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Accounting Principles

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What is the advantage of using historical cost on the balance sheet for property, plant and equipment?


What is accrued income?


Is AccountingCoach.com based on GAAP or IFRS?


Is there a difference between an expense and an expenditure?


How do you record the interest that is unpaid on a note payable?


Is the deposit for a booth at a future trade show an asset?


What does a balance sheet tell us?


At what point are revenues considered to be earned?


Can a fully depreciated asset be revalued?


Why are accruals needed every month?


What is the difference between financial accounting and management accounting?


Why are loan costs amortized?


Are repairs to office equipment and factory equipment period costs?


Why would a company use double-declining depreciation on its financial statements?


What is a natural business year?


Why isn’t land depreciated?


What is accounting for price level changes?


What is IFRS?


Can I capitalize this year’s R&D?


What is a deferred cost?


How do you account for the rebate on an automobile?


What is GAAP?


Is a postdated check considered to be currency?


When should costs be expensed and when should costs be capitalized?


How can I determine the inventory methods used by other companies in my industry?


What is the meaning of systematic and rational allocation?


Why do purchases appear as expenses on an income statement?


Is standard costing GAAP?


What are sales taxes?


What is the difference between a note payable and a bond payable?


Where is a contract with a customer reported on the balance sheet?


Why are debt issue costs classified as an asset?


What is the transaction approach and balance sheet approach to measuring net income?


What is the difference between accounts payable and accrued expenses payable?


What is the difference between stocks and bonds?


Where is a contingent liability recorded?


How does an expense affect the balance sheet?


What is the difference between a balance sheet and a trial balance?


How can working capital be improved?


What is the entry when merchandise has been received but not the vendor’s invoice?


How do you calculate accrued vacation pay?


Why are the issue costs of bonds reported as an asset?


What is a customer deposit?


What is the entry when a contract is signed?


What is interest expense?


What is a debenture?


Is the installation labor for a new asset expensed or included in the cost of the asset?


Where does accrued interest on notes receivable get reported on the balance sheet?


What are accruals?


What is an intangible asset?


What is historical cost?


How do you account for bond issue costs?


What is depletion?


What is materiality?


What does NOI stand for?


Why would Prepaid Insurance have a credit balance?


What is the accounting entry when an order is received?


Where does revenue received in advance go on a balance sheet?


What is the difference between net cash flow and net income?


What is the double declining balance method of depreciation?


How do you record money from an insurance claim involving property?


Where can I learn about the accounting terms used in not-for-profit organizations?


Why isn’t a key employee reported as an asset on the balance sheet?


Is the sales tax paid on merchandise that you will resell an expense?


How do you record the sales tax on the purchase of an asset?


What is the difference between the Cash Flow and Funds Flow statements?


What is the difference between a land improvement and a leasehold improvement?


Why is the Cash Flow Statement identified as one of the financial statements?


If a mortgage payment is due by December 31, but the payment is not made until the following month, should the loan payment be accrued at December 31?


How can I determine the difference in earnings from using LIFO instead of FIFO?


What is the effect on financial ratios when using LIFO instead of FIFO?


How should the cost of a yearly subscription for a newspaper be recorded?


What is meant by events after the balance sheet date?


How do I record exterior cement work? Is it an asset or an expense?


What is the journal entry to record a one-year subscription for a magazine?


Will I be able to pass the CPA Exam after studying the accounting material on AccountingCoach.com?


What is meant by the term relevance in accounting?


FIFO and LIFO is best with which type of products?


Why is a product that sells for $50 reported in inventory at its cost of $40?


How do you report a write-down in inventory?


If cash and a note are exchanged for a plant asset, is the amount of the note used in the depreciation calculation?


What is apportionment?


Is the sales tax on merchandise purchased for resale included in inventory?


What is the difference between cost and expense?


How does the purchase of a new machine affect the profit and loss statement?


How much do you depreciate an asset and when?


Why is the distinction between product costs and period costs important?


Why isn’t the direct write off method of uncollectible accounts receivable the preferred method?


What is meant by the term going concern?


What if an employee’s actual vacation payment is greater than the amount that has been accrued?


Are repairs to office equipment an expense?


What is the cost of goods sold?


Why is depreciation on the income statement different from the depreciation on the balance sheet?


What is a contingent asset?


What are the effects of depreciation?


Is a utility bill an expense?


How do you account for a project under construction?


How do you amortize goodwill?


What is net of accumulated amortization?


What is the difference between unearned revenue and unrecorded revenue?


Would you please help me understand opportunity cost?


What is accrued payroll?


How do I compute the units of production method of depreciation?


Should an owner’s compensation be recorded as an expense or in the Drawing account?


Do variance accounts have an impact on financial statements? Or are they for performance evaluation only?


What is Form 10-K?


Should inventories be reported at their cost or at their selling prices?


What are accrued expenses and when are they recorded?


What are accrued revenues and when are they recorded?


What is absorption costing?


What is the difference between the terms capitalize and depreciate?


What should be the entry when goods are purchased at a discount?


What is the difference between product costs and period costs?


What is the rationale for not reporting plant assets at their liquidation value?


How should the sale of gift certificates be recorded in the general ledger?


What is cost incurred?


How do you record a payment for insurance?


What is the deferred revenue?


Should capital budgeting decisions be based on cash flows or revenues and expenses?


What are the accounting principles, assumptions, and concepts?


What is a capital expenditure versus a revenue expenditure?


What is principles of accounting?


What is a contingent liability?


What is capitalized interest?


Should trademarks be included on the balance sheet?


How do I learn of new accounting rules?


Does paying an accounts payable affect net income?


Does collecting a customer’s accounts receivable affect net income?


Is sales tax an expense or a liability?


What does arms length transaction mean?


Are undeposited checks reported as cash?


What is the monetary unit assumption?


Is advertising an asset or an expense?


The conservatism principle.


Why are the amounts on the financial statements rounded to thousands or millions?


Why does our company’s balance sheet report its land at cost when it is so much more valuable?


Reducing the Need for Accruing Expenses


What is the accrual basis of accounting?


I don’t understand the conservatism principle. Why do losses get recorded but not gains?


What are adjusting entries?


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