AccountingQA Latest Questions

Spriha Sparsh
Spriha Sparsh
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  2. Pooja_Parikh Aspiring Chartered Accountant
    This answer was edited.

    Retained Earnings refer to the total net profits left with the company after deduction of all dividends. This amount is a source of internal finance and can be used for the growth or expansion of the company. Retained earnings are shown under shareholders’ equity in the balance sheet and are calculaRead more

    Retained Earnings refer to the total net profits left with the company after deduction of all dividends. This amount is a source of internal finance and can be used for the growth or expansion of the company.

    Retained earnings are shown under shareholders’ equity in the balance sheet and are calculated as follows:
    Retained earnings at the end of the year = Retained earnings at the beginning of the year + Net Income – Dividend

    From the above formula, Yes, it is possible for retained earnings to be negative. Negative earnings occur when the cumulative dividend payout is higher than the earnings made by a company during the year. This results in a negative balance as per the formula.

    Negative Retained earnings indicate a number of concerning facts about a company:

    • That the company is experiencing Long term losses.
    • That there are chances for the company to go into bankruptcy.
    • That the company may be paying out dividends to the shareholders from borrowed finance.

     

    Positive Retained Earnings

    When a company is said to have positive retained earnings, the company has several advantages. The company has excess profit to hold on to. This helps in expansion and also acts as a safety net in case of unforeseen expenses. Hence if a company shows positive Retained earnings it can be interpreted that the company is profitable.

    However, higher retained earnings mean the distribution of lesser dividends to shareholders. This makes the company look less attractive to investors. Another reason for high retained earnings could be that the company has not found any profitable investment for its earnings.

    Therefore, there should be adequate retained earnings with the company but at the same time, keep a check that the amount of retained earnings does not exceed a limit.

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Jayesh Gupta
Jayesh GuptaCurious
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  2. Ayushi Curious Pursuing CA
    This answer was edited.

    Shareholders are the entities that hold some amount or number of shares of a company. As we know that ownership of a company is divided into its shares, a shareholder is actually a part-owner of a company. By entity, it means a shareholder may be: An individual Any other company Any other incorporatRead more

    Shareholders are the entities that hold some amount or number of shares of a company. As we know that ownership of a company is divided into its shares, a shareholder is actually a part-owner of a company.

    By entity, it means a shareholder may be:

    • An individual
    • Any other company
    • Any other incorporated entity
    • Cooperative society
    • BOI( Body of Individuals)
    • AOP(Association of Persons)
    • Artificial Juridical Person

    The rights of shareholders depend on the type of shareholder one is.

    Types of shareholders

    1.   Equity Shareholders: By the term ‘shareholders’ we usually mean equity shareholders. They are permanent in nature i.e. they are not repaid the money they have invested into the company until the company is liquidated or wound up. Equity shareholders have the following rights:

    • Right to have a share in profits made by the company. The profit made by a company, when distributed to its equity shareholders is known as a dividend.
    • Right to vote on all resolutions to be passed in the Annual General Meeting of a company.
    • Right to get repaid in event of winding up of the company. However, they are paid after meeting the obligations of outsiders and of preference shareholders.
    • Right to transfer ownership of the shares. A shareholder may sell its shares to some willing buyer and cease to be a shareholder of a company.

     

    2. Preference Shareholders: They are shareholders who are given preference regarding:

    • Dividend
    • Repayment at time of winding up

    Unlike equity shareholders, they are not of permanent nature. Preference shares are redeemable i.e. they are to be repaid after a period which cannot be more than 20 years from the date of allotment of such shares (as the Companies Act, 2013). Also, a company cannot issue irredeemable preference shares. The rights of preference shareholders are as follows:-

    • By preference as to dividend, it means preference shareholders have the right to receive a fixed dividend as a certain percentage on the nominal value of the share and that too before equity shareholders are paid.
    • Right to get repaid at the date of redemption.
    • If the company get liquidated before redemption of the preference shareholder, then they have the right to get repaid before equity shareholders.

     

    3.  Differential Voting Rights Shareholders: These shareholders hold equity shares but with differential, right as to voting i.e. they may either have less voting rights or more voting right as compared to ordinary equity shares. Generally, DVR shares carry less voting power.

    For example, a DVR shareholder gets 1 vote for 10 shares whereas an ordinary equity shareholder gets 10 votes for 10 shares i.e. one vote for every share. DVR shares issued to raise not only permanent capital but also prevent dilution of voting rights.

    The rest of the right remains the same as the equity shareholders.

     

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Aadil
AadilCurious
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  2. Ayushi Curious Pursuing CA
    This answer was edited.

