AccountingQA Latest Questions

A_Team
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  2. Vijay Curious M.Com
    This answer was edited.

    Fictitious assets are not actually assets. They are expenses/losses not written off in the year in which they are incurred. They do not have any physical presence. Their expense is spread over more than one accounting period. A part of the expense is amortized/written off every year against the compRead more

    Fictitious assets are not actually assets. They are expenses/losses not written off in the year in which they are incurred. They do not have any physical presence. Their expense is spread over more than one accounting period.

    A part of the expense is amortized/written off every year against the company’s earnings. The remaining part (which is yet to be written off) is shown as an asset in the balance sheet. They are shown as assets because these expenses are expected to give returns to the company over a period of time.

    Here are some examples of fictitious assets:

    • Preliminary expenses.
    • Promotional expenses.
    • Loss incurred on the issue of debentures.
    • Underwriting commission.
    • Discount on issue of shares.

     

    To make it simple I’ll explain the accounting treatment of preliminary expenses with an example.

    The promoters of KL Ltd. paid 50,000 as consultation fees for incorporating the company. The consultation fee is a preliminary expense as they are incurred for the formation of the company. The company agreed to write off this expense over a period of 5 years.

    At the end of every year, the company will write off 10,000 (50,000/5) as an expense in the Profit & Loss A/c.

    The remaining portion i.e. 40,000 (50,000 – 10,000) will be shown on the Assets side of the Balance Sheet under the head Non – Current Assets and sub-head Other Non – Current Assets. 

    Here are the financial statements of KL Ltd.,

    Note: As per AS 26 preliminary expenses are fully written off in the year they are incurred. This is because such expenses do not meet the definition of assets and must be written off in the year of incurring.

    Source: Some fictitious assets examples are from Accountingcapital.com & others from Wikipedia.

     

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Rahul_Jose
Rahul_Jose
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  2. Pooja_Parikh Aspiring Chartered Accountant

    Any person, company, or organization that owes us money is a debtor. The amount that is owed to us is called debt. When you are unsure if a debtor is going to pay back the amount owed to you, then a provision for doubtful debts is created. Here, the debtor may or may not pay back the amount owed. WhRead more

    Any person, company, or organization that owes us money is a debtor. The amount that is owed to us is called debt. When you are unsure if a debtor is going to pay back the amount owed to you, then a provision for doubtful debts is created. Here, the debtor may or may not pay back the amount owed. When the debts owed to us is irrecoverable, it is termed as bad debts.

    Provision for doubtful debts may become a bad debt at some point. Usually, companies keep a small portion of their debtors as a provision for doubtful debts in accordance with the prudence concept that tells us to account for all possible losses. Provision for doubtful debts is a liability whereas bad debts are recorded as an expense.

    Journal entries for Doubtful debts and bad debts are as follows:

    EXAMPLE

    If the balance in the debtors’ account shows an amount of Rs 20,000 and 5% of debtors are treated as doubtful, then Rs 1,000 is recorded as a provision for doubtful debts. This amount is deducted from debtors in the balance sheet.

    Now if Rs 400 was recorded as actual bad debts, then it is deducted from the provision for doubtful debts instead of debtors. Further another 400 is added back to provision for doubtful debts to maintain the percentage.

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Anushka Lalwani
Anushka Lalwani
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  2. Kajal
    This answer was edited.

    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,

    • Firstly, you will record the transaction by crediting Accounts payable (as liability increased) by $10,000
    • When payment is made after 25 days, Accounts Payable is debited by $12,000 (as liability decreased)
    • So, there will be a debit balance of $2,000 (which means the creditor owes you) till the creditor returns the excess amount.

     

    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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AbhishekBatabyal
AbhishekBatabyalHelpful
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  2. Ayushi Curious Pursuing CA
    This answer was edited.

    The word, “deferred” means delayed or postponed and “revenue” in layman’s terms means income. Therefore deferred revenue means the revenue which is yet to be recognised as income. It is actually unearned income. In accrual accounting, income is recognised only when it is accrued or earned. DeferredRead more

    The word, “deferred” means delayed or postponed and “revenue” in layman’s terms means income. Therefore deferred revenue means the revenue which is yet to be recognised as income. It is actually unearned income.

