AccountingQA Latest Questions

Spriha Sparsh
Spriha Sparsh
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  2. Pooja_Parikh Aspiring Chartered Accountant
    This answer was edited.

    Retained Earnings refer to the total net profits left with the company after deduction of all dividends. This amount is a source of internal finance and can be used for the growth or expansion of the company. Retained earnings are shown under shareholders’ equity in the balance sheet and are calculaRead more

    Retained Earnings refer to the total net profits left with the company after deduction of all dividends. This amount is a source of internal finance and can be used for the growth or expansion of the company.

    Retained earnings are shown under shareholders’ equity in the balance sheet and are calculated as follows:
    Retained earnings at the end of the year = Retained earnings at the beginning of the year + Net Income – Dividend

    From the above formula, Yes, it is possible for retained earnings to be negative. Negative earnings occur when the cumulative dividend payout is higher than the earnings made by a company during the year. This results in a negative balance as per the formula.

    Negative Retained earnings indicate a number of concerning facts about a company:

    • That the company is experiencing Long term losses.
    • That there are chances for the company to go into bankruptcy.
    • That the company may be paying out dividends to the shareholders from borrowed finance.

     

    Positive Retained Earnings

    When a company is said to have positive retained earnings, the company has several advantages. The company has excess profit to hold on to. This helps in expansion and also acts as a safety net in case of unforeseen expenses. Hence if a company shows positive Retained earnings it can be interpreted that the company is profitable.

    However, higher retained earnings mean the distribution of lesser dividends to shareholders. This makes the company look less attractive to investors. Another reason for high retained earnings could be that the company has not found any profitable investment for its earnings.

    Therefore, there should be adequate retained earnings with the company but at the same time, keep a check that the amount of retained earnings does not exceed a limit.

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Bonnie
BonnieCurious
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  2. Ayushi Curious Pursuing CA

    ‘Reserve and surplus’ is a heading under ‘Equities and Liabilities’ in which various reserves and surplus of profit of an enterprise appear. Reserve are the amount set aside to meet with uncertainties of the future. They have credit balance as they are internal liabilities of an enterprise. While ‘sRead more

    ‘Reserve and surplus’ is a heading under ‘Equities and Liabilities’ in which various reserves and surplus of profit of an enterprise appear. Reserve are the amount set aside to meet with uncertainties of the future. They have credit balance as they are internal liabilities of an enterprise. While ‘surplus’ generally means the surplus amount in the profit and loss A/c or the operating surplus in case of a non-profit organisation, reserves are of many types:

    1. Revenue reserve
    2. Specific reserves
    • Reserves created from shareholder’s contribution
    1. Capital reserve
    2. Secret reserves

    Let’s discuss each of the above:

    1. Revenue reserves:

    Revenue reserve has two different definitions.

    First – Revenue reserves are the reserves that are created out of the profit made by an enterprise in the ordinary course of business. As per this definition, the examples of revenue reserves are:

    • General reserve: There is no restriction on the purpose for which this reserve can be used. It is a free reserve. Generally, this reserve is used to pay dividends.
    • Debenture Redemption Reserve: This reserve is mandatory to be created by law. The purpose is to ensure the timely redemption of debentures.
    • Dividend Equalisation Reserve: This reserve is created to maintain a steady rate of dividend every year even if the enterprise reports loss in any financial year.
    • Capital Redemption Reserve: This reserve can be solely used to issue bonus shares to fill the void created in total capital by redemption of preference shares.
    • Workmen Compensation Reserve: This reserve is created to pay for uncertain compensation that an enterprise may be liable to pay to its employees.
    • Investment Fluctuation Reserve: This reserve is created out of the profit of

     

       Second: Revenue reserve is a reserve from which can be used to any use. It can be the payment of dividends, creation of other reserves or reinvestment in the business. It is another name for general reserve.

    1. Specific reserves

    These are the reserves that are restricted to specific purposes only. These reserves are not free reserves i.e. dividends cannot be declared out of these reserves. However, if in case such reserve is not a statutory reserve, an enterprise can very well use such reserves for other purposes too. Specific reserves can be further classified into two types:

    • Statutory specific reserves: These are reserves that are mandatory to be created to comply with legal provisions applicable to an enterprise. Use of such reserves is restricted to some specific purposes.

