AccountingQA Latest Questions

Aadil
AadilCurious
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  2. Karan B.com and Pursuing ACCA

    In accounting, sales returns are the goods returned by the customer to the seller. This can be due to goods delivered is damaged or defective. A return can also be due to late delivery, or the wrong items being sent to the buyer. Sales return is a subsidiary book in which all the details are recordeRead more

    In accounting, sales returns are the goods returned by the customer to the seller. This can be due to goods delivered is damaged or defective. A return can also be due to late delivery, or the wrong items being sent to the buyer.

    Sales return is a subsidiary book in which all the details are recorded for the goods returned which were sold on credit. It is also known as return inwards.

    Accounting for Sales Return

    Whenever there is a sale return, the seller will debit the sales return account and credit the debtor’s account. The total amount of sales returns is deducted from the gross sales for the period giving the figure for net sales. Debtor’s account is credited because the amount receivable from debtors will reduce.

    The sales return is a contra account to the sales.

    Format of sales return book:

    In the above format, a credit note is a statement prepared by the seller and sent to the buyer. In this statement, all the details are mentioned in respect of the goods sent by the buyer and are an indication that the buyer’s account is credited in respect of the goods received.

    For example, Mr. A sold goods to Mr. B costing Rs 50,000 on 1 December. On 5 December, goods amounting to Rs 15,000 were found defective and were returned immediately to Mr. A.

    Mr. A will account for this in the following way:

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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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Simerpreet
SimerpreetHelpful
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  2. ShreyaSharma none
    This answer was edited.

    Ledger posting As we know, a business records all of its transactions in the journal. After the transactions are recorded in the journal, they are posted in the principal book called ‘Ledger’. Transferring the entries from journals to respective ledger accounts is called ledger posting or posting toRead more

    Ledger posting

    As we know, a business records all of its transactions in the journal. After the transactions are recorded in the journal, they are posted in the principal book called ‘Ledger’. Transferring the entries from journals to respective ledger accounts is called ledger posting or posting to the ledger accounts. Balancing of ledgers is carried out to find differences at the year’s end.

    Posting to the ledger account means entering information in the ledger, and respective accounts from the journal for individual records. The accounts that are credited are posted to the credit side and vice versa.

    Ledger maintenance is done at the end of an accounting period and it’s maintained to reflect a permanent summary of all the journal accounts. In the end, all the accounts that are entered and operated in the ledger are closed, totaled, and balanced. Balancing the ledger means finding the difference between the debit and credit amounts of a particular account.

    While posting to the ledger account, suppose goods were bought for cash. While passing the journal entry, we’ll be debiting the purchases a/c and crediting the cash a/c by stating it as, ‘To Cash A/c’.

    Now, this entry will be affecting both the purchases account and the cash account. In the cash account, we’ll be debiting purchases. Whereas in the purchases account, we’ll be crediting the cash. That’s how it works in the double-entry bookkeeping system of accounting.

    Example

    Mr. Tony Stark started the business with cash of $100,000 on April 1, 2021. He bought furniture for business for $15,000. He further purchased goods for $75,000.

    Now, we’ll be journalizing the transactions and posting them into the ledger accounts.

    Journal Entries

    Posting to Ledger Account

    Cash A/c

    Capital A/c

    Furniture A/c

    Purchases A/c

     

     

     

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Bonnie
BonnieCurious
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  2. A_Team (MBA - Finance Student) ISB College

    Profitability ratios measure how profitable a company is and are used to assess its performance and efficiency. Based on the income statement and balance sheet of a company, these ratios are calculated. In terms of profitability ratios, there are several types, each providing a different viewpoint.Read more

    Profitability ratios measure how profitable a company is and are used to assess its performance and efficiency. Based on the income statement and balance sheet of a company, these ratios are calculated.

    In terms of profitability ratios, there are several types, each providing a different viewpoint.

    The following are some common profitability ratios:

    Gross profit margin: This ratio measures the percentage of revenue that remains after the cost of goods sold has been deducted. Producing and selling efficiently is indicated by this metric.

    Net profit margin: An organization’s net profit margin is the portion of revenue left after all expenses have been deducted. A company’s profitability is measured by this indicator.

