AccountingQA Latest Questions

Rahul_Jose
Rahul_Jose
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  2. Radhika
    This answer was edited.

    An asset is a resource in the name of the company or controlled by the company that holds economic value and will provide it future benefits. A company invests in various kinds of assets for manufacturing purposes and investment purposes as well. Some examples of assets are: Plant and Machinery InveRead more

    An asset is a resource in the name of the company or controlled by the company that holds economic value and will provide it future benefits.

    A company invests in various kinds of assets for manufacturing purposes and investment purposes as well. Some examples of assets are:

    • Plant and Machinery
    • Investments
    • Inventory
    • Cash and Cash Equivalents, etc.

    Assets can be broadly divided into two categories based on their physical existence:

    • Tangible Assets
    • Intangible Assets

    Tangible Assets can be further divided into two categories based on their life and role in the operating cycle:

    • Non-Current Assets
    • Current Assets

    Since the company derives benefit from the asset, an asset account is debit in nature. If an asset account has a credit balance, it would fundamentally make it a liability. However, there are certain exceptions to it.

    In the case of Bank Overdraft, which means a company withdraws more from the bank than it has deposited in its account, Bank Account can also be shown having a credit balance.

    Contra Assets Accounts are the accounts that are contrary to the basic nature of an assets account, that is it is contrary to the debit nature of the assets account and hence are credit in nature.

    Examples of Contra Assets Account are:

    Accumulated Depreciation Account which is essentially Plant Assets Account also has a credit balance as it is used to depreciate the asset, or in other words, reduce the value of the assets, hence it also has a credit balance.

    When there are balances in the Account Receivables Account that are not paid to the company or have a very low probability of being paid, they are recorded in a separate account called Bad Debts Account, which is also credit in nature.

     

     

     

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

    Fictitious assets are the expenses and losses which are yet to be written off, so they appear in the Asset side of the balance sheet of the relevant financial year because expenses and losses have a debit balance. They are not assets in substance. Examples: Business loss ( debit balance of Profit anRead more

    Fictitious assets are the expenses and losses which are yet to be written off, so they appear in the Asset side of the balance sheet of the relevant financial year because expenses and losses have a debit balance. They are not assets in substance.

    Examples:

    1. Business loss ( debit balance of Profit and loss A/c )*
    2. Prepaid expenses
    3. Discount on the issue of debentures.
    4. Huge promotional expenditure.

    *business loss is shown as a negative figure under the head Reserve and Surplus, when the balance sheet is prepared as per Schedule III of The Companies Act, 2013.

    Deferred revenue expenditures are the expenses incurred for which the benefits are expected to flow to the enterprise beyond the current year. Such expenses are huge and are not written off completely in a financial year. The part of the expenditure which is not written off is shown on the assets side of the balance sheet.

    Examples:

    1. Huge advertisement expense.

    As you can see, there is some similarity between the two. Deferred revenue expenditure can be called a type of fictitious asset as it is shown in the asset side of the balance sheet but it isn’t an asset.

     

    The term ‘fictitious asset’ has a broader meaning than deferred revenue expenditure and also includes the losses such as discounts on the issue of debenture and business loss.

    The difference between fictitious assets and deferred revenue expenditure are as follows:

    Fictitious Assets Deferred Revenue Expenditure
    1 These are no real assets but expenses and losses that are not completely written off in an F.Y. These are expenses incurred from which benefits are expected to flow for more than one accounting period.
    2 It has a broader meaning. It has a narrower meaning.
    3 Examples:- business loss, discount on issue of debentures, prepaid expenses etc. Examples:- huge promotional expenditure etc.
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A_Team
A_Team
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  2. GautamSaxena Curious .
    This answer was edited.

    Fixed Working Capital Permanent working capital is also known as fixed working capital. Working capital is the excess of the current assets over the current liability and further, it is classified on the basis of periodicity, into two categories, permanent working capital, and variable working capitRead more

    Fixed Working Capital

    Permanent working capital is also known as fixed working capital.

    Working capital is the excess of the current assets over the current liability and further, it is classified on the basis of periodicity, into two categories, permanent working capital, and variable working capital.

    Permanent working capital means the part of working capital that is permanently locked up in current assets to carry business smoothly and effortlessly. Thus, it’s also known as fixed working capital.

    The minimum amount of current assets which is required to conduct a business smoothly during the year is called permanent working capital. The amount of permanent working capital depends upon the nature, growth, and size of the business.

    Fixed working capital can further be divided into two categories:

    • Regular working capital: It is the minimum amount of capital required by a business to fund its day-to-day operations of a business. E.g. payment of wages, salary, overhead expenses, etc.
    • Reserve margin working capital: Apart from day-to-day activities, additional working capital may also be required for contingencies that may arise at any time like strike, business depression, etc.

     

    Whereas, on the other hand, variable working capital, also known as temporary working capital refers to the level of working capital that is temporary and keeps fluctuating.

