AccountingQA Latest Questions

Rahul_Jose
Rahul_Jose
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  2. Pooja_Parikh Aspiring Chartered Accountant

    Any person, company, or organization that owes us money is a debtor. The amount that is owed to us is called debt. When you are unsure if a debtor is going to pay back the amount owed to you, then a provision for doubtful debts is created. Here, the debtor may or may not pay back the amount owed. WhRead more

    Any person, company, or organization that owes us money is a debtor. The amount that is owed to us is called debt. When you are unsure if a debtor is going to pay back the amount owed to you, then a provision for doubtful debts is created. Here, the debtor may or may not pay back the amount owed. When the debts owed to us is irrecoverable, it is termed as bad debts.

    Provision for doubtful debts may become a bad debt at some point. Usually, companies keep a small portion of their debtors as a provision for doubtful debts in accordance with the prudence concept that tells us to account for all possible losses. Provision for doubtful debts is a liability whereas bad debts are recorded as an expense.

    Journal entries for Doubtful debts and bad debts are as follows:

    EXAMPLE

    If the balance in the debtors’ account shows an amount of Rs 20,000 and 5% of debtors are treated as doubtful, then Rs 1,000 is recorded as a provision for doubtful debts. This amount is deducted from debtors in the balance sheet.

    Now if Rs 400 was recorded as actual bad debts, then it is deducted from the provision for doubtful debts instead of debtors. Further another 400 is added back to provision for doubtful debts to maintain the percentage.

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  2. Ishika Pandey Curious ca aspirant
    This answer was edited.

    Definition Bad debts are a debt owed to an enterprise that is considered to be irrecoverable or we can say that it is owed to the business that is written off because it is irrecoverable. Sometimes debtors are unable to pay the amount due either partially or fully. the amount that is not receivableRead more

    Definition

    Bad debts are a debt owed to an enterprise that is considered to be irrecoverable or we can say that it is owed to the business that is written off because it is irrecoverable.

    Sometimes debtors are unable to pay the amount due either partially or fully. the amount that is not receivable is a loss and is called bad debt.

    Bad debts are neither assets nor liabilities they are expenses that are debited to the profit and loss account and reduced from debtors in the balance sheet.

    For example loans from banks are declared as bad debt, sales made on credit and amounts not received from customers, etc.

     

    Related terms

    So there are a few related terms whose meanings you should know

    • Further bad debts :
      • It means the amount of sundry debtors in the trial balance is before the deduction of bad debts. in this situation, entry for further bad debts is also passed into the books of account.
      • That is bad debts are debited and the debtor’s account is credited. And the accounting treatment for them is the same as bad debts which I have shown you above.

     

    • Bad debts recovered :
      • It may happen that the amount written off as bad debts are recovered fully or partially.
      • In that case, the amount is not credited to the debtor’s (personal) account but is credited to the bad debts recovered account because the amount recovered had been earlier written off as a loss.
      • Thus amount recovered is a ‘gain’  and is credited to the profit and loss account.

     

    Accounting methods

    There are two methods for accounting for bad debts which are mentioned below:-

    • First, is the direct written-off method which states that bad debts will be directly treated as expenses and expensed to the income statement, which is called the profit and loss account.

     

    • Second, is the allowance method which means we create provisions for doubtful debts accounts and the debtor’s account remains as it is since the debtor’s account and provision for doubtful debts account are two separate accounts.

     

      • Debts that are doubtful of recovery are provided estimating the debts that may not be recovered .amount debited to the profit and loss account reduces the current year’s profit and the amount of provision is carried forward to the next year.
      • Next year, when debts actually become bad debts and are written off, the amount of bad debts is transferred ( debited ) to the provision for doubtful debts account.
      • The amount of bad debts is not debited to the profit and loss account since it was already debited in earlier years.
      • Provision for doubtful debts is shown in the debit side of the profit and loss account as well as shown as a deduction from sundry debtors in the assets side of the balance sheet. 

     

    Accounting treatment

    Now let me try to explain to you the accounting treatment for bad debts which is as follows :

    • Balance sheet

     

      • In the balance sheet either it can be shown on the asset side under the head, current assets by reducing from that specific assets.
      • For example, if credit sales are made to a customer who says it’s not recoverable or is partially recoverable then the amount is bad debt. It’s a loss for the business and credited to the personal account of debtors or we can say reduced from debtor those are current assets of the balance sheet.