    Return on assets (ROA): This ratio measures how profitable a company’s assets are. In other words, it indicates how effectively a company generates profits from its assets.

    Return on equity (ROE): This ratio measures the profitability of a company’s equity. It shows how effectively a company generates profits from its shareholders’ investments.

    Analysts and investors use profitability ratios to evaluate a company’s performance and profitability ability.

    An investor or analyst can evaluate a company’s relative strength and identify potential opportunities or risks by comparing its profitability ratios with its peers or its industry averages.

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Simerpreet
SimerpreetHelpful
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  2. Ishika Pandey Curious ca aspirant
    This answer was edited.

    Definition The trial balance is a list of all the closing balances of the general ledger at the end of the year. Or in other words, I can say that it is a statement showing debit and credit balances. A trial balance is prepared on a particular date and not on a particular period. What does trial balRead more

    Definition

    The trial balance is a list of all the closing balances of the general ledger at the end of the year. Or in other words, I can say that it is a statement showing debit and credit balances.

    A trial balance is prepared on a particular date and not on a particular period.

    What does trial balance include?

    As in each double-entry system, each account has two aspects debit and credit.

    Hence the following trial balance includes:
    • Debit or credit of the reporting period.
    • The amount which is to be debited or credited to each account.
    • The account numbers.
    • The dates of the reporting period.
    • The totaled sums of debits and credits entered during that time.

    When we prepare a trial balance from the given list of ledger balances, these need to be included which are as follows :

    The balance of all
    • Assets accounts
    • Expenses accounts
    • Losses
    • Drawings
    • Cash and bank balances
    Are placed in the debit column of the trial balance.

    • The balances of
    • liabilities accounts
    • income accounts
    • profits
    • capital
    Are placed in the credit column of the trial balance.

    Importance

    As the trial balance is prepared at the end of the year so it is important for the preparation of financial statements like balance sheets or profit and loss.

    The purpose of the trial balance is as follows:

    • To verify the arithmetical accuracy of the ledger accounts
    This means trial balance indicates that equal debits and credits have been recorded in the ledger accounts.
    It enables one to establish whether the posting and other accounting processes have been carried out without any arithmetical errors.

    • To help in locating errors
    There can be some errors if the trial balance is untallied therefore to get error-free financial statements trial balance is prepared.

    • To facilitate the preparation of financial statements
    A trial balance helps us to directly prepare the financial statements and then which gives us the right to not look or no need to refer to the ledger accounts.

    Structure of trial balance

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Aditi
Aditi
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  2. Mehak

    The terms outstanding expenses and accrued expenses are two accounting terms which are often used interchangeably. However, these two terms are not the same and have different meanings. The difference between these two terms is given below: What are Outstanding expenses? As the name suggests, outstaRead more

    The terms outstanding expenses and accrued expenses are two accounting terms which are often used interchangeably. However, these two terms are not the same and have different meanings. The difference between these two terms is given below:

    What are Outstanding expenses?

    As the name suggests, outstanding expenses are the expenses that are due but have not been paid yet. It means that the business is supposed to pay the amount due but it has not paid the same at the end of the accounting period.

    Outstanding expenses are recognized as a current liability because the business is liable to pay such expenses. These expenses are recorded in the books of accounts but the payment is still pending.

    Some examples of outstanding expenses are:

    1. The electricity bill is due for the month of January but has not yet been paid on 31st January.
    2. Salaries of employees of 50,000 is due for the month of March but have not been paid yet by the business.

    What are Accrued expenses? 

    Accrued expenses are the expenses that a business has incurred during the accounting period but they have not yet been recorded in the books of accounts because the bill has not yet been received or the payment is not due yet.

    The concept of Accrued expenses helps in complying with the accrual basis of accounting which says that the expense shall be recognised at the time it occurs regardless of the fact that payment is received or not.

    Examples of accrued expenses are:

    1. The electricity bill for December is received in the month of January. However, it shall be recognised as an expense in the month of December.
    2. The salaries of the employees for the month of April are paid in May. However, this expense shall be recognized in April.

