Preliminary expenses are those expenses that are incurred before the company’s business commences. These expenses are written off annually which does not involve any flow of cash. Therefore, in the cash flow statement, preliminary expenses are added back to net profit before tax and extraordinary itRead more
Preliminary expenses are those expenses that are incurred before the company’s business commences. These expenses are written off annually which does not involve any flow of cash. Therefore, in the cash flow statement, preliminary expenses are added back to net profit before tax and extraordinary items under the head operating activities (indirect method).
A cash flow statement is a financial statement that summarises the cash and cash equivalents entering and leaving the company. They can be classified into operating activities, investing activities and financing activities.
Reason for Treatment
Operating activities refer to those sources or usage of cash that relates to business activities.
As per the indirect method, the cash flow statement for operating activities begins with net profit before tax and extraordinary items. Since the company records non-cash expenditures also, they should add these back to net profit to find out the true cash flows. This is why preliminary expenses are added to net profit in the indirect method.
As per the direct method, all cash receipts are added and all cash expenses are subtracted to get cash flow from operating activities. Since preliminary expenses are a non-cash activity, they do not require any treatment in the direct method.
Preliminary expenses do not fall under the head investing activities as investing activities involve the acquisition or disposal of long term assets or investments. They do not fit in financing activities either as financing activities relate to change in capital or borrowings of the company.
Example
If the balance in preliminary expenses for the year 2019 was Rs.5,000 and its balance in 2020 reduced to 3,000, then its treatment in the cash flow statement would be:
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The profits earned by a company are distributed to its shareholders monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, or yearly in the form of dividends. The dividend payable by the company is transferred to the Dividend Account and is then claimed by the shareholders. If the dividend is not claimed by the members aRead more
The profits earned by a company are distributed to its shareholders monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, or yearly in the form of dividends. The dividend payable by the company is transferred to the Dividend Account and is then claimed by the shareholders.
If the dividend is not claimed by the members after transferring it to the Dividend Account, it is called Unclaimed Dividend. Such a dividend is a liability for the company and it is shown under the head Current Liabilities.
The dividend is transferred from the Dividend Account to the Unclaimed Dividend Account if it is not claimed by the shareholders within 37 days of declaration of dividend.
For the Cash Flow Statement, unclaimed dividend comes under the head Financing Activities.Â
Items shown under the head Financing Activities are those that are used to finance the operations of the company. Since, money raised through the issue of shares finances the company, any item related to shareholding or dividend is shown under the head Financing Activities.
However, there are two approaches to deal with the treatment of Unclaimed Dividend:
First, since there is no inflow or outflow of cash, there is no need to show it in the cash flow statement.
Second, the unclaimed dividend is deducted from the Appropriations, that is, when Net Profit before Tax and Extraordinary Activities is calculated.
Then, it is added under the head Financing Activities because the amount of dividend that has to flow out of the company (that is Dividend Paid amount which has already been deducted from Financing Activities) remained in the company only since it has not been claimed by the members.
The second approach to the treatment of an Unclaimed Dividend is used when the company has not transferred the unclaimed dividend amount from the Dividend Account to a separate account.Â