Depreciation refers to that portion of the value of an asset that a company uses in an accounting year to generate revenue. Assets are written off in form of depreciation over time also called the useful life of the asset. It denotes the wear and tear of an asset over time. Suppose, a company namedRead more
Depreciation refers to that portion of the value of an asset that a company uses in an accounting year to generate revenue. Assets are written off in form of depreciation over time also called the useful life of the asset. It denotes the wear and tear of an asset over time.
Suppose, a company named Johnson ltd. purchases machinery for 50,000 that has a useful life of 5 years with nil salvage value. Then the yearly depreciation to be charged can be calculated as:

Is Depreciation a Cash Flow?
Cash flows are inflows and outflows of cash and cash equivalents in an entity. The payments made by the entity denote the outflows whereas the revenues or incomes of the entity denote the inflows. Talking about cash flows, depreciation is a non-cash item of expense which means it neither results in inflow nor outflow of cash resources.
In the adjacent Profit and Loss statement, a cash payment of 7,000 for electricity implies outflow of cash however, depreciation of 10,000 is merely an imputed cost to write off an asset or we can say, a part of profits set aside each year so that there are sufficient funds available to procure a new asset after the currently available asset is discarded.

However, cash flow statements are affected by depreciation. Depreciation is added back to the net profits while calculating cash flows from operating expenses since it is a non-cash item and has been deducted while calculating net profits in the profit and loss statement.

Depreciation does not directly impact the amount of cash generated or expended by a business but it is tax-deductible and will reduce the cash outflows related to income taxes. Thus, depreciation affects cash flow by reducing the amount of cash a business has to pay for income taxes.






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:
What are Accrued expenses?Â
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:
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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