AccountingQA Latest Questions

Radha
Radha
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  2. AbhishekBatabyal Helpful Pursuing CA, BCOM (HONS)
    This answer was edited.

    The term ‘contra’ means opposite or against. In financial accounting, we encounter the term ‘contra’ in: Contra accounts Contra entries The meaning of contra in the above mention terms is also the same as their general meaning. Contra accounts mean the account which is opposite of the account it corRead more

    The term ‘contra’ means opposite or against. In financial accounting, we encounter the term ‘contra’ in:

    • Contra accounts
    • Contra entries

    The meaning of contra in the above mention terms is also the same as their general meaning. Contra accounts mean the account which is opposite of the account it corresponds to.

    Contra entries are entries of the debit and credit aspects related to the same parent account.  Let’s discuss them in detail.

    Contra accounts

    Any account which is created with the purpose of reducing or offsetting the balance of another account is known as a contra account.

    A contra account is just the opposite of the account to which it relates. The most common examples are the sales discount account and sales return account which is the contra account of the sales account.  They are just the opposite of the sales accounts.

    Contra Entries

    Contra entries refer to the entries which show the movement of the amount within the same parent account. Here, the debit and credit entry is posted on the debit and credit side respectively of a single parent account.  Mainly, contra entries are the entries involving cash and bank accounts.

    The following transactions are recorded as contra entries:

    • Cash to Bank transactions: Deposit of cash into the bank account by the entity.
    • Bank to Cash transactions: Withdrawal of cash from the bank.
    • Cash to cash transactions: Transfer of cash to the petty cash account.
    • Bank to Bank transactions: Transfer of amounts from one bank account to other bank accounts of the same entity.

    Contra entries are marked by the letter ‘C’ beside the postings in the ledger. Deposit of cash in to bank will be posted in cashbook as below:

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Radha
Radha
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  2. Rahul_Jose Aspiring CA currently doing Bcom

    The term set off in English means to offset something against something else. It thereby refers to reducing the value of an item. In accounting terms, when a debtor can reduce the amount owed to a creditor by cancelling the amount owed by the creditor to the debtor, it is termed as set off. It is coRead more

    The term set off in English means to offset something against something else. It thereby refers to reducing the value of an item. In accounting terms, when a debtor can reduce the amount owed to a creditor by cancelling the amount owed by the creditor to the debtor, it is termed as set off.

    It is commonly used by banks where they seize the amount in a customer’s account to set off the amount of loan unpaid by the customer.

    Types

    There are various types of set-offs as given below:

    • Transaction set-off – This is where a debtor can simply reduce the amount he is owed from the amount he owes to the creditor.
    • Contractual set-off – Sometimes, a debtor agrees to not set off any amount and hence he would have to pay the entire amount to the creditor even if the creditor owed some amount to the debtor.
    • Insolvency set-off – These rules are mandatory and have to be followed under the Insolvency rules 2016.
    • Bankers set-off – Here, the bank sets off the amount of a customer with another account of the customer.

    Example

    Let’s say Divya owes Rs 20,000 to Sherin for the purchase of goods. But, Sherin owed Rs 6,000 to Divya already for use of her Machinery. Therefore, the amount of 6,000 can be set off against the 20,000 owed to Sherin and hence Divya would effectively owe Sherin Rs 14,000.

    This helps in reducing the number of transactions and unnecessary flow of cash.

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Aadil
AadilCurious
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  2. Astha Leader Pursuing CA, BCom (Hons.)
    This answer was edited.

    General reserve is the part of profits or money kept aside to meet future uncertainties and obligations of the entity.  General reserve is created out of revenue profits for unspecified purposes and therefore is also a part of free reserves. General reserve forms a part of the Profit & Loss ApprRead more

    General reserve is the part of profits or money kept aside to meet future uncertainties and obligations of the entity.  General reserve is created out of revenue profits for unspecified purposes and therefore is also a part of free reserves.

    General reserve forms a part of the Profit & Loss Appropriation account and is created to strengthen the financial position of the entity and serves as a sources of internal financing. It is upon the discretion of the management as to how much of a reserve is to be created. No reserve is created when the entity incurs losses.