     

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

    The profits earned by a company are mainly divided into two parts: Dividend, and Retained Earnings The part of profit distributed to its shareholders is called a dividend. The part of the profit that the company holds for future expansion or diversification plans is called retained earnings. As theRead more

    The profits earned by a company are mainly divided into two parts:

    • Dividend, and
    • Retained Earnings

    The part of profit distributed to its shareholders is called a dividend. The part of the profit that the company holds for future expansion or diversification plans is called retained earnings.

    As the name suggests, retained earnings are the profit that is retained in the company. Retained earnings can be used for various purposes:

    • To distribute as dividends to shareholders
    • Expansion of business
    • Diversification
    • For an expected merger or acquisition

    As the profits of the company belong to shareholders, retained earnings are considered as profits re-invested in the company by the shareholders.

    The formula to calculate the cost of retained earnings is:

    (Expected dividend per share / Net proceeds) + growth rate

    • Expected dividend is the dividend an investor expects for his investment in the company’s shares based on the last year’s dividend, trends in the markets, and financial statements presented by the company.
    • Net proceeds is the market value of a share, that is, how much an investor would get if he sells his shares today.
    • Growth rate represents growth of company’s revenue, dividend from previous years in the form of a percentage.

    The expected dividend per share is divided by net proceeds or the current selling price of the share, to find out the market value of retained earnings.

    The growth rate is then added to the formula. It’s the rate at which the dividend grows in the company.

    For example:

    The net proceeds from share is Rs 100, expected dividend growth rate is 2% and expected dividend is 5.

    Cost of retained earnings

    = (Expected dividend per share / Net proceeds) + Growth rate

    = (5 / 100) + 0.02

    = 0.07 or 7%

     

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A_Team
A_Team
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  2. SidharthBadlani CA Inter Student
    This answer was edited.

    Bad debts mean the money owed by customers who have gone bankrupt or the likelihood of who's ever returning the money is significantly low. Bad debt is a nominal account. A nominal account is an account that records the business transactions belonging to a certain category of income, expense, profitRead more

    Bad debts mean the money owed by customers who have gone bankrupt or the likelihood of who’s ever returning the money is significantly low. Bad debt is a nominal account.

    A nominal account is an account that records the business transactions belonging to a certain category of income, expense, profit or loss. The balances on nominal accounts are normally written off at the end of each financial year. For example, sales A/c, purchases A/c, interest income, loss from the sale of assets etc.

    Why are bad debts A/c classified as a nominal account?

    First of all, let us understand the other two types of accounts – personal accounts and real accounts.

    Personal accounts deal with the records of the business’ transactions with a particular person or entity. For example Mukesh A/c, Mahesh A/c, Reliance A/c, Suresh and Co. A/c etc.

    Real accounts deal with transactions and records related to assets. The balance in these accounts is normally carried forward from one period to another. For example “Furniture A/c “, ” Building A/c ” etc.

    Now that we have understood the basic definitions of all three types of accounts, we can discuss the reason behind the classification of bad debts as nominal accounts.

    A bad debt is a loss that the company has incurred. It may be due to bankruptcy of customers, customer fraud etc. The company isn’t going to receive that money. The bad debts are written off at the end of the year by transferring them to profit and loss A/c.

    Thus, bad debts relate to loss and are normally not carried forward from one period to another. Hence, they are classified as nominal accounts.

    Treatment of Bad Debts

    Bad debts are written off at the end of each year by debiting them to the profit and loss A/c. The amount of bad debts is reduced from the amount of debtors that the company has.

    A company may also choose to create a provision for bad debts for the balance amount of debtors that the company has after adjusting for bad debts. This provision represents a rough estimate of the amount due to debtors that the business expects to not receive. In other words, it is an estimate of customer bankruptcy that the business expects.

    Conclusion

    We can conclude that

    • There are primarily three types of accounts – real, personal and nominal.
    • Bad debts are a nominal account.
    • Bad debts is a loss that the business has incurred
    • It may be due to bankruptcy of customers, fraud etc
    • Bad debts are written off each year by transferring them to the income statement
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prashant06
prashant06
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  2. Manvi Pursuing ACCA
    This answer was edited.

    Return inwards are the goods returned by the customer to the seller. The goods are returned for reasons like defects, excess delivery, and low quality. Return inwards are also known as Sales Returns. Sales returns are a contra account to sales revenue. The amount of sales returns is deducted from thRead more

    Return inwards are the goods returned by the customer to the seller. The goods are returned for reasons like defects, excess delivery, and low quality. Return inwards are also known as Sales Returns.

    Sales returns are a contra account to sales revenue. The amount of sales returns is deducted from the total sales in the Trading section of the Trading and Profit & Loss Account.

    In subsidiary books, return inwards are recorded only for those goods which are sold on credit to the customer.

