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Simerpreet
SimerpreetHelpful
In: 1. Financial Accounting > Capital & Revenue Expenses

How to know which expense is capital and which is revenue?

Capital ExpenditureRevenue Expenditure
  • 1 Answer
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Answer
  1. Astha Leader Pursuing CA, BCom (Hons.)
    Added an answer on June 8, 2021 at 2:42 pm
    This answer was edited.

    Capital Expense Capital expenses are incurred for acquiring assets including incidental expenses. Such expenses increase the revenue earning capacity of the business. These are incurred to acquire, upgrade and maintain long term assets such as buildings, machines, etc and are non-recurring in natureRead more

    Capital Expense

    Capital expenses are incurred for acquiring assets including incidental expenses. Such expenses increase the revenue earning capacity of the business. These are incurred to acquire, upgrade and maintain long term assets such as buildings, machines, etc and are non-recurring in nature.

    Revenue Expenses

    Revenue expenses are incurred to carry on operations of an entity during an accounting period. Such expenses help in maintaining the revenue earning capacity of the business and are recurring in nature.

    These include ordinary repair and maintenance costs necessary to keep an asset working without any substantial improvement that leads to an increase in the useful life of the asset.

    Suppose, company Takeaway ltd. purchases machinery for 50,000 and pays installation charges of 10,000. Salary of 15,000 is paid to the employees and existing machinery is painted costing 8,000. Here, the cost of machinery 50,000 and installation charges of 10,000 are treated as capital expenditure and the salary of 15,000 and painting cost of 8,000 is treated as revenue expenditure.

    Identification

    Points to categorize an expenditure as Capital or Revenue are as follows:

    • An expenditure that neither creates assets nor reduces liability is categorized as revenue expenditure. If it creates an asset or reduces a liability, it is categorized as capital expenditure.

    For example, a company Motors ltd. purchases furniture for 65,000, repays loans amounting to 1,00,000 and pays salary of 25,000.

    Here the company creates an asset of 65,000 and reduces liability by 1,00,000 as shown below and therefore is considered as capital expenditure.

    However, payment of salaries neither creates assets nor reduces liability. It only reduces profits and therefore is considered as revenue expenditure.

    • Usually, the amount of capital expenditure is larger than that of revenue expenditure. But it is not necessary that if the amount is small it is revenue expenditure and if the amount is large, it is a capital expenditure.

    For example, a company Stars ltd purchases machinery for 1,20,000, furniture for 35,000 and has a rental expense of 80,000.

    Here, the purchase of machinery is capital expenditure since it results in higher expense. However, the purchase of furniture cannot be regarded as a revenue expense and payment of rent cannot be regarded as a capital expense only because the rental expense is higher than the amount expended for the purchase of furniture.

    • Usually, capital expenditure is not frequent and is made at a time, in lump sum. On the other hand, revenue expenditure is paid periodically. However, it is possible that capital expenditure is paid in installments.

    For example, a company Caps ltd. purchases land for 1,00,00,000 on an equal monthly installment basis. Then such payments cannot be considered as revenue expense only because the payments are recurring. Since the installments are paid in lieu of the purchase of land which is a long term asset, the payments will be considered as capital expenditure.

    • Mostly capital expenditures are met out of capital whereas revenue expenditures are met out of revenue receipts. However, payments can be made vice-versa.
    • If an expenditure is incurred by the payer as a capital expenditure, it will remain a capital expenditure even if the amount may be revenue receipt in the hands of the payee.

    For example, a company Marks Ltd. purchases machinery directly from the manufacturer for 50,000. For the manufacturer, the proceeds from the sale of machine are revenue in nature but the amount expended by Marks Ltd. will be categorized as capital expenditure.

    Following conclusion can be inferred from the above explanation:

    *Such transactions may or may not hold true as explained above.

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Simerpreet
SimerpreetHelpful
In: 1. Financial Accounting > Partnerships

What is recorded in the Realisation account?

  • 1 Answer
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Answer
  1. Kajal
    Added an answer on September 29, 2023 at 1:29 pm
    This answer was edited.