     

    Key differences between outstanding expenses and accrued expenses

    To summarise the above discussion, the key differences between outstanding expenses and accrued expenses are given in the table below:

     

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prashant06
prashant06
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DrawingsIncome Statement
  2. Radha M.Com, NET
    This answer was edited.

    Whenever the proprietor/owner of a business withdraws cash or goods from the business for his/her personal use, we call it drawings. For example, Alex, proprietor of a soap manufacturing company, takes 50 pack of soaps costing 30 each for his personal use. So, 1,500 (50*30) will be considered as draRead more

    Whenever the proprietor/owner of a business withdraws cash or goods from the business for his/her personal use, we call it drawings. For example, Alex, proprietor of a soap manufacturing company, takes 50 pack of soaps costing 30 each for his personal use. So, 1,500 (50*30) will be considered as drawings of Alex. One important thing to note here is whenever goods are withdrawn for personal use they are valued at cost.

    Drawings are not an asset/liability/expense/income to the business. The drawings account is a contra-equity account. A contra-equity account is a capital account with a negative balance i.e. debit balance. It reduces the owner’s equity/capital.

    Drawings being a contra-equity account has a debit balance, reducing the owner’s capital in the business. This is because withdrawals for personal use represent a reduction of the owner’s equity in the business.

    Drawings are not shown in the Income Statement as they are neither an expense nor an income for the business. However, the following journal entries are passed to record drawings for the year:

    Drawings A/c is debited because it reduces the owner’s capital. Cash/Purchases A/c is debited as a withdrawal reduces the assets of the business.

    At the end of the year, drawings A/c are closed by transferring it to the owner’s capital A/c. We post the following entry to close the drawings A/c at the end of the year:

    In the balance sheet, drawings are shown by deducting it from the owner’s capital A/c.

    Let us take our earlier example of Alex. He withdrew soaps worth 1,500. At the end of the year, his capital was worth 5,500. The journal entry for recording the drawings is as follows:

    In the balance sheet, drawings worth 1,500 are shown as follows:

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Astha
AsthaLeader
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  2. Simerpreet Helpful CMA Inter qualified
    This answer was edited.

    Financial analysis of a company means analyzing the previous data of the company and giving recommendations based on that whether the company will improve in the future on not. It is the process of evaluating the financial performance and stability of the company. There are various types of financiaRead more

    Financial analysis of a company means analyzing the previous data of the company and giving recommendations based on that whether the company will improve in the future on not.

    It is the process of evaluating the financial performance and stability of the company.

    There are various types of financial analysis. They are leverage, growth, cash flow, liquidity, profitability, etc.

    The main objectives of Financial analysis are

    1.Reviewing the current position: In order to know if the company is doing well, past analysis of data is required to be carried out. Regular recording of the transactions helps to understand the financial position of the company.

    For example, A company wants to generate a revenue of 2000 crores in the next 5 years. The last four years’ data shows revenue as 1100, 1300,1600, 1800 crores respectively.

    So from the above, we can say that the company is performing well and looks like it will reach the desired target in the fifth year or may perform better than the target desired.

    However, if the revenue declines, it will cause concern for the team but the team will get time to gear up and work efficiently to achieve the desired target.

    2. Ease in decision making: For Future decision-making, quarterly financials play an important role. Subsidiary books and accounts like the sales book, purchase orders, manufacturing a/c, etc. help in giving more reliable information.

    For example, If sales are increasing inconsistently in a quarter, and in the next quarter the level of sales decrease due to any reason then the management can analyze and change the strategy.

    3. Performance Comparison: It helps in comparing the performance of the business every month, quarterly, half-yearly, and yearly. Analyzing the data can help the management to compare if the company is proceeding in the right direction.

    4. Assessing the profitability: Financial statements are used to assess the profitability of the firm. The analysis is made through the accounting ratios, trend line, etc. Accounting ratios calculated for a number of years shows the trend of change of position i.e. positive, negative or static. The assessing of the trend helps the management to analyze if the company is making profits or not.

    5. Measure the solvency of the firm: Financial analysis helps to measure the short-term and long-term efficiency of the firm for the benefit of the Stakeholders.