    If such reserves are not created whenever applicable or if the amount in such reserves is used for a purpose other than the purpose for which it is created, the enterprise can invite face legal consequences. The examples of statutory reserves are as follows:

    • Capital Redemption Reserve
    • Debenture Redemption Reserve
    • Securities Premium Reserve
    • Non – Statutory specific reserves: It is not mandatory to create such reserves. They are created to meet with specific uncertainties of the future.
    • Workmen Compensation Reserve
    • Investment Fluctuation Reserve

    Important Note: Statutory reserve in the context of insurance companies means the minimum amount of cash and marketable securities to be set aside to comply with legal requirements.

    • Reserves created from shareholder’s contribution

    This is a reserve that is created out of a shareholder’s contribution. Securities premium reserve is the only such reserve that is created out of such shareholder’s contribution.

     

    Securities Premium Reserve: It is a reserve that is created when securities of a company such as shares or debentures are issued at a premium. The share or debenture premium money is created for this reserve. The purposes of which this reserve may be used as per section 52 of the Companies Act, 2013 are as follows:

    • For the issue of fully paid bonus shares.
    • For meeting preliminary expenses incurred by the company
    • For meeting the expense, commission or discount allowed on the issue of securities of the company.
    • In providing premium payable on the redemption of preference shares.
    • For the purchase of its own shares or other securities under section 68.
    1. Capital Reserve:

    Capital reserve is a reserve that is created out of the profit made by an enterprise from its non-operating activities like

    • selling of capital assets(fixed assets) at a profit
    • buying a business at profit (where net assets acquired is more than the purchase consideration)

    This reserve is used to finance long term projects of a company like buying or construction of fixed assets, writing off capital losses( selling of fixed assets at loss).

    1. Secret Reserve:

    A secret reserve is a reserve that exists but its existence is not shown in the balance sheet of an enterprise. An enterprise creates such reserves to hide from its competitor that it is in a better financial position than it appears in its balance sheet. Although the creation of secret reserves is prohibited by law, there are provisions for banking companies to create such reserves.

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A_Team
A_Team
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  2. Akash Kumar AK
    This answer was edited.

    Generally, Assets are classified into two types. Non-Current Assets Current Assets   Non-Current Asset Noncurrent assets are also known as Fixed assets. These assets are an organization's long-term investments that are not easily converted to cash or are not expected to become cash within an acRead more

    Generally, Assets are classified into two types.

    1. Non-Current Assets
    2. Current Assets

     

    Non-Current Asset

    Noncurrent assets are also known as Fixed assets. These assets are an organization’s long-term investments that are not easily converted to cash or are not expected to become cash within an accounting year.

    In general terms, In accounting, fixed assets are assets that cannot be converted into cash immediately. They are primarily tangible assets used in production having a useful life of more than one accounting period. Unlike current assets or liquid assets, fixed assets are for the purpose of deriving long-term benefits.

    Unlike other assets, fixed assets are written off differently as they provide long-term income. They are also called “long-lived assets” or “Property Plant & Equipment”.

     

    Examples of Fixed Assets

    • Land
    • Land improvement (e.g. irrigation)
    • Building
    • Building (work in progress)
    • Machinery
    • Vehicles
    • Furniture
    • Computer hardware
    • Computer software
    • Office equipment
    • Leasehold improvements (e.g. air conditioning)
    • Intangible assets like trademarks, patents, goodwill, etc. (non-current assets)

     

    Valuation of Fixed asset

    fixed assets are recorded at their net book value, which is the difference between the “historical cost of the asset” and “accumulated depreciation”.

    “Net book value = Historical cost of the asset – Accumulated depreciation”

     

    Example:

    Hasley Co. purchases Furniture for their company at a price of 1,00,000. The Furniture has a constant depreciation of 10,000 per year. So, after 5 years, the net book value of the computer will be recorded as

    1,00,000 – (5 x 10,000) = 50,000.