    The Realisation account is prepared at the time of dissolution of the Partnership firm to ascertain profit or loss from the sale of assets and payment of liabilities of the firm. All assets that can be converted into cash (i.e. from which any value can be realised) and all external liabilities thatRead more

    The Realisation account is prepared at the time of dissolution of the Partnership firm to ascertain profit or loss from the sale of assets and payment of liabilities of the firm. All assets that can be converted into cash (i.e. from which any value can be realised) and all external liabilities that are to be paid are recorded in the Realisation A/c.

     

    DISSOLUTION OF PARTNERSHIP FIRM

    It means the firm closes down its business and comes to an end. Simply, it means the firm will cease to exist in the future. As the firm is closing down, it will sell all its assets to realise all the value blocked in the assets, it is liable to pay off all of its liabilities whether due now or on some future date, and the remaining amount (if any) is distributed among the partners.

     

    REALISATION ACCOUNT

    This account is prepared only once, at the time of dissolution of the Partnership firm. It is opened to dispose of all the assets of the firm and make payments to all the external creditors of the firm.

    It ascertains the profit earned or loss incurred on the realisation of assets and payment of liabilities.

    The Realisation account is a NOMINAL ACCOUNT (Debit all expenses and losses, Credit all incomes and gains)

     

    ITEMS RECORDED IN THE REALISATION ACCOUNT

    DEBIT SIDE OF REALISATION ACCOUNT

    1. TRANSFER OF ASSETS

    Assets are any property or the possession of the business enterprise that allows it to get cash or any other benefit in the future.

    Since all assets are sold at the time of the dissolution, all assets that can be converted into cash are transferred to the  Debit side of the Realisation A/c at their book values.

    Such as Plant & Machinery, Building, Debtors, etc.

    EXCEPTIONS

    • Cash and Bank balances (as already in the most liquid form)
    • Fictitious assets ( Don’t have any realisable value)

     

    NOTE – If there is any provision against any asset, such as ‘Provisions for Bad debts’ or ‘Provision for Depreciation, then such assets are transferred to the Debit side of the Realisation A/c at its gross value and the Provision is transferred to the Credit side of the Realisation A/c.

    For example – Suppose there are Debtors of $50,000 and the Provision for Doubtful Debts is $2,000.

    Then, Debtors will be recorded on the Debit side with a value of $50,000 and the Provision for Doubtful Debt on the Credit side with the amount of $2,000.

     

    2. PAYMENT OF LIABILITIES

    All liabilities are either paid in cash or the Partner agrees to pay for some liabilities. Since they are expenses, they are recorded on the debit side of the Realisation A/c as “Debit all expenses and Losses”

     

    3. PROFIT ON REALISATION

    There is profit when Cr. side > Dr. side, as it means incomes are more than the payments made. This profit is distributed among the partners.

     

    CREDIT SIDE OF THE REALISATION ACCOUNT

     

    1. TRANSFER OF LIABILITIES

    Liabilities refer to the amount owed by the firm to outsiders. All liabilities must be paid off before accounts are closed. So, all external liabilities are transferred to the Credit side of the Realisation account, to make their payment.

    Such as creditors, bills payable, loans, outstanding expenses, partner’s wife’s loan, etc.

    EXCEPTION (not included)

    • Partner’s loan (internal liability and a separate account is created for it)
    • Undistributed Profits (like General reserve, Credit balance of P&L A/c, etc. because they belong to partners and are distributed among them. Also, they can’t be sold)

     

    2. SALE OF ASSETS

    Assets can be sold for cash or taken by the Partner. The amount received from the sale of assets is recorded on the credit side of the Realisation account as “Credit all incomes and gains”.

    Also, if any asset is given to the creditors in part or full payment of his dues, then the agreed amount is deducted from the creditor’s claim and no other entry is passed.

     

    3. LOSS ON REALISATION:

    There is a loss, if the Dr. side> Cr. side, which means Expenses > Incomes. This loss is also distributed among the Partners.