    6. Helps the end-users: The owners are the end-users for whom the financial statements are prepared. Financial statements are the summaries that are prepared for providing various disclosures to the owners which helps them understand the statements in a better way. If the end-users arrive at the right decision with the help of financial statements that means the objective is achieved.

    7. Other objectives:

    • It helps to settle disputes among the parties.
    • It helps in the expansion decision of the firm.
    • It helps in analyzing the amount of tax to be paid.
    • It reduces the chances of fraud.
    • It provides information about resources.
    • It provides a true and fair view of financial position.
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prashant06
prashant06
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  2. Naina@123 (B.COM and CMA-Final)
    This answer was edited.

    Prepaid expenses are those expenses that have not been expired yet but their payment has already made in advance. There are many examples of prepaid expenses such as rent paid in advance, interest paid in advance, unexpired insurance You might be wondering what kind of account it is? As the name sugRead more

    Prepaid expenses are those expenses that have not been expired yet but their payment has already made in advance. There are many examples of prepaid expenses such as rent paid in advance, interest paid in advance, unexpired insurance

    You might be wondering what kind of account it is? As the name suggests it should be an expense but actually it’s an asset. When we initially record prepaid expenses we consider them as current assets and show them in the balance sheet. It turns out to be an expense when we use the service/item for what we have paid for in advance.

    The entry for the above explanation is as follows:

    From the modern rule, we know Assets and expenses increased are debits while decrease in assets and expenses are credit.

    As this is asset, increase in asset therefore we debit prepaid expense and on the other hand we pay cash/ bank on behalf of that asset in advance hence there is decrease in assets hence credited. The entry will be as follows:

    Prepaid Expense A/c                                                  …….Dr XXX
               To Cash/ Bank XXX

    when this prepaid expense actually becomes expense we pass the adjusting entry. The entry will be as follows:

    Expense A/c                                                               …….Dr XXX
               To Prepaid expense XXX

    Let me give you simple example of the above entry.

    Suppose you pay advance rent of Rs 9,000 for six months for the space you haven’t used yet. So you need to record this as prepaid expense and show it on the asset side of the balance sheet under current assets. Since you paid for the same the entry would be as follows:

    Prepaid Rent A/c                                                  …….Dr 9,000
               To Cash/ Bank 9,000

    As each month passes we will adjust the rent with prepaid rent account. Since the rent was advanced for 6 months, therefore (9,000/6) Rs 1500 will be adjusted each month with the rent expense account. The adjustment entry will be:

    Rent A/c                                                               …….Dr 1,500
               To Prepaid rent 1,500

    The process is repeated until the rent is used and asset account becomes nil.

     

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Jayesh Gupta
Jayesh GuptaCurious
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  2. Spriha Sparsh
    This answer was edited.

    Liabilities are obligations which a business owes to external or internal parties.As per the accounting equation liabilities are equal to the difference between assets and capital. Total Outside Liabilities  in relation to the Borrower can be all secured and unsecured loans, including current liabilRead more

    Liabilities are obligations which a business owes to external or internal parties.As per the accounting equation liabilities are equal to the difference between assets and capital.

    Total Outside Liabilities  in relation to the Borrower can be all secured and unsecured loans, including current liabilities of the Borrower.

    External Liability or outside liability is an obligation which a business has to pay back to external parties i.e. lenders, vendors, government, etc. Payable to Sundry creditors for the supply of any goods for the business or payable to any contractors for receiving any services or payable to the Govt. or other departments for any statutory payments like taxes or other levies. All these liabilities are known as an external liability to the business and are shown on the liability side of the Balance sheet after charging into the profit & loss account of that period.

    Where, Internal Liability – All obligations which a business has to pay back to internal parties such as promoters, employees, etc. are termed as internal liabilities. Example – Capital, Salaries, Accumulated profits, etc.

    Example – Borrowings, Creditors, Taxes, etc.

    Where, 1) Person A takes a loan from person B (person not associated with the company), person B is an external liability to person A.
    2) Person A has a tax liability of Rs.1000, here the government is an external liability to whom A has to pay the liability amount.

    3) Person A got goods on credit from person C for 60 days, C is an external liability to A, which A has to pay within the time period.

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