest Rate Assume that I lend you $4,623 and you agree to...
What is double-entry bookkeeping? Definition of Double-Entry Bookkeeping Double-entry bookkeeping refers to the 500-year-old system in which each financial transaction of a company is recorded with an entry into at least...
What is a fully depreciated asset? Definition of Fully Depreciated Asset A fully depreciated asset is a plant asset or fixed asset where the asset’s book value is equal to its estimated salvage value. In other words,...
Are insurance premiums a fixed cost? The cost of the insurance premiums for a company’s property insurance is likely to be a fixed cost. The cost of worker compensation insurance is likely to be a variable cost....
What is discount on bonds payable? Definition of Discount on Bonds Payable Discount on bonds payable (or bond discount) occurs when a corporation issues bonds and receives less than the bonds’ face or maturity amount....
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...
Debits and Credits(Quick Test #4 with Coaching) Download PDF This Quick Test with Coaching includes a “View Coaching” button to the right of each answer box. If you choose to click the button, an explanation for the...
Debits and Credits (Word Scramble) Download PDF To see each answer, press or click on the blue "Unscramble" button. If you have difficulty answering the following questions, learn more about this topic by reading our...
Improving Profits Improving Profits Improving profits or reducing operating losses is likely to require some decisions and some action. Both the decisions and the actions involve the future and may involve: expanding a...
What is the difference between an accrual and a deferral? Definition of an Accrual An accrual pertains to: expenses that should be reported now, but have not yet been recorded or paid, and revenues that should be...
How do you calculate opportunity costs? Definition of Opportunity Costs Opportunity costs are the profits a company (or person) missed, or the contribution margin that was missed. Opportunity cost might be thought of as...
What is the difference between an adjunct account and a contra account? Definition of Adjunct Account An adjunct account is a general ledger account that is related to another general ledger account. The combination of...
Our Explanation of Payroll Accounting discusses the taxes and benefits which are withheld from employees' pay as well as the taxes and benefits that are expenses for the employers. Also provided are examples of the...
Our Explanation of Debits and Credits describes the reasons why various accounts are debited and/or credited. For the examples we provide the logic, use T-accounts for a clearer understanding, and the appropriate general...
Our Explanation of Present Value of a Single Amount discusses the time value of money and the need to discount future amounts to the time of an investment or other transaction. The present value of 1 table is used to...
Accounting Principles(Quick Test) Download PDF After you have answered all 20 questions, click "Grade This Quick Test" at the bottom of the page to view your grade and receive feedback on your answers. Note: Some of the...
Our Explanation of Activity Based Costing illustrates how manufacturing overhead costs for a product will differ when costs are allocated using only the number of machine hours, as opposed to being allocated using the...
What is SG&A? Definition of SG&A SG&A is the acronym for selling, general and administrative. SG&A are the operating expenses incurred to 1) promote, sell, and deliver a company’s products and services, and 2) manage...
How should the sale of gift certificates be recorded in the general ledger? Definition of Gift Certificates Gift certificates (and gift cards) are often sold by a retailer to a buyer for cash. The buyer can then redeem...
How do drawings affect the financial statements? Definition of Drawings Drawings are the withdrawals of a sole proprietorship’s business assets by the owner for the owner’s personal use. The drawings or draws by the...
What is the monthly close? Definition of Monthly Close In accounting, monthly close is a series of steps and procedures that are followed so that a company’s monthly financial statements are in compliance with the...
What is recorded in the Wages and Salaries Expense account? Definition of Wages and Salaries Expense The account Wages and Salaries Expense (or separate accounts such as Wages Expense or Salaries Expense) are used to...
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...
Where should I enter unpaid wages? Definition of Unpaid Wages Unpaid wages are usually the amounts that hourly-paid employees have earned, but have not yet been paid to the employees. Entering Unpaid Wages Under the...
Is the cost of goods sold an expense? Why the Cost of Goods Sold is an Expense We often think of expenses as salaries, advertising, rent, commissions, interest, and so on. However, the cost of goods sold is also an...
How do you record the sale of land? Definition of Sale of Land Assume that a retailer sells land that it had been holding for a future store. The retailer must remove the cost of the land from its general ledger asset...
What is the difference between receivables and accounts receivable? Definition of Accounts Receivables Accounts receivable are usually current assets that result from selling goods or providing services to customers on...
What is the difference between an unadjusted trial balance and an adjusted trial balance? Difference between Unadjusted Trial Balance and Adjusted Trial Balance The differences between an unadjusted trial balance and an...
How do you account for bond issue costs? Definition of Bond Issue Costs The costs associated with issuing bonds are debited to a contra liability account such as Bond Issue Costs. Over the life of the bonds, the issue...
Where is a contingent liability recorded? Recording a Contingent Liability A potential or contingent liability that is both probable and the amount can be estimated is recorded as 1) an expense or loss on the income...
What is bad debts? Definition of Bad Debts The term bad debts usually refers to accounts receivable (or trade accounts receivable) that will not be collected. (Bad debts is also used for notes receivable that will not be...
What is the entry when a company lends money to an employee? Definition of Employee Loan When a company lends money to one of its employees, the company is reducing its Cash and increasing another asset such as Other...
In what order are liabilities listed in the chart of accounts? Order for Listing Liabilities It is logical for a company’s liabilities to be organized in the chart of accounts in the same way as they are presented on...
Is the cost of land, buildings, and machinery a fixed cost? Land, Buildings and Machinery are Fixed Assets It is common for people to refer to land, buildings, and machinery as fixed assets. They are also referred to as...
What does it mean to report expenses by function? Definition of Reporting Expenses by Function Reporting expenses by function means to classify and report expenses according to the type of activity for which the expenses...
Why aren't retained earnings distributed as dividends to the stockholders? Definition of Retained Earnings Retained earnings is one component of the stockholders’ equity section of a corporation’s balance sheet. Some...
What journal entries are prepared in a bank reconciliation? Definition of Journal Entries in a Bank Reconciliation Journal entries are required in a bank reconciliation when there are adjustments to the balance per...
What is cost incurred? Definition of Cost Incurred A cost incurred is a cost that a company (or other organization) becomes liable for. Example of Cost Incurred Assume that a retailer begins operations on December 1 and...
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