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Aditi
Aditi
In: 1. Financial Accounting > Accounting Terms & Basics

Why do we segregate assets into financial and non-financial assets?

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Answer
  1. Mehak
    Added an answer on February 1, 2025 at 1:00 am
    This answer was edited.

    Assets can be classified as Financial or Non-financial assets. One might wonder why this is necessary.  Let us dive into this concept, beginning with understanding what financial and non-financial assets are and why they are classified as such. What are Assets? Assets are things that have a monetaryRead more

    Assets can be classified as Financial or Non-financial assets. One might wonder why this is necessary.  Let us dive into this concept, beginning with understanding what financial and non-financial assets are and why they are classified as such.

    What are Assets?

    Assets are things that have a monetary value and are beneficial for a business. Assets are commonly classified as tangible, intangible, current, fixed, financial, non-financial, etc.

    Plant and machinery, land, buildings, cash, bank balance, patents, etc are some of the examples of assets that a business has.

    What are Financial Assets?

    Financial assets are the things of value that are held by a person for their underlying value. They are intangible and do not have a physical form. For example – Stocks, bonds, debentures, options, futures, etc.

    The value of these assets may change over time depending upon the market conditions, changes in government policies, fluctuations in interest rates, etc.

    In comparison to non-financial or physical assets, financial assets are more liquid as they can be traded and can be converted into cash.

    What are Non-financial assets?

    Non-financial assets are tangible or intangible assets that have a value but cannot be easily converted into cash. They are not as liquid and generally not traded.

    Examples of such assets are buildings, plant and machinery, patents, trademarks, etc.

    Why do we separate Financial and Non-Financial Assets?

    The following are several important reasons why it is important to segregate the same:

    1. It helps in the proper classification of assets on the Financial Statements.
    2. It helps in liquidity management.
    3. It helps in Risk assessment.
    4. Tax management can be done accurately.

    Difference between Financial and Non – Financial Asset

     

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Radha
Radha
In: 1. Financial Accounting > Financial Statements

Internal analysis of financial statements is done by?

(a) Potential investors (b) The owners or managers of the concern (c) Creditors and Lenders (d) Government​

  • 1 Answer
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Answer
  1. Simerpreet Helpful CMA Inter qualified
    Added an answer on July 27, 2021 at 4:12 pm

    The correct option is (b) and (d) As the internal analysis is done for the internal assessment of the firm, only those persons can carry out the assessment who has access to the internal accounting records of a business firm. As the owners or managers are the members of the top-level management execRead more

    The correct option is (b) and (d)

    As the internal analysis is done for the internal assessment of the firm, only those persons can carry out the assessment who has access to the internal accounting records of a business firm. As the owners or managers are the members of the top-level management executives they can carry out the work of internal analysis. Also, the government agencies can carry out internal analysis as they have been given the statutory powers of doing such works.

    To make it clear, let me explain a little about internal analysis-

    To determine the profitability of various activities and operations or to know the performance of the business concern, the top-level executives along with the management accountant carry out an internal assessment of the financial statements within the concern, this process is known as internal analysis.

     

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Simerpreet
SimerpreetHelpful
In: 1. Financial Accounting > Partnerships

What is gain ratio formula?

  • 1 Answer
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Answer
  1. Ayushi Curious Pursuing CA
    Added an answer on August 6, 2022 at 6:33 pm
    This answer was edited.

    Introduction The term 'gain ratio' is related to partnership accounting. Gain ratio refers to the ratio in which existing partners of a partnership firm, divide among themselves, the share of profit and loss of the outgoing partners. There is a method of calculating this gain ratio. The method alongRead more

    Introduction

    The term ‘gain ratio’ is related to partnership accounting. Gain ratio refers to the ratio in which existing partners of a partnership firm, divide among themselves, the share of profit and loss of the outgoing partners.

    There is a method of calculating this gain ratio. The method along with the concept behind gain ration is discussed below.

    Concept behind gain ratio

    A partnership firm is a form of business organisation which is conducted and carried on by members known as partners. It requires at least two partners to start a firm and the maximum limit is 50.