     

    • Profit and loss account

     

      • Bad debts are treated as expenses and debited to the profit and loss account.
      • For example, as I have explained above, before transferring to the balance sheet, bad debt will be debited to the profit and loss account as an expense.

    Now let me show you the extract of the profit and loss account and balance sheet showing bad debts and bad debts recovered which are as follows:-

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

    Workmen Compensation Reserve as the name suggests is a reserve created by the company to compensate its employees in the event of any uncertainty in future. It is created to protect the interest of workers in the company. Workmen Compensation Reserve Account is generally given effect in case of admiRead more

    Workmen Compensation Reserve as the name suggests is a reserve created by the company to compensate its employees in the event of any uncertainty in future. It is created to protect the interest of workers in the company.

    Workmen Compensation Reserve Account is generally given effect in case of admission, retirement of partners or dissolution of firm.

    If there is a change in the estimated value of reserve it is given effect during the revaluation of assets and liabilities.

    Journal entry if the existing reserve is less than the new estimated amount:

    Revaluation A/c (Dr)

    To Workmen Compensation Reserve A/c

    The reserve is credited because we need to create more than the existing reserve, since the new estimated liability is more than the existing.

    Journal entry if the existing reserve is more than the new estimated amount:

    Workmen Compensation Reserve A/c (Dr)

    To Revaluation A/c

    The reserve is debited because we need to decrease the existing reserve, since the new estimated liability is less than the existing.

    If a worker claims compensation, it is said to be a liability against the reserve. In case of dissolution, any such liability against workmen compensation reserve takes priority to be paid off according to the law.

    Journal entry in case of claim against reserve is:

    Workmen Compensation Reserve A/c (Dr)

    To Workmen Compensation Claim

    The amount is transferred from the reserve to a new liability, hence the reserve is debited and the claim is credited.

    If there are not sufficient funds in the firm to pay the liability, partners will have to bring funds from their personal assets to pay the workers.

    Journal entry when partner’s have to bring funds:

    Partner’s Capital Account (Dr)

    To Workmen Compensation Reserve A/c

    Partner’s need to bring funds to fulfill the liability, hence there account is debited and since the reserve is increased, hence it is credited.

    If there is no liability against the Workmen Compensation Reserve then it is distributed amongst the partners in their existing profit-sharing ratio.

    Journal entry for distribution of reserve is:

    Workmen Compensation Reserve A/c (Dr)

    To Partner’s Capital Account

    Since, reserve is more than required it is distributed among partners, hence their account is credited and as the reserve decreases, it is debited.

     

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A_Team
A_Team
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  2. Saurav

    Accrual Accrual expense means the transaction that takes place in a particular period must be accounted for in that period only irrespective of the fact when such amount has been paid. An accrual of the expenditure which is not paid will be listed in the books of accounts. These accruals can be furtRead more

    Accrual

    Accrual expense means the transaction that takes place in a particular period must be accounted for in that period only irrespective of the fact when such amount has been paid.

    An accrual of the expenditure which is not paid will be listed in the books of accounts. These accruals can be further divided into two parts

     

    Accrual Expense-

    Accrual Expense means any transaction that takes place in a particular period but the amount for it will be paid on a later period.

    For example- If rent of 10,000 for the month of March was paid in April month then this rent will be accounted for in the books in March

    For example- Interest of 1,000 for the month of March of the loan amount of 10,000 paid in April then will be accounted for in the books in March

    These are the following accrued expense

    • Accrual Rent– Accrual rent means the amount for using the land of the landlord is paid at a later period than the period when it is put into use.
    • Accrual Insurance– Accrual insurance means the amount paid as a premium to the insurance company paid on a later period than the period when it is due
    • Accrual Expense- Acrrual expense means the amount for any expense paid on a later period than the period when it pertains to be paid
    • Accrual Wages- Accrual wages means the amount which is paid to employees on a later period than the period when the wages get due
    • Accrual Loan Interest– Loan Interest means the amount of interest on a loan which is paid on a later period than the period when it is due on

     

    Accrual Revenue-

    Accrual Revenue means any transaction that takes place in a particular period but the amount for it will be received in the later period.

    For example- If interest of 10,000 on bonds for the period of March is received in April months then this amount will be accounted for in March. These are the following accrued revenue

    For example- Rent of 10,000 for the month of March received in April month then this rent will be accounted for in the books in March

    • Accrual Income- Acrrual expense means the amount for any income received on a later period than the period when it pertains to be received
    • Accrual Rent– Accrual rent means the amount for using the land of the entity by the other party is received at a later period than the period when it is put into use.
    • Accrued Interest– Accrued interest means the amount of interest received on a later period than the period when it pertains to receive
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prashant06
prashant06
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  2. Naina@123 (B.COM and CMA-Final)
    This answer was edited.