    Therefore, the furniture value should be shown as 50,000 on the balance sheet.

     

    Presentation in the Balance Sheet

    Both current assets and non-current assets are shown on the asset side(Right side) of the balance sheet.

     

    Difference between Current Asset and Non-Current Asset

    Current assets are the resources held for a short period of time and are mainly used for trading purposes whereas Fixed assets are assets that last for a long time and are acquired for continuous use by an entity.

    The purpose to spend on fixed assets is to generate income over the long term and the purpose of the current assets is to spend on fixed assets to generate income over the long term.

    At the time of the sale of fixed assets, there is a capital gain or capital loss but at the time of the sale of current assets, there is an operating gain or operating loss.

    The main difference between the fixed asset and current asset is, although both are shown in the balance sheet fixed assets are depreciated every year and it is valued by (the cost of the asset – depreciation) and current asset is valued as per their current market value or cost value, whichever is lower.

     

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Naina@123
Naina@123
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  2. prashant06 B.com, CMA pursuing
    This answer was edited.

    First, let us understand the meaning of a provision of depreciation. It is nothing but the total collection of all the depreciation over the years. This account is not like a normal account but a contra asset account. It is also called accumulated depreciation. Annual depreciation charged is an expeRead more

    First, let us understand the meaning of a provision of depreciation. It is nothing but the total collection of all the depreciation over the years. This account is not like a normal account but a contra asset account. It is also called accumulated depreciation.

    Annual depreciation charged is an expense for the business and hence has a debit balance. Whereas provision for depreciation as a contra asset account has a credit balance.

    The journal entry for provision for depreciation is

    Depreciation A/c                                                      ……….Dr XXX
               To Provision for depreciation XXX

    Explaining the credit nature of this account. As we know that the depreciation is an expense for the business hence as per modern rules “Debit all the expenses and losses and credit all incomes and gains” therefore it is debited whereas the provision of depreciation is contra account it has a credit balance as it reduces the value of assets. So according to modern rule, we know a decrease in assets has a credit balance, hence shown in a negative balance on the balance sheet under long-term assets.

    With the preparation of this account, we do not credit depreciation in the asset account but transfer every year to the accumulated depreciation account, and when assets are disposed of or sold we credit the ‘total’ of the provision on depreciation to the credit of the asset account just to calculate the actual profit or loss on a sale of the asset.

     

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Ayushi
AyushiCurious
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  2. ShreyaSharma none
    This answer was edited.

    Journal entries in the ledger What is a Journal Entry? Journal entry is a form of bookkeeping. All the economic or non-economic transactions in the business are recorded in the journal entries showing a company's debit or credit balances. It is a double-entry accounting method and requires at leastRead more

    Journal entries in the ledger

    What is a Journal Entry?

    Journal entry is a form of bookkeeping. All the economic or non-economic transactions in the business are recorded in the journal entries showing a company’s debit or credit balances. It is a double-entry accounting method and requires at least two accounts or more in a transaction.

    The journal entry helps to identify the transactions. We use journals to get a running list of business transactions. Each journal entry provides this specific information about a transaction:

    • Date of the transaction.
    • Accounts involved in it.
    • Payer, payee, receiver, etc.
    • Account name.
    • Debit and credit of money.

     

    General Ledger 

    After the transactions are recorded in the journal, they are posted in the principal book called ‘Ledger’. A ledger account contains information about a specific account. It contains the opening balance as well as the closing balances of an account. It summarizes the business transactions.

    Transferring the entries from journals to respective ledger accounts is called ledger posting or posting to the ledger accounts. Balancing of ledgers is carried out to find differences at the year’s end, it means finding the difference between the debit and credit amounts of a particular account.

     

    For instance,

    Suppose goods were bought for cash. While passing the journal entry, we’ll be debiting the purchases a/c and crediting the cash a/c by stating it as, ‘To Cash A/c’.

    Now, this entry will be affecting both the purchases account and the cash account. In the cash account, we’ll be debiting purchases. Whereas in the purchases account, we’ll be crediting the cash. That’s how it works in the double-entry bookkeeping system of accounting.

