AccountingQA Latest Questions

Manvi
Manvi
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  1. Ayushi Curious Pursuing CA

    Let the business in our example be X Trading. The 15 transactions are as follows: 1st April - X Trading started its business with Rs. 10,000 cash and furniture of Rs. 5,000. 5th April - Purchased 1,000 units of goods for Rs. 1,000 in cash from Ram. 10th April – Bought stationery for Rs. 100 in cash.Read more

    Let the business in our example be X Trading. The 15 transactions are as follows:

    1. 1st April – X Trading started its business with Rs. 10,000 cash and furniture of Rs. 5,000.
    2. 5th April – Purchased 1,000 units of goods for Rs. 1,000 in cash from Ram.
    3. 10th April – Bought stationery for Rs. 100 in cash.
    4. 25Th April – Sold 500 goods for Rs. 750 in cash.
    5. 1st May – Paid a rent of Rs. 1200 ( 1st April to 31st March)
    6. 1st June – Took a loan of Rs. 15,000 from the bank at [email protected]%.
    7. 15Th June – Sold 400 goods for Rs. 600 to Shyam in credit.
    8. 1st August – Bought a computer for Rs. 10,000 in from ABC Computers in credit.
    9. 15th October – Received Rs. 300 from Shyam in cash.
    10. 1st November – Purchased 2,000 units of goods for 2,000 from Ram in credit.
    11. 15th November – Paid Rs. 5,000 to ABC Computers through cheque.
    12. 1st December – Sold 1,000 units of goods for Rs. 1,500. Received cheque as payment.
    13. 1st January – Obtained Trade license (valid for 5 years) by paying fees of Rs. 1000 through online bank transfer.
    14. 15Th February – Paid Rs. 1,500 to Ram. Through cheque.
    15. 15Th March – Drawings made of Rs. 2000 in cash.

    We will prepare the journal, ledgers and the trial balance from the above transactions.

    Journal

    Journal is known as the book of primary entry or book of original entry. It is because every transaction is recorded in form of journal entries in the journal. Every journal entry affects at least two accounts (dual effect). A transaction has to be a monetary transaction otherwise it cannot be recorded as a journal entry.

    The procedure of recording transactions as journal entries is simple if we follow the modern rules of accounting.

    So first we have to identify which and what type of account does a transaction affect. The types of accounts are:

    1. Asset – Debit in case of increase Credit in case of decrease.
    2. Liabilities – Debit in case of decrease Credit in case of increase.
    3. Capital – Debit in case of decrease Credit in case of increase.
    4. Expense – Debit in case of increase Credit in case of decrease.
    5. Income – Debit in case of decrease Credit in case of increase.

    Ledger

    Ledgers are known as the books of principal entry or book of final entry. All the journal entries recorded in the journal are posted to the ledgers. A Ledger is where the entries related to a particular account are recorded. For example, all the transactions related to salary will be recorded in the salary account ledger.

    It is very important to prepare the ledger to arrive at the balance of each account in the books of concern so that it can prepare its trial balance.

    The procedure of posting journal entries in the ledger account is done is as follows:

    The ledgers are as follows:

     

     

    Trial Balance

    The trial balance is not a part of the books of accounts. It is just a statement prepared to check the arithmetical accuracy of the books of the accounts. It also helps to know about the omission and posting mistakes. It is prepared after the ledger accounts have been drawn and their balances have been ascertained.

    The balance of all the ledger accounts is posted on either side of the trial balance. Debit balance of the account on the debit side and credit balance of the account on the credit side.

    Also, the closing stock from the financial statements of the previous year is posted on the debit side of the trial balance as opening stock to account for the stock with the business at the beginning of the financial year.

    Following is the trial balance of X trading:

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Astha
AsthaLeader
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  1. Simerpreet Curious CMA Inter qualified
    This answer was edited.

    Personal Accounts: The accounts of persons, firms, companies, etc. are personal accounts. There is a further classification to personal accounts- Accounts of Natural Persons: The transactions relating to individual human beings fall under this category. For Example, accounts of Joseph, Richard, MorrRead more

    Personal Accounts: The accounts of persons, firms, companies, etc. are personal accounts. There is a further classification to personal accounts-

    • Accounts of Natural Persons: The transactions relating to individual human beings fall under this category. For Example, accounts of Joseph, Richard, Morris, etc.
    • Accounts of Artificial Persons: The transactions relating to firms, organizations, companies, institutions, associations, etc. fall under this category. For Example, Oil India Ltd, Symbiosis college, Assam Tea company, etc.
    • Representative Personal Accounts: The transactions relating to certain person or a group of persons, although the name of the concerned person or persons are not mentioned in the account head, such types of accounts come under this head. Such type of accounts generally include outstanding accounts or prepaid accounts. For Example, accounts like wages outstanding, outstanding salary, commission received in advance, salary prepaid, etc.