    Meaning We know that an account in ledger format has two amount columns i.e. debit and credit amount columns. Now, most of the time, the total of debit and credit sides do not match.  The difference between their totals is called the balance of the account and it is posted on the shorter side. ThisRead more

    Meaning

    We know that an account in ledger format has two amount columns i.e. debit and credit amount columns. Now, most of the time, the total of debit and credit sides do not match.  The difference between their totals is called the balance of the account and it is posted on the shorter side. This result in equalling the total of both sides, hence this act is called ‘balancing an account.

    Types of balances

    Balancing an account is a very usual practice so that the balance of an account can be known. An account can have two types of balances:

    • Debit balance, where the debit side total is more than the credit side total.
    • Credit balance, where the credit side is more than the debit side total.

    The balance of an account is posted on the shorter side. It means:

    • The debit balance will be shown on the credit side as the credit side total is shorter. (posted as ‘By Balance c/d’)
    • The credit balance will be shown on the debit side as the debit side total is shorter (posted as ‘To Balance c/d’)

    Example

    The following is a cash account that is not balanced:

     

    We can see the debit side is ₹800 more than the credit side. It means there is a debit balance. It will be posted on the credit side as ‘By balance c/d’ to balance the account.

    Exceptions

    Balance of the income and the expense accounts (nominal accounts)are not computed. Instead, they are closed to trading account or profit and loss account to balance their amount totals. For example, the salaries account and sales accounts

    Only the balance of the following types of accounts are computed and carried forwarded to successive accounting years:

    • Assets
    • Liabilities
    • Capital

    The balance of these accounts is shown on the trial balance and balance sheet as well.

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Simerpreet
SimerpreetHelpful
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  2. AbhishekBatabyal Helpful Pursuing CA, BCOM (HONS)
    This answer was edited.

    Introduction   Furniture is treated as a fixed asset of an enterprise unless it deals in the manufacturing or the trade of furniture. As stock in trade, it will be treated as current assets. In both cases, they are real accounts. Hence, the golden rule of accounting will be the same. But, when it coRead more

    Introduction

     

    Furniture is treated as a fixed asset of an enterprise unless it deals in the manufacturing or the trade of furniture. As stock in trade, it will be treated as current assets.

    In both cases, they are real accounts. Hence, the golden rule of accounting will be the same.

    But, when it comes to journal entries, Furniture A/c will appear only when it is treated as a fixed asset.

    No journal entries are passed in the stock-in-trade account except for some balance transferring entries.

    Journal Entries on taking Furniture as a fixed asset

    Taking furniture as a fixed asset, we can pass various entries related to it. Since furniture is an asset, any increase is debited and the decrease is credited.

    Also, furniture is a real account which means the golden rule of accounting  applicable is, “Debit what comes in and credit what goes out”.

    Following are the basic entries related to furniture.

    Purchase of furniture

    The most common entry related to furniture is the purchase of furniture:

    Furniture A/c                                            Dr. Amt
    To Cash / Bank A/c Amt

    Here Furniture A/c is increased, hence debited.
    Cash or Bank being reduced is credited.

    Sale of furniture

     

    Cash / Bank A/c                                       Dr. Amt
    Profit and Loss A/c *                               Dr. Amt
    To Furniture A/c Amt
    To Profit and Loss A/c  ** Amt

     *In case of loss

    **In case of profit

     On the sale of furniture, its balance gets reduced, hence credited.
    Cash or Bank is debited as cash comes in hand or into the bank.

    Also, profit or loss may arise due to the difference in sale value and the carrying amount of the furniture A/c.

    The difference is debited to Profit and Loss A/c in case of loss and credited in case of profit.

     

    Depreciation on Furniture

    Depreciation A/c                                         Dr. Amt
    To Furniture A/c Amt

    Here, furniture is credited as it is decreased by the amount of depreciation.

    Depreciation being a non-cash expense, is debited.

    Journal Entries on taking Furniture as stock in trade

    When furniture is stock of trade of a business, the journal entries will be like normal purchase and sales entries as below:

     

    Purchase A/c                                               Dr. Amt
    To Cash / Bank A/c Amt

     

     

    Cash / Bank A/c                                          Dr. Amt
    To Sales A/c Amt

    There will be no furniture account.

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Anushka Lalwani
Anushka Lalwani
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  2. ShreyaSharma none
    This answer was edited.

    Ledger Folio A ledger folio, in simple words, is a page number of the ledger account where the relevant account appears. The term 'folio' refers to a book, particularly a book with large sheets of paper. In accounting, it's used to maintain ledger accounts. The use of ledger folio is generally seenRead more

    Ledger Folio

    A ledger folio, in simple words, is a page number of the ledger account where the relevant account appears. The term ‘folio’ refers to a book, particularly a book with large sheets of paper. In accounting, it’s used to maintain ledger accounts.