    The partners share the profit and loss of a business in a ratio known as Profit and loss sharing ratio.

    For example, Amanda, Bill and Chang are partners, having a P/L sharing ratio of 3:2:1 i.e. Amanda is getting 3/6, Bill is getting  2/6 of the same and Chang is getting ⅓ of the profit and loss

    If the profit is $6,000 , then Amanda will get $3,000 (3/6 of $6,000) and Bill will get $2,000 (2/6 of $6,000) and Chang will get $1,000 (1/6 of $6,000).

     

    Now if Amanda retires from the firm, then naturally, Bill and Chang’s share of profit will increase.

    The profit and loss sharing ratio will now be 2:1 (earlier it was 3:2:1) and the share of profit of Bill will be $4,000 and of Chang will be $2,000.

     

     

    Calculation of gain ratio

    The formula for calculating gain ratio = New ratio – Old Ratio

    As per the  above case:

    • Gain ratio of Bill = 2/3 – 2/6 = 2/6
    • Gain ratio of Chang = 1/3 – 1/6 = 1/6

     

    Therefore the gain ratio in which Bill and Chang gained the share of profit of Amanda is 2/6 : 1/6 or simply 2:1

    This is how we can calculate the gain ratio. But one thing to notice is that the gain ratio is equal to the P/L sharing ratio of the partnership between Bill and Chang.

    Hence, whenever a partner retires and the existing partner keep the P/L sharing ratio unchanged among themselves then, the gain ratio will be equal to their P/L sharing ratio. In that case, there is no need to calculate the gain ratio from the formula given above.

    But, when the remaining partners change the P/L sharing ratio among themselves after a partner retires, then the gain ratio is to be calculated using the formula given above.

    Suppose, upon retirement of Amanda, Bill and Chang change the P/L sharing between them to from 2:1 to 3:2

     In that case,

    • The gain ratio of Bill = 3/5 – 2/6 = 8/30
    • The gain ratio of Chang = 2/5 – 1/6 = 7/30

     

     Therefore the gain ratio in which Bill and Chang will gain the share of profit of Amanda is 8/30 : 7/30 or simply 8:7

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Jasmeet_Sethi
Jasmeet_SethiCurious
In: 1. Financial Accounting > Accounting Terms & Basics

What are sundry debtors and sundry creditors?

  • 1 Answer
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Answer
  1. Simerpreet Helpful CMA Inter qualified
    Added an answer on August 12, 2021 at 3:19 pm

    Sundry Debtors Sundry Debtors are those persons or firms to whom goods have been sold or services rendered on credit and the payment has not been received from them. In other words, Debtors are the persons or firms from whom the payment is to be received by the business. For Example, Ramen Sold goodRead more

    Sundry Debtors

    Sundry Debtors are those persons or firms to whom goods have been sold or services rendered on credit and the payment has not been received from them. In other words, Debtors are the persons or firms from whom the payment is to be received by the business.

    For Example, Ramen Sold goods to Sam on credit, Sam did not pay for the goods immediately, so here Sam is the debtor for Ramen because he owes the amount to Ramen.

    Another Example, If goods worth Rs 7000 have been sold to Sid on credit, he will continue to remain as debtor of the business so long as he does not make the full payment.

    Treatment:

    Sundry Debtor is considered as a current asset and hence it is shown on the assets side of the balance sheet under the Current Assets heading.

    Sundry Debtors are not considered as an item of profit and loss because it is not considered as an item of income or expense. However, the items associated with sundry debtors such as bad debts or provision for doubtful debts or bad debts recovered are shown in profit and loss accounts in the debit and credit sides respectively.

    Sundry Creditors

    Sundry creditors are those persons or firms from whom goods have been purchased or services rendered on credit and for which payment has not been made. In other words, Creditors are the person or firms to whom some money has to be paid by the business.

    For Example, Ramen purchased goods from Sam on credit, Ramen did not pay for the goods immediately, so here Ramen is the creditor for Sam because he owes money to Sam.