    Note: When any Prefix or Suffix is used before/ after any nominal account head, such account is classified as Representative personal account under traditional approach.

    For Example, Salary A/c is a nominal account whereas salary outstanding A/c is a personal account as the word outstanding is being used as a prefix to Salary A/c.

    The Accounting rule for Personal Account is –

    Debit the Receiver of the benefit.

    Credit the Giver of the benefit.

    Real Account: The transactions relating to tangible things i.e. the things that can be seen, touched and physically exchanged and the intangible things that cannot be seen, touched but the presence can be felt comes under this category. For Example, tangible things like Cash, goods, building, machinery, etc. and intangible things like goodwill, patent, trademarks, etc.

    The Accounting rule for Real Account is –

    Debit what comes in.

    Credit what goes out.

    Nominal Accounts: The transactions relating to losses, expenses, incomes and gains comes under this category. For Example, Rent paid, wages paid, commission received, interest paid/ received, etc.

    The Accounting rule for Nominal Account is –

    Debit Expenses and Losses.

    Credit Gains and Incomes.

    Some Common Examples under the three heads are

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Simerpreet
SimerpreetCurious
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  1. prashant06 B.com, CMA pursuing
    This answer was edited.

    QUALITATIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF ACCOUNTING INFORMATION ARE AS FOLLOWS: 1. COMPARABILITY: Comparison of financial statements is one of the most frequently used and effective tools of financial analysis. It helps the users of accounting information to compare, analyze and take decisions accordingly. CoRead more

    QUALITATIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF ACCOUNTING INFORMATION ARE AS FOLLOWS:

    1. COMPARABILITY: Comparison of financial statements is one of the most frequently used and effective tools of financial analysis. It helps the users of accounting information to compare, analyze and take decisions accordingly. Comparability enables inter-firm and intra-firm comparisons. It helps to ascertain the growth and progress of the business over time and in comparison to other businesses.

    For example, managers of ITC ltd want to know which business of his is performing well and which needs progress so they would compare the financial statement of its different businesses and make the decision accordingly.

    2. RELEVANCE: It generally means that the essential information should be easily and readily available and any irrelevant information should be avoided. The user of accounting information needs relevant accounting information for a good decision-making process, planning, and predicting future circumstances.

    For example, a firm is expected to provide the total amount owed by the debtors in the balance sheet, whereas the total number of debtors is not important.

    3. UNDERSTANDIBILITY: The financial statement should be presented so that every user can interpret the information without any difficulty in a meaningful and appropriate manner. To be more precise it should be complete, concise, clear, and organized.

    For example, mentioning note number in the financial statement for any items which needs disclosure. This helps the users of accounting to interpret the financial statement without any difficulty.

    4. RELIABILITY: This means the accounting information must be free from material error and bias. All accounting information is verifiable and can be verified from the source documents basically, information should not be vague or false.

    For example, any significant matters like amount due, damages, losses, etc. which impact the financial stability shall be mentioned as disclosure since it is useful for all the users of accounting to be aware of such facts and not to be misguided by incomplete information.

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Astha
AsthaLeader
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Capital
  1. Simerpreet Curious CMA Inter qualified
    This answer was edited.

    As per Wiki, it is also called construction in progress. Capital work in progress is a non-current asset of an entity. It is also known as CWIP in short. CWIP is the work which is not yet completed but the amount for which has already been paid. Suppose, at the time of preparing a balance sheet, ifRead more

    As per Wiki, it is also called construction in progress. Capital work in progress is a non-current asset of an entity. It is also known as CWIP in short.

    CWIP is the work which is not yet completed but the amount for which has already been paid.

    Suppose, at the time of preparing a balance sheet, if an asset is not completed, all the costs incurred on that asset up to the balance sheet date are to be transferred to an account called capital work in progress.

    Example 1: A machinery under installation.

    There are several expenses incurred while installing machinery, expenses such as labor charges, Initial delivery and handling costs, Assembly and installation cost, etc are included in CWIP and when the asset is completed and is ready to use, all the costs are transferred to the relevant accounts.

    To make it simpler, let me show journal entries relating to this example.