    General reserve is shown in the Reserves & Surplus head on the liability side of the balance sheet of the entity and carries a credit balance.

    Suppose, an entity, ABC Ltd engaged in the business of electronics earns a profit of 85000 in the current financial year and has an existing general reserve amounting to 100000. The management decides to keep aside 20% of its profits as general reserve.

    Then the amount to be transferred to general reserve will be = 85000*20% = 17000.

    In the financial statements it will be shown as follows-

    Now, in the next financial year, the entity incurs losses amounting to 45000. In this case, no amount shall be transferred to the general reserve of the entity and will be shown in the financial statement as follows-

    The creation of general reserve can sometimes be deceiving since it does not show the clear picture of the entity and absorbs losses incurred.

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Aadil
AadilCurious
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  2. Pooja_Parikh Aspiring Chartered Accountant
    This answer was edited.

    A cash flow statement presents the changes in the cash and cash equivalents of a business. It classifies the cash flow items into either operating, investing, or financing activities. The cash flow statement provides information about the flow of cash over a period of time. General reserve is a reseRead more

    A cash flow statement presents the changes in the cash and cash equivalents of a business. It classifies the cash flow items into either operating, investing, or financing activities. The cash flow statement provides information about the flow of cash over a period of time.

    General reserve is a reserve created by taking a portion of the profits for future requirements.

    TREATMENT OF GENERAL RESERVE

    As per the indirect method, Since there is no actual flow of cash, any addition to reserves is added back to net profit for calculation of net profit before tax and extraordinary items. This net profit before tax will appear under cash flow from operating activities. If there is a reduction in reserve, then they are subtracted from net profit.

    As per the Direct method, an increase or decrease in general reserve will not affect the cash flow statement since non-cash items are not recorded. Only cash receipts and payments that come under operating activities are recorded. So, net profit is not shown in the direct method and hence neither is general reserve.

    General reserve does not fall under the head investing activities as investing activities involve the acquisition or disposal of long-term assets or investments. They do not fit in financing activities either as financing activities relate to change in capital or borrowings of the company.

    EXAMPLE

    If the balance in general reserve for the period of March was Rs 4,000 and in April the balance was Rs 7,000, then its treatment in cash flow would be:

     

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Aadil
AadilCurious
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  2. AbhishekBatabyal Helpful Pursuing CA, BCOM (HONS)
    This answer was edited.

    Realization is an important principle in accounting. It is the basis of revenue recognition and it gives to accrual accounting. When we used the word realization, it is usually regarding revenue recognition. Realization of revenue means when revenue to be earned from the sale of goods or rendering oRead more

    Realization is an important principle in accounting. It is the basis of revenue recognition and it gives to accrual accounting. When we used the word realization, it is usually regarding revenue recognition.

    Realization of revenue means when revenue to be earned from the sale of goods or rendering of services or any other activity or source becomes absolute and certain. An item is to be shown as revenue in the books of accounts only after it is realized.

    Realization in case of sale of goods

    Realization occurs in the following situations:

    i) When the goods are delivered to the customer for a certain price

    ii) All significant risks and rewards of ownership have been transferred to the customer and the seller retains no effective control over the goods.

    Let’s take an example. Mr Peter received an order of 500 units of goods from Mr Parker on 1st April. The goods were delivered to Mr Parker on 15Th April and payment for goods was received on 30Th April.

    The realization of revenue from the sale of goods will be considered to have occurred on 15th April because the goods were delivered to the customer on that date. The entry of sale of goods will be entered on this day.

    Realization is not considered to have occurred on 1st April i.e the date of order because the seller had effective control on goods on that date.

    Realization in case of rendering of services

    The realization of revenue from the rendering of services occurs as per the performance of service.

    Now there arise two situations:

    • Multiple acts involved in the performance of service: Here, the revenue is realized proportionately on completion of each act.
    • A Single act involved in the performance of service: Here, revenue is realized only when the service is completely rendered or provided.

    Realization of income from other sources:

    • Interest Income: It is realized on a time proportion basis as per the amount outstanding and rates applicable.
    • Dividends: It is realized when the shareholder’s right to receive is established and when it is declared.