    Prepaid expenses are those expenses that have not been expired yet but their payment has already made in advance. There are many examples of prepaid expenses such as rent paid in advance, interest paid in advance, unexpired insurance You might be wondering what kind of account it is? As the name sugRead more

    Prepaid expenses are those expenses that have not been expired yet but their payment has already made in advance. There are many examples of prepaid expenses such as rent paid in advance, interest paid in advance, unexpired insurance

    You might be wondering what kind of account it is? As the name suggests it should be an expense but actually it’s an asset. When we initially record prepaid expenses we consider them as current assets and show them in the balance sheet. It turns out to be an expense when we use the service/item for what we have paid for in advance.

    The entry for the above explanation is as follows:

    From the modern rule, we know Assets and expenses increased are debits while decrease in assets and expenses are credit.

    As this is asset, increase in asset therefore we debit prepaid expense and on the other hand we pay cash/ bank on behalf of that asset in advance hence there is decrease in assets hence credited. The entry will be as follows:

    Prepaid Expense A/c                                                  …….Dr XXX
               To Cash/ Bank XXX

    when this prepaid expense actually becomes expense we pass the adjusting entry. The entry will be as follows:

    Expense A/c                                                               …….Dr XXX
               To Prepaid expense XXX

    Let me give you simple example of the above entry.

    Suppose you pay advance rent of Rs 9,000 for six months for the space you haven’t used yet. So you need to record this as prepaid expense and show it on the asset side of the balance sheet under current assets. Since you paid for the same the entry would be as follows:

    Prepaid Rent A/c                                                  …….Dr 9,000
               To Cash/ Bank 9,000

    As each month passes we will adjust the rent with prepaid rent account. Since the rent was advanced for 6 months, therefore (9,000/6) Rs 1500 will be adjusted each month with the rent expense account. The adjustment entry will be:

    Rent A/c                                                               …….Dr 1,500
               To Prepaid rent 1,500

    The process is repeated until the rent is used and asset account becomes nil.

     

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Ishika Pandey
Ishika PandeyCurious
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  2. SidharthBadlani CA Inter Student
    This answer was edited.

    Yes, a creditor is a liability. Creditors are treated as current liability. A creditor is a person who provides money or goods to a business and agrees to receive repayment of the loan or the payment of goods at a later date. The loan may be extended with or without interest. Creditors may be secureRead more

    Yes, a creditor is a liability. Creditors are treated as current liability.

    A creditor is a person who provides money or goods to a business and agrees to receive repayment of the loan or the payment of goods at a later date. The loan may be extended with or without interest.

    Creditors may be secured creditors or unsecured creditors. In the case of secured creditors, some collateral is usually pledged to them. In the case of a default, they can sell or otherwise dispose of the collateral in any manner to recover the money due to them.

    In the case of unsecured creditors, no collateral is pledged against the amount due to them. In the case of a default, they can approach a Court to enforce repayment but cannot sell any asset of the company by themselves.

    Why are Creditors treated as a liability?

    An asset is something from which the business is deriving or is likely to derive economic benefit in the future. The business has legal ownership of that asset which is legally enforceable in a court of law. For example, Plant and Machinery, accrued interest, building, etc

    A liability is a legal obligation of the business. It may be in the form of outstanding payments or loans or the owner’s share of the company that the company has to pay them as and when demanded.

    As the company has a legal obligation to pay money to the creditor, they are treated as a liability. Most creditors are to be repaid within 1 year and are hence classified as current assets.

    Treatment and Importance of Creditors

    Creditors are mostly treated as current liabilities. They are shown under the head “current liabilities” of the balance sheet of a company.

    The significance/importance of creditors is as follows:

    • The amount due to creditors affects the current and acid test ratio of a company significantly.
    • It affects the short-term cash requirements of a company.
    • It affects the credit policy of the company. A company can extend longer credit periods to customers if it can avail longer credit periods from its suppliers.
    • Having too many creditors or a large amount due to creditors can affect investor sentiment negatively regarding the business.

    We can conclude that the creditor being a person to whom the business is legally liable to pay a certain sum of money after a certain period of time has to be classified as a liability.

    Creditors play a major role in determining the success of a business. They act as a major constituent of the supply cycle of the business and affect the cash flows of the business. They are shown under the head “current liabilities” of the balance sheet of a company.