    In accrual accounting, income is recognised only when it is accrued or earned. Deferred revenue is the income received before the performance of the economic activity to earn it.

    Example:  A shoe shop owner gives an order to a shoe manufacturer of 1000 pair of shoes which is to be delivered after 4 months. He also gives him a cheque of ₹15,000 in advance, the rest ₹5000 is to be given at the time of delivery.

    So, in this case, the ₹15,000 is actually is unearned revenue i.e. deferred revenue. It will be recognised as revenue when the shoe manufacture completes the order and deliver it.

    Till then, the deferred revenue is reported as a liability in the balance sheet. Like this:

    After recognition as revenue, it will be reported in the statement of profit or loss:

    Hence, to summarise, deferred revenue is:

    • Unearned revenue
    • Recognised as income till it is earned
    • Till then it is recognised and reported as a liability in the balance sheet.

    Some examples of deferred revenue are as follows:

    • Advance rent received
    • Advance payment for goods to be delivered.
    • Advanced payment for services to be provided.

    Now the question arises why deferred revenue is recognised as a liability. It is due to the fact that the business may not be able to perform the economic activity successfully to earn that revenue.

    Taking the above example, suppose the shoe manufacturer is not able to honour its commitment and the shoe shop owner can wait no more, then the advanced money of ₹ 15,000 is to be refunded. That’s why deferred revenue is recognised as a liability because it is a liability if we consider the principle of conservatism (GAAP).

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AbhishekBatabyal
AbhishekBatabyalHelpful
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  2. GautamSaxena Curious .
    This answer was edited.

    The land is a fixed asset and is treated as a long-term asset account.  Explanation The land is a fixed asset which is also referred to as a long-term asset. The fixed assets are those assets that are not expected to be cashed, consumed, last, sold, or written off within one accounting year and areRead more

    The land is a fixed asset and is treated as a long-term asset account. 

    Explanation

    The land is a fixed asset which is also referred to as a long-term asset.

    The fixed assets are those assets that are not expected to be cashed, consumed, last, sold, or written off within one accounting year and are purchased for long-term use. The fixed assets are also called non-current assets and the reason behind it is that current assets are easily converted into cash within one year and they are not.

    Fixed assets are planned by the company to be used for the long term in order to generate income.

    Example- Land, building, furniture, plants & equipment, etc.

     

    Why is land an asset?

    Although the land is not depreciated, it is still considered to be an asset because just like other assets the business spends its own money to acquire it.

    It can also be used by the business for different operations and it doesn’t create any liability for the business. Instead, reselling the land after a few years can help the company earn a huge margin of profit.

     

    Land in the balance sheet

    On the asset side of the balance sheet, the land is stated under the heading long-term assets.

    Balance Sheet (for the year…)

     

    Therefore, the land is a fixed asset and is treated as a long-term asset account.

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Bonnie
BonnieCurious
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  2. Ayushi Curious Pursuing CA

    ‘Reserve and surplus’ is a heading under ‘Equities and Liabilities’ in which various reserves and surplus of profit of an enterprise appear. Reserve are the amount set aside to meet with uncertainties of the future. They have credit balance as they are internal liabilities of an enterprise. While ‘sRead more

    ‘Reserve and surplus’ is a heading under ‘Equities and Liabilities’ in which various reserves and surplus of profit of an enterprise appear. Reserve are the amount set aside to meet with uncertainties of the future. They have credit balance as they are internal liabilities of an enterprise. While ‘surplus’ generally means the surplus amount in the profit and loss A/c or the operating surplus in case of a non-profit organisation, reserves are of many types:

    1. Revenue reserve
    2. Specific reserves
    • Reserves created from shareholder’s contribution
    1. Capital reserve
    2. Secret reserves

    Let’s discuss each of the above:

    1. Revenue reserves:

    Revenue reserve has two different definitions.