    For example, On 1 August E Electronics sold 50 units of television to Hill Hotels on credit for Rs.25,000 each. Out of which 5 units were found to be defective and were returned back to E Electronics. In that accounting period, E Electronics made a total sales of Rs.20,00,000 (including the item sold to Hill Hotels).

    E Electronics in its Trading section of Trading and P&L A/c will account for a sales return of Rs.1,25,000 (Rs.25,000*5) and this amount will be deducted from the total sales. The same will be recorded in the subsidiary books as it accounts for sales made on credit.

    Extract of Profit & Loss Account:

    For a business, sales returns will either have a decrease in the sales revenue or it will increase the sales returns and allowances which is a contra account to sales revenue. An increase in sales returns will decrease gross profit.

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Anushka Lalwani
Anushka Lalwani
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  2. Pooja_Parikh Aspiring Chartered Accountant
    This answer was edited.

    In a partnership firm, the partners may withdraw certain amounts from the firm for their personal use. Such amounts withdrawn by the partners are called drawings. This amount is usually deducted from their capital. The partners are required to pay an amount as interest, based on the time period forRead more

    In a partnership firm, the partners may withdraw certain amounts from the firm for their personal use. Such amounts withdrawn by the partners are called drawings. This amount is usually deducted from their capital. The partners are required to pay an amount as interest, based on the time period for which the money was withdrawn. This amount is called Interest on Drawings.

    The journal entry for interest on drawings is as follows:

    Since interest on drawings is an income to the firm, it is credited based on the rule that “increase in incomes are credited”. Since the partner has to bear the interest amount, his capital account is debited as a “ decrease in capital is debited”.

     

    FORMULAS

    The basic formula for interest on drawings is:
    Interest on drawings = Amount of Drawings x Rate/100 x No. of months/12

    1. When equal amounts of drawings are withdrawn at the beginning of every month, then
      Interest on Drawings = Total Drawings x Rate/100 x (12+1)/2
    2. When equal amounts of drawings are withdrawn at the end of every month, then the Interest on Drawings = Total Drawings x Rate/100 x (12-1)/2
    3. When the date of the drawing is not specified, it is assumed to be withdrawn evenly. Hence Interest on Drawings = Total Drawings x Rate/100 x 6/12

    The calculations in 1,2 and 3 are done so that drawings can be calculated for the average period.

     

    EXAMPLE

    Jack is a partner who withdrew $20,000 on 1st April 2020. Interest on drawings is charged at 10% per annum. If we have to calculate interest on drawings as of 31st December, then

    Interest on Drawings = 20,000 x 10/100 x 9/12 = $1,500
    (Here, interest on drawings is outstanding for 9 months, that is from April to December)

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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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Jayesh Gupta
Jayesh GuptaCurious
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  2. Ayushi Curious Pursuing CA

    External liabilities are the amounts which a business is obliged to pay to the outsiders (who are not owners of the business). Here is the list of external liabilities:- Accounts payable ( trade creditors and bills payables) Loan taken from outsiders Loan from bank Debentures Public deposits accepteRead more

    External liabilities are the amounts which a business is obliged to pay to the outsiders (who are not owners of the business).

    Here is the list of external liabilities:-

    1. Accounts payable ( trade creditors and bills payables)
    2. Loan taken from outsiders
    • Loan from bank
    • Debentures
    • Public deposits accepted
    1. Outstanding expenses
    • Outstanding salary
    • Outstanding rent
    • Outstanding tax
    1. Interest due on loans taken from outsiders

    The list is not exhaustive.

    Just for more understanding, internal liabilities are those liabilities which a business is supposed to pay back to its owners.  Such as capital balance, profit surplus etc.

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Astha
AsthaLeader
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  2. GautamSaxena Curious .
    This answer was edited.

    Current Assets & Examples Current Assets are those assets that are bought by the company for a short duration and are expected to be converted into cash, consumed, or written off within one accounting year. They are also called short-term assets. These short-term assets are typically called currRead more

    Current Assets & Examples

    Current Assets are those assets that are bought by the company for a short duration and are expected to be converted into cash, consumed, or written off within one accounting year. They are also called short-term assets.

    These short-term assets are typically called current assets by the accountants and have no long-term future in the business. Current assets may be held by a company for a duration of a complete accounting year, 12 months, or maybe less. A major reason for the conversion of current assets into cash within a very short amount of time is to pay off the current liabilities.

    Examples

    Some of the major examples of current assets are – cash in hand, cash at the bank, bills receivables, sundry debtors, prepaid expenses, stock or inventory, other liquid assets, etc.

    • All of these assets are converted into cash within one accounting year.
    • Liquid assets are a part of current assets. Although they are easier to be converted into cash than current assets.
    • Current assets (along with current liabilities) help in the calculation of the current ratio. And they’re also referred to as circulating/floating assets.
    • Current assets are shown on the balance sheet (on the asset side) under the heading, current assets.

    Current assets on the balance sheet

    Balance Sheet (for the year…)

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