    The use of ledger folio is generally seen in manual accounting, i.e the traditional book and paper accounting as it is a convenient tool used for tracking the relevant ledger account from its journal entry. Whereas, in computer-oriented accounting (or computerized accounting), it’s not really an issue to track your relevant ledger account.

    Ledger folio, abbreviated as ‘L.F.’, is typically seen in journal entries. The ledger folio is written in the journal entries, after the ‘date’ and ‘particulars’ columns. It is really convenient when we’re dealing with and recording a large number of journal entries. As we will be further posting them into ledger accounts, thus, ledger folio comes in as a really useful component of journal entries.

    • The number in the ledger folio may be numeric or alphanumeric.
    • The ledger folio column in the journal has nothing to do with the accounting principles and rules. It’s used by us as per our methods and needs.

     

    Example

    We’ll look at how the ledger folio column is used while recording journal entries.

     

    We can find the relevant ledger accounts on the page numbers of the book as mentioned in the above entries, i.e. the cash and sales account on page – 1 whereas, the purchases and sundry creditors on page – 2 of the relevant ledger book.

     

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A_Team
A_Team
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  2. Ishika Pandey Curious ca aspirant
    This answer was edited.

    Definition Current assets are defined as cash and other assets that are expected to be converted into cash or consumed in the production of goods or rendering of services in the normal course of business. Or in other words, we can say that the expected realization period is less than the operating cRead more

    Definition

    Current assets are defined as cash and other assets that are expected to be converted into cash or consumed in the production of goods or rendering of services in the normal course of business.

    Or in other words, we can say that the expected realization period is less than the operating cycle period although it is more than the period of 12 months from the date of the balance sheet.

    For example, goods are purchased with the purpose to resell and earn a profit, debtors exist to convert them into cash i.e., receive the amount from them, bills receivable exist again for receiving cash against it, etc.

     

    List of current assets

    The list of current assets is as follows:-

    • Cash in hand
    • Cash equivalents
    • Bills receivables
    • Sundry debtors
    • Prepaid expenses
    • Accrued income
    • Closing stock
    • Short-term investments ( marketable securities )
    • Other liquid assets

     

    Now here are a few definitions for the above list of current assets which are as follows:-

    • Cash in hand

    Cash comprises cash on hand and demand deposits with banks.

     

    • Cash equivalents

    Cash equivalents are short-term, highly liquid investments that are readily convertible into known amounts of cash and which are subject to an insignificant risk of changes in value.

     

    • Bills receivables

    It means a bill of exchange accepted by the debtor, the amount of which will be received on the specific date.

     

    • Sundry debtors

    A debtor is a person or entity who owes an amount to an enterprise against credit sales of goods and/or services rendered.

     

    • Prepaid expenses

    Expense that has been paid in advance and benefit of which will be available in the following years or year.

     

    • Accrued income

    Income that has been earned in the accounting period but in respect of which no enforceable claim has become due in that period by the enterprise.

     

    • Closing stock

    Stock or inventory at the end of the accounting period which is shown in the balance sheet and which is valued on the basis of the “ cost or net realizable value, whichever is lower “ principle is called closing stock.

     

    • Short term investment

    Investments that are also known as marketable securities and are held for a temporary period of time i.e, for less than 12 months, and can be easily converted into cash are called short-term investments.

     

    Criteria for classification

    Now let us see the classification of assets in the case of companies as per Schedule III of the Companies act 2013.

    An asset is a current asset if it satisfies any one of the following criteria which are as follows:-

    • It is held primarily for the purpose of being traded.

     

    • It is expected to be realized in or is intended for sale or consumption in the company’s normal operating cycle.

     

    • It is expected to be realized within 12 months from the reporting date.

     

    • It is cash and cash equivalent unless it is restricted from being exchanged or used to settle a liability for at least 12 months after the reporting date.

     

    Here is an extract of the balance sheet showing current assets 

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Simerpreet
SimerpreetHelpful
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  2. Kajal
    This answer was edited.

    Trading A/c is a nominal account which follows the rule "Debit all expenses and losses, Credit all incomes and gains". So, all expenses relating to the purchase or manufacturing of goods are shown on the debit side of the Trading A/c. It includes Opening Stock, Purchases, Wages, Carriage Inward, ManRead more

    Trading A/c is a nominal account which follows the rule “Debit all expenses and losses, Credit all incomes and gains”.

    So, all expenses relating to the purchase or manufacturing of goods are shown on the debit side of the Trading A/c. It includes Opening Stock, Purchases, Wages, Carriage Inward, Manufacturing Expenses, Dock charges, and other direct expenses that are directly related to the manufacturing or purchase.