    First – Revenue reserves are the reserves that are created out of the profit made by an enterprise in the ordinary course of business. As per this definition, the examples of revenue reserves are:

    • General reserve: There is no restriction on the purpose for which this reserve can be used. It is a free reserve. Generally, this reserve is used to pay dividends.
    • Debenture Redemption Reserve: This reserve is mandatory to be created by law. The purpose is to ensure the timely redemption of debentures.
    • Dividend Equalisation Reserve: This reserve is created to maintain a steady rate of dividend every year even if the enterprise reports loss in any financial year.
    • Capital Redemption Reserve: This reserve can be solely used to issue bonus shares to fill the void created in total capital by redemption of preference shares.
    • Workmen Compensation Reserve: This reserve is created to pay for uncertain compensation that an enterprise may be liable to pay to its employees.
    • Investment Fluctuation Reserve: This reserve is created out of the profit of

     

       Second: Revenue reserve is a reserve from which can be used to any use. It can be the payment of dividends, creation of other reserves or reinvestment in the business. It is another name for general reserve.

    1. Specific reserves

    These are the reserves that are restricted to specific purposes only. These reserves are not free reserves i.e. dividends cannot be declared out of these reserves. However, if in case such reserve is not a statutory reserve, an enterprise can very well use such reserves for other purposes too. Specific reserves can be further classified into two types:

    • Statutory specific reserves: These are reserves that are mandatory to be created to comply with legal provisions applicable to an enterprise. Use of such reserves is restricted to some specific purposes.

    If such reserves are not created whenever applicable or if the amount in such reserves is used for a purpose other than the purpose for which it is created, the enterprise can invite face legal consequences. The examples of statutory reserves are as follows:

    • Capital Redemption Reserve
    • Debenture Redemption Reserve
    • Securities Premium Reserve
    • Non – Statutory specific reserves: It is not mandatory to create such reserves. They are created to meet with specific uncertainties of the future.
    • Workmen Compensation Reserve
    • Investment Fluctuation Reserve

    Important Note: Statutory reserve in the context of insurance companies means the minimum amount of cash and marketable securities to be set aside to comply with legal requirements.

    • Reserves created from shareholder’s contribution

    This is a reserve that is created out of a shareholder’s contribution. Securities premium reserve is the only such reserve that is created out of such shareholder’s contribution.

     

    Securities Premium Reserve: It is a reserve that is created when securities of a company such as shares or debentures are issued at a premium. The share or debenture premium money is created for this reserve. The purposes of which this reserve may be used as per section 52 of the Companies Act, 2013 are as follows:

    • For the issue of fully paid bonus shares.
    • For meeting preliminary expenses incurred by the company
    • For meeting the expense, commission or discount allowed on the issue of securities of the company.
    • In providing premium payable on the redemption of preference shares.
    • For the purchase of its own shares or other securities under section 68.
    1. Capital Reserve:

    Capital reserve is a reserve that is created out of the profit made by an enterprise from its non-operating activities like

    • selling of capital assets(fixed assets) at a profit
    • buying a business at profit (where net assets acquired is more than the purchase consideration)

    This reserve is used to finance long term projects of a company like buying or construction of fixed assets, writing off capital losses( selling of fixed assets at loss).

    1. Secret Reserve:

    A secret reserve is a reserve that exists but its existence is not shown in the balance sheet of an enterprise. An enterprise creates such reserves to hide from its competitor that it is in a better financial position than it appears in its balance sheet. Although the creation of secret reserves is prohibited by law, there are provisions for banking companies to create such reserves.

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

    Definition Contingent Asset is an asset the existence, ownership, or value of which may be known or determined only on the occurrence or non-occurrence of one or more uncertain future events. However, the difference between Contingent assets is not disclosed whereas Contingent liabilities are discloRead more

    Definition

    Contingent Asset is an asset the existence, ownership, or value of which may be known or determined only on the occurrence or non-occurrence of one or more uncertain future events.

    However, the difference between Contingent assets is not disclosed whereas Contingent liabilities are disclosed by way of notes they do have different criteria for recognition which are discussed below.

    For example:– a claim that an enterprise is pursuing through the legal process, where the outcome is uncertain, is a contingent asset.

    Contingent liabilities are defined as obligations relating to existing conditions or situations which may arise in the future depending on the occurrence or non-occurrence of one or more uncertain events.

    For example:- Billis discounted but not yet matured, arrears of dividend on cum –preferences-shares, etc.

    Meaning as per AS – 29

    Now let me try to explain to you the meaning according to Accounting Standard 29 of the above contingent assets and liabilities which is as follows:-

    • Contingent asset

    A contingent asset is a possible asset that arises from past events the existence of which will be confirmed only by the occurrence or non-occurrence of one or more uncertain future events.
    Not wholly within the control of the enterprise.