    Another Example, If Mr. Johnson purchased goods worth Rs 3000 from M/s. Rick & Co. on credit, Mr. Johnson will continue to remain as a creditor of M/s. Rick & Co. as long as the full payment is made by Mr. Johnson.

    Treatment:

    Sundry Creditor is shown in the liabilities side of the balance sheet under the heading Current Liabilities.

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Anushka Lalwani
Anushka Lalwani
In: 1. Financial Accounting > Miscellaneous

What is revenue reserve?

ReservesRevenue Reserve
  • 1 Answer
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Answer
  1. PriyanshiGupta Graduated, B.Com
    Added an answer on November 15, 2021 at 1:31 pm
    This answer was edited.

    Profits earned by a firm are not completely distributed to its owners, some of the profits are retained for various purposes. Reserves are profits that are apportioned or set aside to use in the future for a specific or general purpose. Reserves follow the Conservative Principle of accounting.  ReveRead more

    Profits earned by a firm are not completely distributed to its owners, some of the profits are retained for various purposes. Reserves are profits that are apportioned or set aside to use in the future for a specific or general purpose. Reserves follow the Conservative Principle of accounting. 

    Revenue reserve is created from the net profits of a company during a financial year. Revenue reserve is created from revenue profit that a company earns from the daily operations of the business.

    Various types of reserves are:

    • Capital Redemption Reserve: It is created to issue fully paid bonus shares or reduction of capital in accordance with Article 3 of the Companies Act, 2013.
    • General Reserve: It is a reserve created to provide for various requirements of the company from time to time.
    • Debenture Redemption Reserve: It is required by the Companies Act, 2013 to transfer the amount of debentures that are going to be redeemed in the following year to minimize the risk of default.
    • Securities Premium Reserve: When shares and debentures are issued at a price higher than the book value, then such higher amount is transferred to Securities Premium Reserve
    • Revaluation Reserve: It is created to revalue the assets and liabilities and provide for gain or loss.

    Different parts of profit are apportioned to create a different reserve and those reserves can only be used for purposes as defined.

    While accounting for Revenue Reserve, the profit decided to transfer to Revenue Reserve are first transferred to Profit and Loss Appropriation Account and then to Revenue Reserve Account. In the balance sheet, Revenue Account is shown under the Capital and Reserves head.

    Liabilities Amount Amount
    Share Capital
    Reserve and Surplus
    General Reserve
    Capital Redemption Reserve
    Securities Premium Account
    Profit and Loss Account

    Uses of Revenue Reserve:

    • Revenue Reserves are created to expand business or for meeting contingencies that may arise in the future.
    • It can also be used to distribute dividends or bonus shares to its shareholders.

    Example:

    Given that Revenue Reserve Account stands at Rs 1,00,000 and the company wants to distribute Rs. 40,000 as dividend to its shareholders. The treatment of this transaction in the financial statements will be-

    Particulars                                                                                                                           Amount (Rs.)

    Revenue Reserve Account                                                                                                    1,00,000

    (less) Dividend distributed                                                                                                    (40,000)

    The amount shown in Balance Sheet                                                                                    60,000

     

     

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A_Team
A_Team
In: 1. Financial Accounting > Not for Profit Organizations

Can I get income and expenditure account of charitable trust in excel?

  • 1 Answer
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Answer
  1. GautamSaxena Curious .
    Added an answer on July 14, 2022 at 10:19 pm
    This answer was edited.

    Income and Expenditure A/c of Charitable Trust Income and Expenditure A/c is like the Profit and Loss A/c in the Balance Sheet of the Charitable Trust. All the income and expenses are, therefore, recorded in this. It is used to determine the surplus or deficit of income over expenditures over a specRead more

    Income and Expenditure A/c of Charitable Trust

    Income and Expenditure A/c is like the Profit and Loss A/c in the Balance Sheet of the Charitable Trust. All the income and expenses are, therefore, recorded in this. It is used to determine the surplus or deficit of income over expenditures over a specific accounting period.

    It shows the summary of all the income and expenditures done by the charitable trust over an accounting year. All the revenue items relating to the current period are shown in this account, the expenses and losses on the expenditure side, and incomes and gains on the income side of the account.