     

    Example

    Mr. Tony Stark started the business with cash of $100,000. He bought furniture for business for $15,000. He further purchased goods for $75,000. He hired an employee and paid him a salary of $5,000.

    Now, we’ll be journalizing the transactions and posting them into the ledger accounts.

    Journal Entries

    Recording into Ledger Account

    Cash A/c

    Capital A/c

    Furniture A/c

    Purchases A/c

    Salary A/c

    Note: The balance b/d is not applicable as this is the business’ commencement year.

     

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Anushka Lalwani
Anushka Lalwani
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  2. Kajal
    This answer was edited.

    Yes, Accounts Payable can have a Debit balance. Accounts payable is a liability and thus, has a credit balance but can have a debit balance in case the creditor is overpaid or when there is purchase return (for already-paid goods)   ACCOUNTS PAYABLE Accounts payable refers to all short-term liaRead more

    Yes, Accounts Payable can have a Debit balance. Accounts payable is a liability and thus, has a credit balance but can have a debit balance in case the creditor is overpaid or when there is purchase return (for already-paid goods)

     

    ACCOUNTS PAYABLE

    Accounts payable refers to all short-term liabilities of the business that are to be paid. These are usually paid within a duration of  90 days. It includes both Trade payable (goods and services purchased on credit) as well as expenses payable (used but payment not made yet) like rent payable, electricity bill, etc.

    Businesses cannot make every payment on the spot. There can be cases when the business is facing a shortage of funds, can have funds but doesn’t have enough cash (or liquid funds) to make payment or simply doesn’t want to make payment on the spot to reduce its capital requirement.

    So, like us businessmen also purchase goods on credit or use services for which payment is to be made soon. All these are liabilities for the business.

    However, they must be related to the business to be considered as accounts payable.

     

    DEBIT BALANCE OF ACCOUNTS PAYABLE 

    Debit balance of accounts payable means money owed by others. There is Debit balance when

    OVERPAYMENT is made to the creditors or the supplier. It happens when the wrong amount is paid or payment is made twice for the same transaction.

    Suppose you need to pay $10,000 as rent within 30 days. After 25 days you mistakenly made a payment of $12,000.

    In this case,

    • Firstly, you will record the transaction by crediting Accounts payable (as liability increased) by $10,000
    • When payment is made after 25 days, Accounts Payable is debited by $12,000 (as liability decreased)
    • So, there will be a debit balance of $2,000 (which means the creditor owes you) till the creditor returns the excess amount.

     

    PURCHASE RETURN of already paid goods also result in debit balance of Accounts Payable.

    Suppose you bought goods worth $50,000 from Mr A on credit and paid for the same. Later, you returned all the goods because they were defective. Now, there will be Debit balance of Accounts Payable till there is a full refund of $50,000 by Mr A.

     

    How is Accounts Payable Treated Normally?

    Accounts Payable are the current liabilities of the firm and are shown under the head Current Liabilities in the Balance Sheet. Its liability, thus has a credit balance which represents the amount owed by the firm to others. It is credited when increases and debited when decreases.

    For example – Suppose you purchased goods worth $30,000 and agreed to pay after 30 days. So, Accounts payable will be credited by $30,000 and purchases will be debited by $30,000.

    Purchases A/c – $30,000 (debit)

    To Accounts Payable A/c – $30,000

    After 30 days payment is made in cash, which means the liability decreased. So, Accounts Payable A/c will be debited.

    Accounts Payable A/c – $30,00

    To Cash – $30,000

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Mehak
Mehak
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  2. Aditi

    Biological Assets comes under International Accounting Standard IAS 41 Agriculture. IAS 41 Agriculture is the first standard that specifically covers the primary sector. The scope of IAS 41 is accounting for agricultural activity. Agricultural Activity- It is the management of biological transformatRead more

    Biological Assets comes under International Accounting Standard IAS 41 Agriculture.

    IAS 41 Agriculture is the first standard that specifically covers the primary sector. The scope of IAS 41 is accounting for agricultural activity.