    It usually arises from unplanned or unexpected events that give rise to the possibility of an inflow of economic benefits to the enterprise.

    • Contingent liability

    A possible obligation that arises from past events the existence of which will be confirmed only by the occurrence or non-occurrence of one or more uncertain future events.
    Not wholly within the control of the enterprise.

    A present obligation that arises from past events but is not recognized because it is not probable that the outflow of resources embodying economic benefits will be required to settle the obligation or,
    A reliable estimate of the amount of obligation cannot be made.

    Recognition In Financial Statements

    Contingent assets and liabilities are recognized as follows:-

    • Contingent Assets

    As per the prudence concept s well as present accounting standards, an enterprise should not recognize a contingent asset.

    It is possible that the recognition of contingent assets may result in the recognition of income that may never be realized.

    However, when the realization of income is virtually certain, the related asset no longer remains contingent.

    • Contingent liability

    As per the rules, it is not recognized by an enterprise.

    When recognized?

    Contingent assets are assessed continually and if it has become virtuality an outflow of economic benefits will arise.

    The assets and the related income are recognized in the financial statements of the period in which the change occurs.

    Contingent liability is assessed continually to determine whether an outflow of resources embodying economic benefits has become probable.

    And if it becomes probable that an outflow or future economic benefits will require for an item previously dealt with as a contingent liability.

    A provision is recognized in financial statements of the period in which the change probability occurs except in extremely rare circumstances where no reliable estimate can be made.

    Disclosure

    Now we will see how contingent assets and liability are disclosed which is mentioned below:-

    • Contingent asset

    These contingent assets are not disclosed in financial statements.
    A contingent asset is usually disclosed in the report of the approving authority ( ie.e., Board Of Directors in the case of a company, and the corresponding approving authority in case of any enterprise), if ab inflow of economic benefits is probable.

    • Contingent Assets

    A contingent liability is required to be disclosed by way of a note to the balance sheet unless the possibility of an outflow of a resource embodying economic benefit is remote.

     

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Astha
AsthaLeader
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  2. Naina@123 (B.COM and CMA-Final)
    This answer was edited.

    Return inwards in simple terms means sending back goods by the customer to the seller. Simply speaking when your customer purchases items from your business but is not satisfied with the items so received they return those items back to you. Some of the reasons for sending back the items are statedRead more

    Return inwards in simple terms means sending back goods by the customer to the seller. Simply speaking when your customer purchases items from your business but is not satisfied with the items so received they return those items back to you. Some of the reasons for sending back the items are stated below:

    • Incorrect items delivered by the seller
    • The excess amount delivered to the buyer
    • Return of expired/ spoiled good

     

    In such a case, the return is initiated by the buyer and a credit note is issued to the buyer, and the same is recorded in the books of accounts. Also, this return inward is deducted from the total sales.

    Example: M/s Pest ltd sold 4 units of fertilizers spraying tools of Rs 10,000 each to Mr. Zen. On inspection, he found 1 unit worth Rs 10,000 so received to be defective. Therefore the return of Rs 10,000 was initiated and goods were returned to the seller. A credit note of Rs 10,000 will be raised by the seller (M/s Pest ltd) to the buyer (Mr. Zen). The following adjustment will be shown in the trading account.

     

    Return outwards means returning the goods by the buyer to the supplier. In layman language, when you purchase items for your business and you are not happy with the items then you may decide to return them.

    In this case, a debit note is issued to the seller and is recorded in the books of accounts, and the same is reduced from the total purchases in the trading account so prepared.

    Example: Suppose you are dealing in a business of clothing. You purchased 20 shirts for Rs.10,000 from a wholesale market. When you sold these shirts, you found 10 shirts worth Rs 5,000 to be defective which were returned by your customer. Therefore you will return these shirts to the wholesale market from where you purchased them. The following adjustment will be shown in the trading account.

     

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AbhishekBatabyal
AbhishekBatabyalHelpful
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  2. Ayushi Curious Pursuing CA
    This answer was edited.

    The term ‘bad debt’ and ‘write off’ are often used together in a sentence but they have different meanings. First, we will discuss them in brief to understand the differences between them. Bad debts We know, debtors for a business are their assets because the business has the right to receive moneyRead more

    The term ‘bad debt’ and ‘write off’ are often used together in a sentence but they have different meanings. First, we will discuss them in brief to understand the differences between them.