     

    TRADING ACCOUNT

    Trading A/c is prepared for calculating the Gross Profit or Gross Loss arising from the trading activities of a business.

    Trading activities are mostly related to buying and selling of goods. However, in between buying and selling, a lot of activities are involved like transportation, warehousing, etc. So, all the expenses that are directly related to manufacturing or purchase of goods are also recorded in the Trading A/c.

     

     

    DEBIT SIDE OF TRADING A/C

    The items shown on the Dr. side are,

    OPENING STOCK – Stock is nothing but goods that are either obtained for resale or manufactured for sale and are yet unsold on any particular date.

    The value of stock at the beginning of an accounting year is called Opening stock while the value of the stock at the end of an accounting year is called closing stock.

    The closing stock of the last year becomes the opening stock of the current year.

    Opening stock includes,

    1. Opening Stock of Raw materials
    2. Opening Stock of Semi-finished goods
    3. Opening Stock of Finished goods

    For example – Suppose you are in the business of manufacturing and trading shirts. On 31st March 2023, there was unused raw material worth $10,000 and shirts worth $50,000 remained unsold.

    So, we have Closing Stock of Raw material – $10,000

    Closing Stock of Finished Goods – $50,000

    This closing stock of last year becomes your opening stock during the current year i.e. on 1st April 2023, we have

    Opening Stock of raw material – $10,000

    Opening Stock of Finished Goods – $50,000

    PURCHASES – Goods that have been bought for resale or raw materials purchased for manufacturing the product are terms as Purchases. These goods must be related to the business you are doing.

    It includes cash as well as credit Purchases.

    Continuing with the above example, suppose you bought raw material worth $ 1,00,000 for manufacturing and shirts worth $50,000 for resale (and not for personal consumption) then both these will be termed as purchases for you. So, your purchases will be $1,50,000 ($1,00,000 + $50,000)

    PURCHASES RETURN – When goods bought are returned to the suppliers due to any reason. This is known as Purchase return. Purchase return is deducted from the Purchases.

    In the above example, you bought shirts worth $50,000 for resale. Out of which shirts worth $20,000 were defective. So, you returned them to the supplier. This return of $20,000 is your purchase return or return outwards (as goods are going out)

    WAGES – Wages are paid to the workers who are directly engaged in the loading, unloading and production of goods.

    For example – Paid $10,000 to workers for manufacturing shirts.

    However, it would be included in Trading A/c only if the wages are paid for work which is directly related to the manufacturing or purchase of goods otherwise it will be shown in P&L A/c.

    Suppose you hired a manager to take care of your business and paid him $20,000 as salary. This salary is indeed an expense for the business but is not directly related to the manufacturing of goods. Since it is an indirect expense, it can only be recorded in P&L  A/c and not in the Trading A/c.

    CARRIAGE or CARRIAGE INWARDS or FREIGHT – It refers to the cost of transporting goods from the supplier.

    Suppose, you ordered raw material in bulk which was transported to you by a van and you paid its fare. This fare is nothing but your carriage inwards.

    However, if carriage or freight is paid on bringing an asset, the amount should be added to the asset account and must not be debited to the trading account.

    MANUFACTURING EXPENSES – All expenses incurred in the manufacture of goods such as  Coal, Gas, Fuel, Water, Power, Factory rent, Factory lighting etc.

    DOCK CHARGES – These are charged by port authorities when unloading goods at a dock or wharf. Such charges paid in connection with goods purchased are considered direct expenses and are debited to Trading a/c.

    IMPORT DUTY or CUSTOM DUTY – It is a tax collected on imports and specific exports by a country’s customs authorities. If import duty is paid on the import of goods, then they are shown on the Dr. side of the Trading A/c.

    For example –  Paid $15,000 as import duty for importing shirts for resale.

    ROYALTY – Royalty refers to the amount paid for the use of assets belonging to another person. It includes royalty for the use of intangible assets, such as copyrights, trademarks, or franchisee agreements. It is also paid for the use of natural resources, such as mining leases.

    Royalty is charged to the Trading A/c as it increases the cost of production.

    GROSS PROFIT – When sales exceed the amount of purchases and the expenses directly connected with such purchases i.e. when Credit side> Debit side.

     

    CREDIT SIDE OF TRADING A/C

    SALES – When goods are sold to earn a profit, it is called sales. It can be cash sales or credit sales.

    SALES RETURN – When the goods sold are returned by the customer, it is known as a sales return. Sales return is deducted from the sales.

    CLOSING STOCK – The goods remaining unsold at the end of the year are termed as closing stock. It is valued at cost price or market price whichever is less.

    GROSS LOSS – If purchases and direct expenses exceed sales, then it is a Gross loss. In other words, when Debit side > Credit side.

     

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