    • Agricultural Activity- It is the management of biological transformation by an entity and measuring the change in the quality and quantity of biological assets.
    • Biological Transformation- It comprises the process of growth, degeneration, production and procreation that cause qualitative or quantitative changes in a biological asset
    • Biological Asset – They are living plants or animals owned by an entity
    • Agricultural Produce- It is the harvested / detached product of the entity’s biological asset.

    IAS 41 does not apply to

    • Agricultural land
    • Intangible assets related to agricultural activity
    • Products that are the result of processing after the point of harvest, for example, yarn, carpet, rubber, wine, etc
    • The land on which the biological assets grow, regenerate, degenerate.

     

     

    Biological Assets

    Definition

    Biological assets are living plants or animals that go through biological transformation, owned by an entity to prepare agricultural produce for the purpose of agricultural activities only.

    Living plants include plants that are consumable within 1 year and are harvested. It also includes plants that are used for lumbering and wood-cutting activities.

    Examples

    Examples of biological assets are:

    Sheep, pigs, poultry, beef cattle, fish, dairy cows, plants for harvest etc

    Importance

    • Farming: They are key to agriculture and food production.
    • Income: They generate substantial income for businesses in industries such as vineyards, livestock, silviculture, etc.
    • Sustainability: Properly managing them helps the environment.

     

    Accounting & Presentation

    Recognition

    Under IAS 41 biological assets are recognised when

    • The business must have ownership over them from a past event.
    • The future economic benefits are expected to flow to the business from their ownership.
    • The cost or fair value of the asset can be measured reliably.

    Agricultural produce is recognised

    • It is recognised at the point of harvest or detachment.

    Agricultural produce is derecognised when

    • They enter the trading.
    • Enters the production process.

    Measurement

    • Biological assets are measured on initial recognition and at each balance sheet date at their fair value less costs to sell.
    • Costs to sell are incremental costs incurred in selling the asset.
    • Agricultural produce is measured at the point of harvest, at fair value less costs to sell at the point of harvest.
    • Agricultural produce after the point of harvest/ detachment is transferred and treated under the IAS 2 Inventory

    Gains & Losses

    • Gains and losses arising from the initial recognition of biological assets are reported in the statement of profit and loss.
    • The change in fair value less costs to sell of a biological asset between balance sheet dates is reported as gain or loss in the statement of profit and loss.
    • A gain or loss arising on initial recognition of agricultural produce at fair value less selling costs is included in profit or loss for the period in which it arises.

    Treatment

    • The sale of agricultural produce is treated as revenue in the statement of profit and loss.
    • Agricultural produce to be harvested for more than 12 months, livestock to be held for more than 12 months and trees cultivated for lumber are recorded as Biological assets under the Non-current assets head in the balance sheet.
    • Agricultural produce to be harvested within 12 months, livestock to be slaughtered within 12 months and annual crops like wheat, and maize are recorded as Biological assets under the head Current assets in the balance sheet.
    • Inventories produced from agricultural produce are presented as Inventory under the head Current assets in the balance sheet.

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Manvi
Manvi
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  2. Ayushi Curious Pursuing CA
    This answer was edited.

    The profit and loss appropriation account is an account created in addition to the Trading & Profit and loss account in the case of partnership firms. It is a nominal account. The net profit or loss from the Profit and loss account is transferred to the Capital A/c when we do the accounting of sRead more

    The profit and loss appropriation account is an account created in addition to the Trading & Profit and loss account in the case of partnership firms. It is a nominal account.

    The net profit or loss from the Profit and loss account is transferred to the Capital A/c when we do the accounting of sole proprietors.

    But, while doing the accounting of partnership, there is a need to appropriate this profit or loss as there are two or more partners’ capital accounts. So, for this purpose, the Profit and loss appropriation account is created.

    The net profit or loss is appropriated among the partner’s capital after adjustment the items like partner’s salary, commission, interest on capital, interest on drawing etc. It consists of items related to the partner’s claim.