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SidharthBadlani
SidharthBadlani
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  2. Ishika Pandey Curious ca aspirant
    This answer was edited.

    Definition A ledger may be defined as a book that contains, in a summarized and classified form, a permanent record of all transactions. Or in other words, we can say a group of accounts with different characteristics. It is also called the Principal Book of accounts. For example:- salary account, aRead more

    Definition

    A ledger may be defined as a book that contains, in a summarized and classified form, a permanent record of all transactions.

    Or in other words, we can say a group of accounts with different characteristics.

    It is also called the Principal Book of accounts.

    For example:– salary account, and debtor account.

    Sub- ledger it is defined as a group of accounts with common characteristics. And is a part of ledger accounts.

    For example:- customer account, vendor account, etc.

    The difference between a ledger and a sub-ledger is that ledger accounts control sub-ledger accounts whereas a sub-ledger is a part of the ledger account.

    Features Of Ledger

    • Ledger is prepared from the journal.
    • Ledger is a master record of all the accounts of the business.
    • The Ledger account shows the current balances of all accounts.
    • Ledger accounts summarize the effect of transactions upon assets, liabilities, capital, incomes, and expenditures.

    Features Of Sub-Ledger

    • Sub-ledger in accounting provides up-to-date information about the daily activities of the business.
    • It keeps individual track of all balances.
    • Help locate errors in individual accounts.
    • A sub-ledger is a collection of different ledgers used in an account.

     

    Utilities of ledger

    The main utilities of a ledger are summarized as follows :

    • Provides complete information about a particular account: Complete information relating to a particular account is available in one place in the ledger.

    • Information on income and expenses: In the ledger, a separate account is maintained for each income and expense. The amount of total income and total expenses are known from the ledger accounts.

    • Preparation of trial balance: Ledger helps in preparing trial balances which ensure arithmetical accuracy of the transaction recorded in the books of account.

    • Helps in preparing final accounts: After preparing the trial balance, final accounts are prepared to know the profitability and financial position of the business.

    Utilities of sub-ledger

    The utilities of the sub-ledger are as follows :

    • Track customer information: If a client has an outstanding credit debt or needs money refunded, a company can use a sub-ledger to verify the information quickly.

    • Protect financial information: A sub-ledger allows a financial supervisor to isolate certain records so that employees can view only parts of the company’s financial information. This added level of security is important for large corporations.

    • Create separate databases: Large companies usually process large amounts of financial data that may be too big for one database. Software programs organize this data into isolated files to calculate financial information in the general ledger of a business.

    Conclusion

    So here I conclude that a ledger is compulsory in the recording process whereas a sub-ledger is optional.

    The ledger is used for preparing trial balance but the sub-ledger is not used for the same.
    Sub ledger is controlled by the ledger.

    The sub-ledger supports the transaction of each specific account indicated on the ledger.

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

    The reserves created for specific purposes in business are called specific reserves. According to the Companies Act, 2013, these reserves cannot be used for any other purposes. However, if the Article of Association of a company allows, these reserves can be used for other purposes as well. Amount tRead more

    The reserves created for specific purposes in business are called specific reserves. According to the Companies Act, 2013, these reserves cannot be used for any other purposes. However, if the Article of Association of a company allows, these reserves can be used for other purposes as well.

    Amount to any specific reserve is generally transferred from the Profit and Loss Appropriation Account.

    Various specific reserves are:

    • Debenture Redemption Reserve

    Debentures are debt instruments of a company and they have to be redeemed, that is, paid back after the expiry of the specified period. According to Accounting Standards, companies are required to set aside a specific amount in Debenture Redemption Reserve, when they are due for redemption.

    • Securities Premium Reserve

    When shares or debentures are issued at a price higher than its book value/face value, the difference between the market value and book value is called Securities Premium. The amount of Securities Premium is transferred to Securities Premium Account. This amount is utilized to issue fully paid bonus shares, write off preliminary expenses, write off commission discounts, etc., to provide a premium on redemption of debentures.

    • Investment Fluctuation Reserve

    The investments made by a company are subject to fluctuations in its market value. Company Law and Accounting Standards require companies to provide for such fluctuations by creating a reserve called Investment Fluctuation Reserve.

    • Dividend Equalisation Reserve

    Companies are required to pay a dividend to their shareholders. It is often difficult for a company to maintain a consistent rate of dividend as the dividend paid is equivalent to the profit made by a company during the financial year which is not consistent. So, Dividend Equalisation Reserve is created to maintain a consistent rate of dividend on shares over time, in the event of both high and low profits.

