AccountingQA Latest Questions

Nistha
Nistha
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Journal Entry
  2. Radhika
    This answer was edited.

    When a company earns profit, it distributes a proportion of its income to its shareholders, and such distribution is called the dividend. The dividend is allocated as a fixed amount per share and shareholders receive dividends proportional to their shareholdings. However, a company can only pay diviRead more

    When a company earns profit, it distributes a proportion of its income to its shareholders, and such distribution is called the dividend. The dividend is allocated as a fixed amount per share and shareholders receive dividends proportional to their shareholdings.

    However, a company can only pay dividends out of its current year profits or retained earnings (profits of the company that are not distributed as dividend and retained in the business is called retained earnings) of previous years but not out of capital.

    Dividends can be paid to shareholders in the form of

    • Cash
    • dividend re-investing plan of the company
    • future shares
    • share repurchase.

    For companies, payment of regular dividends boosts the morale of the shareholders, investors trust the companies more and it reflects positively on the share price of the company.

    For example, Nestle in India paid an interim dividend of 1100.00% to its shareholders in 2021.

    The journal entry for dividend paid is

    Particulars Debit Credit
    Retained Earnings A/c                                                          Dr. Amt  
    To Cash A/c   Amt

     

    According to the golden rules of accounting-

    • Retained earnings is a credit account by nature and since dividends are paid from retained earnings resulting in a deduction of the account, we debit
    • Cash is credited because the account is debit in nature and since dividends are paid in cash it’s credited to present the deduction in the account.

    According to modern rules of accounting-

    • Since cash is decreasing, we credit
    • Since retained earnings are decreasing and it is a part of capital it should be

    For example-

    A company paid a dividend of 25 crores to its shareholders in cash, the journal entry according to golden rules will be-

    Particulars Debit

    (in crores)

    		 Credit

    (in crores)
    Retained Earnings A/c  (Dr.) 25  
    To Cash A/c   25

     

     

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Nistha
Nistha
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Debit Balance
  2. Pooja_Parikh Aspiring Chartered Accountant
    This answer was edited.

    A Profit and Loss (P&L) statement is a financial statement that records a summary of all expenses and incomes of a business during a period of time. It helps in determining the financial performance of the business. After recording all transactions in an account, if the debit side is greater thaRead more

    A Profit and Loss (P&L) statement is a financial statement that records a summary of all expenses and incomes of a business during a period of time. It helps in determining the financial performance of the business.

    After recording all transactions in an account, if the debit side is greater than the credit side, then the account is said to have a debit balance. Similarly, if the credit side is greater than the debit side, then the account has a credit balance.

    In a P&L account, when the expenses (debit) are greater than the incomes (credit), the business is said to be in a net loss. This loss is what we call the debit balance of a Profit and Loss account. A P&L account with a debit balance can be subtracted from Capital or be shown on the asset side of the Balance Sheet.

    As you can see above, the net loss is shown on the right side of the P&L account. This represents the debit balance of P&L. Once it is transferred to the balance sheet, it is either subtracted from capital or shown on the asset side as shown in the second image. However, they cannot be shown on both sides of the balance sheet at the same time.

    However, if the credit side is greater, that is if income is greater than expenses, then the P&L account shows a credit balance which is also known as net profit. This profit is added with Capital to show the final balance in the Balance Sheet.

    Debit balance of Profit & Loss account is not preferable for a business. Hence they should put in efforts to either reduce costs or increase their income to gain profits.

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Nistha
Nistha
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Accounting PoliciesAccounting PrinciplesDifference Between
  2. Sandy CMA Final
    This answer was edited.

    To begin with, let me give you a brief explanation of both the terms i.e. Accounting policies and accounting principles- In order to maintain the financial statements, the company’s management adopts various Accounting Policies of its own. This generally includes the rules, the directions as to howRead more

    To begin with, let me give you a brief explanation of both the terms i.e. Accounting policies and accounting principles-

    In order to maintain the financial statements, the company’s management adopts various Accounting Policies of its own. This generally includes the rules, the directions as to how the financial statements will be prepared or how the valuation of depreciation would be done, and so on. These are flexible in nature and vary from company to company.

    For Example 1, Johnson Co. uses FIFO (first in first out) method to value the inventory. That is to say that, while selling its product, it sells those goods or products which it has acquired or produced first.

    It does not consider the LIFO or weighted average cost. The other company may adopt the other method as per its wish.

    Example 2, Johnson Co. uses the straight-line method of depreciating an asset, whereas the other company can opt for a written down value method depending upon the need of the company.

    So what I am trying to explain from this is that the accounting policies are flexible and can be adopted as per the needs of the company.