    The format of the profit and loss appropriation account is as below:

    Let solve a problem to sharpen our concept:

    A and B are partners in firm sharing profits and losses in the ratio of 4:1. On 1st January 2019, their capitals were ₹ 20,000 and ₹ 10,000 respectively. The partnership deed specifies the following:

    1. Interest on capital is to be allowed at 5% per annum.
    2. Interest on drawings charged to A and B are ₹ 200 and ₹ 300 respectively.
    3. The net profit of the firm before considering interest on capital and interest on drawings amounted to ₹ 18,000.
    4. A is to be paid an annual salary of ₹2000

    Prepare Profit and loss appropriation account for the year ending 31st December 2019.

    Solution:

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Bonnie
BonnieCurious
In: >

  2. Naina@123 (B.COM and CMA-Final)
    This answer was edited.

    To proceed with how to make a partnership deed, let me explain to you in short what is partnership deed? A partnership deed is the written agreement between the partners who have agreed to share profits of a business carried on by them. This basically contains terms and conditions to be followed betRead more

    To proceed with how to make a partnership deed, let me explain to you in short what is partnership deed?

    A partnership deed is the written agreement between the partners who have agreed to share profits of a business carried on by them. This basically contains terms and conditions to be followed between the partners.

    Few contents of the partnership deed are as follows:

    • Name, address, and type of business of the partnership firm.
    • Name & address of all the partners
    • Profit-sharing ratio.
    • Rights, duties, and liabilities of all partners.
    • Date of commencement of the partnership
    • Method of settlement of dispute among the partners.
    • Treatment of loss in case of insolvency of one or more partners.

     

    Generally, a partnership deed contains all those matters which can affect the relationship between the partners. However, if there is no such agreement the partnership should follow the provisions mentioned under The Partnership Act, 1932.

    Now coming to the main question how to make a partnership deed? See the process is not so complicated. The partnership deed may be oral or written, but as the oral agreement has no value for obtaining tax benefits, a partnership firm always prefers a written agreement.

    To prepare the same the partnership deed must be prepared on a stamp paper and signed by all the partners as per Indian Stamp Act and copies of the same should be with all the partners and also must be filed by the registrar of the firm.

    A deed may vary depending on the nature of the partnership they are engaged in. Generally, partnerships are of three types

    • General partnership
    • Limited partnership
    • Limited liability partnership

    the process of making deed is same for all but, the content of deed may vary depending on the liability of partners in the partnership.

    Further to know more about the registration process of partnership firm you can refer the following link https://www.mca.gov.in/Ministry/actsbills/pdf/Partnership_Act_1932.pdf

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Manvi
Manvi
In: >

  2. Karan B.com and Pursuing ACCA
    This answer was edited.

    The provision for doubtful debts is the estimated amount of bad debts which will be uncollectible in the future. It is usually calculated as a percentage of debtors. The provision for a doubtful debt account has a credit balance and is shown in the balance sheet as a deduction from debtors. It is aRead more

    The provision for doubtful debts is the estimated amount of bad debts which will be uncollectible in the future. It is usually calculated as a percentage of debtors. The provision for a doubtful debt account has a credit balance and is shown in the balance sheet as a deduction from debtors. It is a contra asset account which means an account with a credit balance.

    When a business first sets up a provision for doubtful debts, the full amount of the provision should be debited to bad debts expense as follows.

    Bad Debts A/c Debit Debit the increase in expense.
          To Provision for Doubtful Debts A/c Credit Credit the increase in liability.

    In subsequent years, when provision is increased the account is credited, and when provision is decreased the account is debited. This is so because provision for doubtful debts is a contra account to debtors and has a credit balance, and is treated as a liability.

    Effects of Provision for Doubtful Debts in financial statements:

    1. Trading A/c: No effect.
    2. Profit and Loss A/c: Debited to P&L A/c and charged as an expense.
    3. Balance Sheet: Deducted from Debtors.

    For example, ABC Ltd had debtors amounting to Rs 50,000. It creates a provision of 5% on debtors.

    Provision for Doubtful Debts = 50,000*5%

    = 2,500

    Journal entry for provision will be:

    Bad Debts A/c 2,500
          To Provision for Doubtful Debts A/c 2,500

    Effect on financial statements will be:

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