    When an expense is incurred/paid:

    Journal entry for capital work in progress when an expense is incurred

    When an asset is complete and put to use:

    Journal entry for capital work in progress when asset is complete and put to use

    Example 2: A Contractor is constructing a building. The following expenditures are being incurred to date:

    i) Raw materials – 5,00,000

    ii) Payment to Architect – 3,50,000

    iii) Advance for Equipments – 1,50,000

    Following accounting entries will be passed to record the expenditure on CWIP assets:

    capital work in progress journal entries example

    The following accounting entry will be passed once assets are ready to use:

    entry to show cwip when asset is complete

    Disclosure in the Balance sheet

    CWIP account is shown separately in the balance sheet below the fixed asset.

    we cannot depreciate capital work in progress. It can only be depreciated when the asset is put to use.

    Capital work in progress shown in balance sheet

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Karan
Karan
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  1. Manvi Pursuing ACCA
    This answer was edited.

    The accounting equation represents the relationship between assets, capital, and liabilities of a business. It follows the concept of the double-entry bookkeeping system where every debit has an equal credit. The rules state that at any time a business’ assets should equal liabilities. This is alsoRead more

    The accounting equation represents the relationship between assets, capital, and liabilities of a business. It follows the concept of the double-entry bookkeeping system where every debit has an equal credit. The rules state that at any time a business’ assets should equal liabilities. This is also known as the statement of financial position equation.

    The accounting equation can be shown as follows:

      Assets = Capital + Liabilities

    For example, Liza starts a business by investing $3,000 as cash. In accounting terms, business and owner are separate and so business owes money to Liza as capital.

    In this example,

    Capital invested = $3,000

    Cash (Asset) = $3,000

    If Liza puts this into the accounting equation, it will be shown as:

    Assets = Capital + Liabilities
    $3,000 (Cash) = $3,000 + Liabilities

    Further, Liza purchases a market stall from Ben and the cost of the stall was $1,800. She purchases flowers from the wholesale market at a cost of $700. Now she is left with $500 cash out of the original $3,000.

    The state of her business has now changed and can be shown as follows:

    Assets = Capital + Liabilities
    Stall        $1,800 $3,000 + Liabilities
    Flowers     $700
    Cash         $500
                     $3,000 $3,000
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Simerpreet
SimerpreetCurious
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Impairment
  1. Astha Leader Pursuing CA, BCom (Hons.)
    This answer was edited.

    What is Impairment of Assets? Impairment of assets means a decline in the value of assets due to unforeseen circumstances. Assets are impaired when the carrying value of assets increases its market value or “realizable value”. Impairment can be caused due to factors that are internal or external toRead more

    What is Impairment of Assets?

    Impairment of assets means a decline in the value of assets due to unforeseen circumstances. Assets are impaired when the carrying value of assets increases its market value or “realizable value”.

    Impairment can be caused due to factors that are internal or external to the firm. Internal factors such as physical damage, obsolescence or poor management and external factors such as a change in legal or economic circumstances, increased competition or reduction in asset’s fair value in the market result in impairment.

    Impairment Vs Depreciation

    Asset impairment is often confused with asset depreciation, which is rather a recurring and expected event, unlike impairment that reflects an abrupt decrease in the value of the asset.

    Impairment Loss

    Impairment is always treated as a loss in accounting. It is the amount by which the carrying value or the asset’s book value exceeds its fair market value.

    Before recording Impairment loss, a company must determine the recoverable value of the asset which is higher of the asset’s net realizable value or value in use. Then it is to be compared with the book value of the asset.

    If the carrying value exceeds the recoverable value then the impairment loss is to be recorded at the exceeding value i.e. difference of carrying value and realizable value.

    Example

    Suppose a company Royal Ltd. has an asset with a carrying value of 50,000, which has suffered physical damage. According to the company’s calculation, the asset has a net realizable value of 30,000 and a value in use of 25,000.

    Then, the recoverable value would be higher of the asset’s net realizable value or value in use, i.e., 30,000 which is still lower than the carrying amount of 50,000. Therefore, Royal ltd. will have to record 20,000 (50,000-30,000) as impairment loss.

    This is will increase Royal Ltd’s expenses by 20,000 and decrease the asset’s value by the same amount.

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Manvi
Manvi
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External Users
  1. Karan B.com and Pursuing ACCA
    This answer was edited.

    External users are people outside the business or entity who use accounting information. They do not have a direct link with the organization but can influence or can be influenced by the organization's activities. For example - Tax Authorities, Banks, Customers, Trade Unions, Government, Investors,Read more

    External users are people outside the business or entity who use accounting information. They do not have a direct link with the organization but can influence or can be influenced by the organization’s activities.

    For example – Tax Authorities, Banks, Customers, Trade Unions, Government, Investors, or Creditors.