    Accounting Principles are the rules which the accountants adopt universally for recording and reporting the financial data. It brings uniformity in accounting throughout the practice of accounting. These are generally less flexible in nature.

    For Example, “Cost” is a principle. According to this accounting principle, an asset is recorded in the books at the price paid to acquire it and this cost will be the basis for all the subsequent accounting for the asset.  However, asset market value may change over time, but for the accounting purpose, it continues to be shown at its book value i.e. at which it is acquired.

    Some more examples would be of Matching principle, Consistency principle, Money measurement principle, etc.

    Differences

    Conclusion

    The point is Accounting Principles are the broad direction to reach a goal and to reach that goal helps the accounting policies.

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Nistha
Nistha
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Journal EntrySubscriptionSubscription Received in Advance
  2. Sandy CMA Final
    This answer was edited.

    To start with let me give you a brief explanation of what a subscription is After joining a not-for-profit organization, a member is required to pay a certain amount of money every year at periodical intervals in order to keep his membership activated, such an amount of money is the subscription. FoRead more

    To start with let me give you a brief explanation of what a subscription is

    After joining a not-for-profit organization, a member is required to pay a certain amount of money every year at periodical intervals in order to keep his membership activated, such an amount of money is the subscription.

    For accounting purposes, subscription is always taken on an accrual basis which means the amount which is received during the current year is only taken into consideration.

    Now, Subscription received in advance means the amount of money that has been received during the current year but which relates to the year that is yet to come. In other words, we can say it is the unearned income by the organization.

    It is recurring in nature and liability for the organization as it does not relate to the current year.

    Journal Entry for Subscription received in advance

    Here, the Subscription received in advance is credited to the Subscription account for the current year.

    This is the adjustment entry made during the current year.

    Treatment of Subscription in Financial Statements

    • Receipts and payment account.
    • Income and expenditure account.
    • Balance sheet.

    Receipts and Payment account: In the receipts and payment account, the entire amount of subscription is written on the receipts side. That is to say, subscription amount relating to the previous year, current year, and the year to come (outstanding subscription, current year subscription, advance subscription).

    Income and Expenditure account: In the Income and Expenditure Account, the subscription comes on the Income side. It is shown as

    Here, a subscription received in advance in the current year is deducted to find the actual amount because although the money is received in advance the benefits related to it are yet to be provided by the organization.

    Balance sheet: In the balance sheet, a subscription received in advance comes in the liability side under current liabilities as the benefits related to it are yet to be derived.

    For Example, Lionel club received subscription from its members for the year 2020 as follows-

    • Subscription of 2020 was received in 2019 – 2,000
    • Subscription of 2021 was received in 2020 – 3,000

    The total subscription was received during the year – 10,000

    Here,

    Subscription of 2020 was received in 2019- It is an Outstanding Subscription.

    Subscription of 2021 was received in 2020- It is an advance Subscription.

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Nistha
Nistha
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Journal EntryRentRent Received in Advance
  2. Simerpreet Helpful CMA Inter qualified
    This answer was edited.

    Before starting with the main discussion, let me give you a brief explanation of what rent received is When a business or an organization rents out its unused property to earn some extra income and receive some amount from it, that amount of money is said to be rent received. Rent can be monthly, quRead more

    Before starting with the main discussion, let me give you a brief explanation of what rent received is

    When a business or an organization rents out its unused property to earn some extra income and receive some amount from it, that amount of money is said to be rent received.

    Rent can be monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, or yearly rent depending upon the organization’s agreement.

    The journal entry for rent received will be

    Here, Cash account is debited due to the increase in assets or because of a real account. Rent account is credited due to the increase in income or because of the nominal account.

    However, Rent received in advance means the amount of rent that is not yet due but is received in advance. It is treated as a current liability because the benefit related is yet to be provided to the tenant.

    The Journal entry for Rent received in advance will be-

    Here, rent is debited due to a decrease in income.

    Rent received in Advance is credited due to an increase in liability.

    For Example, Johnson company rented out a part of its building that was not used to earn some extra income from it. The monthly rent was fixed as 20000. Johnson company follows calendar year as their accounting year. The tenant, therefore, paid 4 months advance rent to Johnson company i.e. the tenant in January gave his advance rent for February, March, April, and May.

    While receiving the rent in the month of January. The journal entry would be

    Now, the adjustment entry of rent received in advance would be

    The rent received in advance will also be posted individually in each month of February, March, April, and May as

    Furthermore, Rent received in advance is deducted from the amount of rent in the income and expenditure account and thereafter the amount received in advance is posted on the liability side of the Balance sheet.

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