    Bad debts

    We know, debtors for a business are their assets because the business has the right to receive money from the debtors due to the goods supplied to them.

    But if due to circumstances, there appears no probability that the amount due to one or more debtors will be realised to the business, then such debts are categorised as bad debts.

    In short, bad debts refer to the amount of money that will not be received from some debtors of the business due to some circumstances like insolvency of debtor etc.

    Bad debt is deducted from debtors account by the following journal entry:

    Bad debts A/c Dr. Amt
    To Debtors A/c Cr. Amt
    (Being bad debts written off from debtors)

    As bad debts are losses to a business, it is ultimately written off from the profit and loss account.

    Profit and loss A/c Dr. Amt
    To Bad debts A/c Cr. Amt
    (Being bad debts written off to profit and loss account)

    Write off

    In layman terms, write off means to deduct something out from something. In accounting, write off means to deduct or reduce value of assets by crediting it to a liability account which is usually a reserve account or the profit and loss account.

    It also refers to the elimination of an item from the books of accounts particularly losses and expenses.

    Generally, writing off is associated with the following:

    1. Bad debts.
    2. Damaged Inventories.
    3. Loss on issue or redemption of debentures.
    4. Preliminary expenses.
    5. Bad loans and advances.

    Write off can be done in one of the following methods:

    1. Direct write-off: The write off is directly done by crediting asset account or loss account and debiting the reserve or P/L account.
    2. Indirect write-off: Here, an intermediate account is involved between the asset account and liabilities account. A common example is writing off of bad debts where the bad debts account is the intermediate account.

    Hence, the following differences can be observed between bad debts and write off or writing off:

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Anushka Lalwani
Anushka Lalwani
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  2. Saurav

    Brands can be considered as an Intangible asset as they are a long-term investment done by the company and it gives benefit to an entity in future periods. Like any other intangible asset, brands require long-term investment and will pay over time. Like any other asset, these brands can be bought anRead more

    Brands can be considered as an Intangible asset as they are a long-term investment done by the company and it gives benefit to an entity in future periods.

    Like any other intangible asset, brands require long-term investment and will pay over time. Like any other asset, these brands can be bought and sold. Brands are best used when they serve the vision and mission of the company.

    So, we can definitely consider an organization brand as an intangible as it is expected to increase sales volume in the future period.

    Further, we can understand both terms to get a deep understanding-

     

    BRAND

    Brand means a product, or service which has a unique identification and can be distinct from other products in the market. Branding is a process by which expenditure is incurred by an entity to create awareness towards the product in the customer’s eyes.

    For example- Maggie, Coca-Cola, BMW

    Brands can be created through these elements-

    • Design
    • Packaging
    • Advertisement

     

    INTANGIBLE ASSETS

    Intangible asset are assets that can’t be seen or touched but the benefit of it occur in future periods for the entity. Even though intangible assets have no physical form but their benefits will accrue in future years. Businesses commonly hold intangible assets. Intangible assets can be further bifurcated in

    Definite– Intangible assets that stay and give benefit for a limited or specific period of time covered under this

    For example- An agreement is entered with an entity to patent a product for 5 years so this will stay for a definite period only

    Indefinite– Intangible assets that stay and  give benefit for an unlimited  period of time covered under this

    For example- A brand which is made by an entity will stay for an indefinite period

    Intangible assets can be in various forms these are the following –

    Trademark– A trademark is a sign, design, and expression that distinguish the company’s product or services from other company. Trademark is considered an Intellectual Property Right.

    Goodwill– Goodwill refers to the value of the company that the company gets from its brand, customer base, and brand Reputation associated with its intellectual property.

    Patents– A patent refers to a right reserved for a product exclusively by a person or entity. Under this the right of such making of the product gets reserved by the company and other person or entity can’t make this product.

    Copyright– Copyright refers to an intellectual property right that protects the work of the original owner from being copied by some other person.

    Brand– Brand means a product, or service that has a unique identification and can be distinct from other products in market

    So, we can definitely consider that brand is a subpart of an intangible asset and can be considered as an intangible asset as it also can’t be touched or seen. Still, its benefit will accrue till future time. These both help an entity to grow its business till the future

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