    External Users:

    • Investors – Investors are interested in the past performance and future earnings of the business. They want to track the performance of their business whether it is giving them any benefit or not. A business’s past information helps investors in assessing their investments.
    • Creditors or Suppliers – Some suppliers provide goods and services on credit, and before providing any credit they check the company’s ability to pay. Creditors are interested in the company’s liquidity i.e to see if a company can fulfill short-term obligations.
    • Customers – Customers are more interested in a company’s financial statement as they rely on them for goods and services. They check the ability of the company whether it is providing them good quality goods and will continue to provide them in future.
    • Banks – Banks are most likely interested in the liquidity and profitability of the company. They keep track of whether the company can pay the debt when it is due along with interest.
    • Government – The company’s activities are central to the economy and must be met by them. The government controls a company’s actions if they break a law or damage the environment.
    • Environmental agencies – They keep an eye on organizations whether their activities are harming the environment or not.
    • Trade unions – They take an active part in the decision-making process. They want to see the financial statements of the company and want to decide the compensation of the employees they represent.
    • Tax authorities – They determine whether the business has declared the correct amount of tax in its tax returns. They conduct audits of the tax returns to verify them with the accounting records disclosed.

    Here is a summary of external users

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Jayesh Gupta
Jayesh GuptaCurious
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  1. Vijay Curious M.Com
    This answer was edited.

    Yes, I agree with your statement that accounting information should be comparable. Comparability is one of the qualitative characteristics of accounting information. It means that users should be able to compare a company's financial statements across time and across other companies. Comparability oRead more

    Yes, I agree with your statement that accounting information should be comparable.

    Comparability is one of the qualitative characteristics of accounting information. It means that users should be able to compare a company’s financial statements across time and across other companies.

    Comparability of financial statements is crucial due to the following reasons:

    1. Intra-Firm Comparison:

    Comparison of financial statements of two or more periods of the same firm is known as an intra-firm comparison.

    Comparability of accounting information enables the users to analyze the financial statements of a business over a period of time. It helps them to monitor whether the firm’s financial performance has improved over time.

    The intra-firm analysis is also known as Time Series Analysis or Trend Analysis.

    To understand intra-firm analysis, I have provided an extract of the balance sheet of ABC Ltd. for two accounting periods.

    2. Inter-Firm Comparison:

    Comparison of financial statements of two or more firms is known as an inter-firm comparison.

    Inter-firm comparison helps in analyzing the financial performance of two or more competing firms in an industry. It enables the firm to know its position in the market in comparison to its competitors.

    Inter-firm comparison is also known as Cross-sectional Analysis.

    I’ve provided the balance sheets of Co. A and Co.B to make an inter-firm comparison.

    Here is a piece of bonus information for you,

    Sector Analysis – it refers to the assessment of economical and financial conditions of a given sector of a company/industry/economy. It involves the analysis of the size, demographic, pricing, competitive, and other economic dimensions of a sector of the company/industry/economy.

    One more important thing to note here is that comparability can only be achieved when the firms are consistent in the accounting principles and standards they adopt. The accounting policies and standards must be consistent across different periods of the same firm and across different firms in an industry.

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Karan
Karan
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  1. Pooja_Parikh Aspiring Chartered Accountant
    This answer was edited.

    Retained earnings are kept with the company for growth instead of distributing dividends to the shareholders. Therefore the cost of retained earnings refers to its opportunity cost which is the cost of foregoing dividends by the shareholders. Therefore the cost of retained earnings is similar to theRead more

    Retained earnings are kept with the company for growth instead of distributing dividends to the shareholders. Therefore the cost of retained earnings refers to its opportunity cost which is the cost of foregoing dividends by the shareholders.

    Therefore the cost of retained earnings is similar to the cost of equity without tax and flotation cost. Hence, it can be calculated as

    Kr = Ke (1 – t) (1 – f),

    Kr = Cost of retained earnings
    Ke = Cost of equity
    t = tax rate
    f = flotation cost

    Here, flotation cost means the cost of issuing shares.

    EXAMPLE

    If cost of equity of a company was 10%, tax rate was 30% and flotation cost was 5%, then
    cost of retained earnings = 10% x (1 – 0.30)(1 – 0.05) = 6.65%.

    From the above example and formula, it is clear that the cost of retained earnings would always be less than or equal to the cost of equity since retained earnings do not involve flotation costs or tax.

    A company usually acquires funds from various sources of finance rather than a single source. Therefore the cost of capital of the company will be the weighted average cost of capital (WACC) of each individual source of finance. The cost of retained earnings is thus an important factor in calculating the overall cost of capital.

    Another important factor of WACC is the cost of equity. The cost of equity is sometimes interchanged with the cost of retained earnings. However, they are not the same.

     

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