    Realization with regards to other sources of income is considered to have occurred only when there exist no significant uncertainty as to measurability or collectability.

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Pooja_Parikh
Pooja_Parikh
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  2. Rahul_Jose Aspiring CA currently doing Bcom
    This answer was edited.

    Depreciation is an accounting method that is used to write off the cost of an asset. The company must record depreciation in the profit and loss account. It is done so that the cost of an asset can be realised over the years rather than one single year. Furniture is an important asset for a businessRead more

    Depreciation is an accounting method that is used to write off the cost of an asset. The company must record depreciation in the profit and loss account. It is done so that the cost of an asset can be realised over the years rather than one single year.

    Furniture is an important asset for a business. As per the Income Tax Act, the rate of depreciation for furniture and fittings is 10%. However, for accounting purposes, the company is free to set its own rate.

    JOURNAL ENTRY

    Journal entry for depreciation of furniture is:

    Here, depreciation is debited since it is an expense and as per the rules of accounting, “increase in expenses are debited”. Furniture is credited because a “ decrease in assets is credited”, and the value of furniture is reducing.

    TYPES OF DEPRECIATION

    Furniture can be depreciated in any of the following ways:

    • Straight-Line Method – It is calculated by finding the difference between the cost of the asset and its expected salvage value, and the result is divided by the number of years the asset is expected to be used.
    • Diminishing Value Method – It is calculated by charging a fixed percentage on the book value of the asset. Since the book value keeps on reducing, it is called the diminishing value method.
    • Units of Production

    For accounting purposes, the two many methods used for depreciating furniture is the straight-line method and the diminishing value method. However, for tax purposes, they are combined into a block of furniture, where the purchase of new furniture is added and the sale of furniture is subtracted and the resulting amount is depreciated by 10% based on the written downvalue method.

    EXAMPLE

    If a company buys furniture worth Rs 30,000 and charges depreciation of 10%, then by straight-line method, Rs 3,000 would be depreciated every year for 10 years.

    Now if the company decided to use the diminishing value method (or written down value method), then Rs 3,000 (30,000 x 10%) would be depreciated in the first year, and in the second year, the book value of the furniture would be Rs 27,000 (30,000-3,000). Hence depreciation for the second year would be Rs 2,700 (27,000 x 10%) and so on.

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Radhika
Radhika
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  2. PriyanshiGupta Graduated, B.Com
    This answer was edited.

    Plant and Machinery are the equipment attached to the earth that supports the manufacturing of the company or its operations. These are tangible non-current assets to the company and as a result, have a debit balance. Depreciation is the decrease in the value of an asset that is spread over the expeRead more

    Plant and Machinery are the equipment attached to the earth that supports the manufacturing of the company or its operations. These are tangible non-current assets to the company and as a result, have a debit balance.

    Depreciation is the decrease in the value of an asset that is spread over the expected life of the asset. Not depreciating an asset presents a false image of the company as the asset is recorded at a higher value and profit is overstated as depreciation expense is not provided for.

    There are two ways that a company provide depreciation:

    • By reducing the balance of an asset in the Asset Account by passing a journal entry.
    • By maintaining a separate account for depreciation called Accumulated Depreciation A/c. The nature of this account is naturally credit since it is created to reduce the value of an asset.

    For most of the depreciation methods, we need a rate to provide for depreciation every year. Now, for accounting purposes, the management can use a rate they think is suitable depending on the use and expected life of the machinery.

    Depreciation is calculated on the basis of the Companies act, 2013 for the purpose of book-keeping. According to Schedule 2 of the Companies Act, depreciation on plant and machinery is calculated on the basis of either SLM or WDV.

    Plant and machinery for those special rates are not assigned useful life is considered to be 15 years and depreciation is calculated @ 18.10% on WDV and @6.33% on SLM.

    According to the Income Tax Act, 15% depreciation is provided every year on Plant and Machinery and, an additional 20% depreciation is provided in the first year of installation of machinery.

    Depreciation on Machinery is charged on the basis of usage of such machinery. if it is used for 180 days or more then full depreciation is allowed and if it is used for less than 180 days then only 50% depreciation is allowed.

     

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