Under the accrual method of accounting, the account Salaries Expense reports the salaries that employees have earned during the period indicated in the heading of the income statement, whether or not the company has yet paid the employees. Salaries Expense will usually be an operating expense (as opposed to a nonoperating expense). Depending on the function performed by the salaried employee, Salaries Expense could be classified as an administrative expense or as a selling expense. If the employee was part of the manufacturing process, the salary would end up being part of the cost of the products that were manufactured.
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