Fictitious assets can be defined as those fake assets which save revenue for the company. These do not exist physically but also do not qualify as intangible assets. These are merely the expenses or losses that are not fully written off in the accounting period in which they are incurred. These expeRead more
Fictitious assets can be defined as those fake assets which save revenue for the company. These do not exist physically but also do not qualify as intangible assets. These are merely the expenses or losses that are not fully written off in the accounting period in which they are incurred. These expenses are amortized over a period of time.
These assets do not have any realizable value except for the cash outflow. These are created to delay the recognition of the expense and defer it to future periods.
Fictitious assets actually qualify as an expense but are treated as assets only for the fact that they are expected to give returns over a course of more than one year. Examples are Advertisement expenses, preliminary expense, etc.
Treatment
Fictitious assets are shown on the assets side of the balance sheet under the head miscellaneous expenditure. A part of these expenses are shown in the profit and loss statement and the remaining amount is carried forward to the following years.
For example, a company Timber Ltd. incurs expenses relating to advertisement of its products worth 8,000,000 and this advertisement campaign can earn revenue for the company for around 10 years. Hence, such expense of 8,000,000 would be amortized over a period of 10 years.
For the first year, an amount of 800,000 (8,000,000/10) would appear in the profit and loss statement as expense and the rest 7,200,000 would appear as advertisement expense under the Miscellaneous expenditure on the assets side of the balance sheet.
For the second year, an amount of 800,000 (8,000,000/10) would appear in the profit and loss statement as expense and the rest 6,400,000 would appear as advertisement expense under the Miscellaneous expenditure on the assets side of the balance sheet. And so on.
We can say that fictitious assets are deferred revenue expenditures as well as intangible assets. But goodwill, etc are not fictitious assets. Hence, all fictitious assets are intangible assets but all intangible assets are not fictitious assets.
Common fictitious assets that could generally be seen are:
- Advertisement expenses
- Preliminary expenses
- Discount allowed on the issue of shares
- Loss incurred on issue of debentures
- Underwriting Commission
Yes, Accounts Payable can have a Debit balance. Accounts payable is a liability and thus, has a credit balance but can have a debit balance in case the creditor is overpaid or when there is purchase return (for already-paid goods) ACCOUNTS PAYABLE Accounts payable refers to all short-term liaRead more
Yes, Accounts Payable can have a Debit balance. Accounts payable is a liability and thus, has a credit balance but can have a debit balance in case the creditor is overpaid or when there is purchase return (for already-paid goods)
ACCOUNTS PAYABLE
Accounts payable refers to all short-term liabilities of the business that are to be paid. These are usually paid within a duration of 90 days. It includes both Trade payable (goods and services purchased on credit) as well as expenses payable (used but payment not made yet) like rent payable, electricity bill, etc.
Businesses cannot make every payment on the spot. There can be cases when the business is facing a shortage of funds, can have funds but doesn’t have enough cash (or liquid funds) to make payment or simply doesn’t want to make payment on the spot to reduce its capital requirement.
So, like us businessmen also purchase goods on credit or use services for which payment is to be made soon. All these are liabilities for the business.
However, they must be related to the business to be considered as accounts payable.
DEBIT BALANCE OF ACCOUNTS PAYABLE
Debit balance of accounts payable means money owed by others. There is Debit balance when
OVERPAYMENT is made to the creditors or the supplier. It happens when the wrong amount is paid or payment is made twice for the same transaction.
Suppose you need to pay $10,000 as rent within 30 days. After 25 days you mistakenly made a payment of $12,000.
In this case,
PURCHASE RETURN of already paid goods also result in debit balance of Accounts Payable.
Suppose you bought goods worth $50,000 from Mr A on credit and paid for the same. Later, you returned all the goods because they were defective. Now, there will be Debit balance of Accounts Payable till there is a full refund of $50,000 by Mr A.
How is Accounts Payable Treated Normally?
Accounts Payable are the current liabilities of the firm and are shown under the head Current Liabilities in the Balance Sheet. Its liability, thus has a credit balance which represents the amount owed by the firm to others. It is credited when increases and debited when decreases.
For example – Suppose you purchased goods worth $30,000 and agreed to pay after 30 days. So, Accounts payable will be credited by $30,000 and purchases will be debited by $30,000.
Purchases A/c – $30,000 (debit)
To Accounts Payable A/c – $30,000
After 30 days payment is made in cash, which means the liability decreased. So, Accounts Payable A/c will be debited.
Accounts Payable A/c – $30,00
To Cash – $30,000
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