     

    • Therefore, as you can see here, how a charitable trust may use MS Excel for making their Income and Expenditure A/c, the Surplus and Deficit are the balancing figures used for balancing both the debit and credit sides.

    Later on, they are even used in the Balance Sheet. As follows-

    On the Assets Side 

     

    On the Liability Side

     

     

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Radha
Radha
In: 1. Financial Accounting > Ratios

What is sacrificing ratio?

Sacrificing Ratio
  • 1 Answer
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Answer
  1. Rahul_Jose Aspiring CA currently doing Bcom
    Added an answer on November 12, 2021 at 4:02 pm
    This answer was edited.

    When a partnership firm consisting of some partners, decide to admit a new partner into their firm, they have to forego a part of their share for the new partner. Therefore, sacrificing Ratio is the proportion in which the existing partners of a company give up a part of their share to give to the nRead more

    When a partnership firm consisting of some partners, decide to admit a new partner into their firm, they have to forego a part of their share for the new partner. Therefore, sacrificing Ratio is the proportion in which the existing partners of a company give up a part of their share to give to the new partner. The partners can choose to forego their shares equally or in an agreed proportion.

    Before admission of the new partner, the existing partners would be sharing their profits in the old ratio. Upon admission, the profit-sharing ratio would change to accommodate the new partner. This would give rise to the new ratio. Hence Sacrificing ratio can be calculated as:

    Sacrificing Ratio = Old Ratio – New Ratio

    For example, Tony and Steve are partners in a firm, sharing profits in the ratio of 3:2. They decide to admit Bruce into the partnership such that the new profit-sharing ratio is 2:1:2. Now, to calculate the sacrificing ratio of Tony and Steve, we subtract their new share from their old share.

    Tony’s Sacrifice = 3/5 – 2/5 = 1/5

    Steve’s Sacrifice = 2/5 – 1/5 = 1/5

    Therefore, the Sacrificing ratio of Tony and Steve is 1:1. This shows that Tony gave up 1/5th of his share while Steve also sacrificed 1/5th of his share.

    Calculation of sacrificing ratio is important in a partnership as it helps in measuring that portion of the share of existing partners that have to be sacrificed. This ensures a smooth reconstitution of the partnership. Since the old partners are foregoing a part of their share in profits, the new partner has to bring in some amount as goodwill to compensate for their loss.

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A_Team
A_Team
In: 1. Financial Accounting > Financial Statements

Where does bad debts come in the balance sheet?

  • 6 Answers
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Answer
  1. Ishika Pandey Curious ca aspirant
    Added an answer on January 13, 2023 at 7:12 am
    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. Bad debts will be treated in the following ways : On the debit side of the profit and loss account. In the curreRead 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.

    Bad debts will be treated in the following ways :

    On the debit side of the profit and loss account.

    In the current assets side of the balance sheet, these are deducted from sundry debtors.

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

    Now I will show you an extract of the profit and loss account and balance sheet   

    Current assets are defined as cash and other assets that are expected to be converted into cash or consumed in the production of goods or the rendering of services in the ordinary course of business.

    For example,  debtors exist to convert them into cash i.e., receive the amount from them, bills receivable exist again for receiving cash against it, etc.

     

    Current liabilities are defined as liabilities that are payable normally within 12 months from the end of the accounting period or in other words which fall due for payment in a relatively short period.

    For example bills payable, short-term loans, etc.

     

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

     

    Reasons for bad debts

    There are several reasons why businesses may have bad debts some of them are as follows:-

    • Offered credit to customers who were unable to pay them back, or they may have been the victim of fraud.

     

    • When there is conflicts or dispute arise with respect to product size, color, quality, delivery, credit term, price, etc therefore debts becomes bad.

     

    • Debtors have poor financial management or they are not able to pay debts on time.

     

    • Debtors’ unwillingness to pay is also a reason for debts to become bad.

     

    • Or there can be more cases where debtors are unable to collect debts and debts turns out to be bad.

     

    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. 

     

    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 is 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.

     

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