Bank Reconciliation Statement or BRS is a statement prepared to reconcile the bank account balance as per the cashbook with the bank balance as per the passbook. This is done so because often the bank balance as per the cashbook does not match with the bank balance as per the passbook. BRS is usuallRead more
Bank Reconciliation Statement or BRS is a statement prepared to reconcile the bank account balance as per the cashbook with the bank balance as per the passbook. This is done so because often the bank balance as per the cashbook does not match with the bank balance as per the passbook.
BRS is usually prepared by the accountant of an entity to find out the causes of the difference between the bank balance as per cashbook and the bank balance as reported in the passbook. The frequency of preparation of BRS is usually monthly. Nowadays, many enterprises have computerised accounting systems which help in automatic bank reconciliation.
Sometimes, BRS is also prepared by auditors during the audit of financial statements.
The balance of the bank account column of the cashbook does not match the bank balance as per the passbook. This is due to many transactions like the following that go unnoticed by the accountant:
- The credit of bank interest,
- Auto-debit of bank charges,
- Delay in the clearing of cheques deposited, for which debit is already given by the accountant.
- Late presentment of cheque issued by enterprise, for credit is already given by the account.
Differences also occur due to accounting errors like posting wrong amounts in the cashbook.
To prepare the BRS, we have to start either with the bank balance as per cashbook, then add or subtract amounts to arrive at the bank balance as per passbook. Or we can do the vice verse. Here, the amounts we add or subtract are the amounts of items that are causes for the difference between the two balances.
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‘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:
Let’s discuss each of the above:
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:
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.
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:
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:
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.
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:
Capital reserve is a reserve that is created out of the profit made by an enterprise from its non-operating activities like
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).
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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