     

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Astha
AsthaLeader
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  2. Simerpreet Helpful CMA Inter qualified
    This answer was edited.

    Financial analysis of a company means analyzing the previous data of the company and giving recommendations based on that whether the company will improve in the future on not. It is the process of evaluating the financial performance and stability of the company. There are various types of financiaRead more

    Financial analysis of a company means analyzing the previous data of the company and giving recommendations based on that whether the company will improve in the future on not.

    It is the process of evaluating the financial performance and stability of the company.

    There are various types of financial analysis. They are leverage, growth, cash flow, liquidity, profitability, etc.

    The main objectives of Financial analysis are

    1.Reviewing the current position: In order to know if the company is doing well, past analysis of data is required to be carried out. Regular recording of the transactions helps to understand the financial position of the company.

    For example, A company wants to generate a revenue of 2000 crores in the next 5 years. The last four years’ data shows revenue as 1100, 1300,1600, 1800 crores respectively.

    So from the above, we can say that the company is performing well and looks like it will reach the desired target in the fifth year or may perform better than the target desired.

    However, if the revenue declines, it will cause concern for the team but the team will get time to gear up and work efficiently to achieve the desired target.

    2. Ease in decision making: For Future decision-making, quarterly financials play an important role. Subsidiary books and accounts like the sales book, purchase orders, manufacturing a/c, etc. help in giving more reliable information.

    For example, If sales are increasing inconsistently in a quarter, and in the next quarter the level of sales decrease due to any reason then the management can analyze and change the strategy.

    3. Performance Comparison: It helps in comparing the performance of the business every month, quarterly, half-yearly, and yearly. Analyzing the data can help the management to compare if the company is proceeding in the right direction.

    4. Assessing the profitability: Financial statements are used to assess the profitability of the firm. The analysis is made through the accounting ratios, trend line, etc. Accounting ratios calculated for a number of years shows the trend of change of position i.e. positive, negative or static. The assessing of the trend helps the management to analyze if the company is making profits or not.

    5. Measure the solvency of the firm: Financial analysis helps to measure the short-term and long-term efficiency of the firm for the benefit of the Stakeholders.

    6. Helps the end-users: The owners are the end-users for whom the financial statements are prepared. Financial statements are the summaries that are prepared for providing various disclosures to the owners which helps them understand the statements in a better way. If the end-users arrive at the right decision with the help of financial statements that means the objective is achieved.

    7. Other objectives:

    • It helps to settle disputes among the parties.
    • It helps in the expansion decision of the firm.
    • It helps in analyzing the amount of tax to be paid.
    • It reduces the chances of fraud.
    • It provides information about resources.
    • It provides a true and fair view of financial position.
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Aadil
AadilCurious
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  2. Ayushi Curious Pursuing CA
    This answer was edited.

    Firstly, let’s understand the meaning of both terms. Revenue receipts:  The term 'revenue' suggests these are the amounts received by a business due to its operating activities. These receipts arise in a recurring manner in a business. Such receipts don’t affect the balance sheet. They are shown inRead more

    Firstly, let’s understand the meaning of both terms.

    Revenue receipts:  The term ‘revenue‘ suggests these are the amounts received by a business due to its operating activities. These receipts arise in a recurring manner in a business. Such receipts don’t affect the balance sheet. They are shown in the statement of profit or loss. Such receipts are essential for the survival of the business.

    Examples of revenue receipts are as follows:

    • Proceeds from the sale of goods.
    • Proceeds from the provision of services
    • Rent received
    • Interest received from deposits in banks or financial institutions
    • Discount received from creditors (shown in the debit side of P/L A/c)

    Capital receipts: The term ‘capital’ that such receipts are do not arise due to operating activities, hence not shown in the Profit and loss statement.  These are the money received by a business when they sell any asset or undertake any liability. These receipts do not arise in a  recurring manner in a business.  They don’t affect the profit or loss of the business. They are not essential for the survival of the business.

    Examples of capital receipts are as follows:

    • Loan from a bank or financial institution. (Increase in liabilities)
    • Proceeds from the sale of an asset. (decrease in assets)
    • Proceeds from sale of  investments. (decrease in assets)
    • Proceeds from the issue of equity shares. (Increase in liabilities)
    • Proceeds from issue of debentures. (Increase in liabilities)

    I have given a table below for more understanding:

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