AccountingQA Latest Questions

AbhishekBatabyal
AbhishekBatabyalHelpful
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  2. ShreyaSharma none
    This answer was edited.

    Land in the balance sheet The land is an asset and hence it is shown on the asset side of the balance sheet. On the asset side of the balance sheet, the land is stated under the heading long-term assets. Balance Sheet (for the year…) Explanation The land is a fixed asset and is supposed not to be caRead more

    Land in the balance sheet

    The land is an asset and hence it is shown on the asset side of the balance sheet.

    On the asset side of the balance sheet, the land is stated under the heading long-term assets.

    Balance Sheet (for the year…)

    Explanation

    The land is a fixed asset and is supposed not to be cashed, consumed, last, sold, or written off within one accounting year and is purchased for long-term use. The fixed assets are also called non-current assets and the reason behind it is that current assets are easily converted into cash within one year and they are not.

    • The sole purpose of buying fixed assets like the land is that they are planned to be used for the long term in order to generate income.
    • Examples of fixed assets – Land, buildings, furniture, plants & equipment, etc.
    • Also called non-current assets and capital assets.

     

    Why is it shown on the asset side?

    The land is an asset, although it is not depreciable it is still considered to be an asset because just like other assets the business spends its own money to acquire it, and it gives them a long-term benefit while reselling it.

    Therefore, the land is shown on the asset side under the fixed asset heading.

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

    Definition Posting refers to moving the transaction entries from the journal to the ledger books of the company. It is an important part of the accounting cycle. Posting helps us to classify transactions in a better manner. A journal is used to record transactions in chronological order while ledgerRead more

    Definition

    Posting refers to moving the transaction entries from the journal to the ledger books of the company. It is an important part of the accounting cycle.

    Posting helps us to classify transactions in a better manner.

    A journal is used to record transactions in chronological order while ledger books are used to classify transactions into assets, liabilities, expenses, and incomes.

    Steps of Posting

    • Create and name ledger accounts for different items of trial balance

    • Identify those entries in the journal that relate to the relevant ledger book under consideration.

    • Post the entry on the debit or credit side of the ledger account.

    • For example, when salaries are paid a salary account is debited and a bank account is credited. When posting this transaction in the bank account we will debit the bank account and write “To salaries” under the head “particular”. This will indicate that salaries were paid from a bank account causing a reduction in the bank balance.

    • After all the journal entries relevant to a particular ledger account have been posted in it, we will tally the total of the debit and the credit side of the ledger account to ascertain any balance left.

    • Usually, asset accounts have the debit side exceeding the credit side. That is to say, they have a debit balance. Liability accounts usually have a credit balance.

    • It is not necessary that every ledger account may have a balance left at the end. The total of the amounts on the debit side may be equal to the total of the amounts on the credit side in some ledger accounts.

    • The last step is to recheck the ledger account to identify and correct any mistakes that may have occurred during the posting process.

    Importance of Posting

    • Posting helps us to classify transactions in a better and more efficient manner.

    • Posting makes the books of accounts more readable.

    • An accountant may choose to engage in posting once every month or even once every day as per the requirements of the business and the financial reporting norms.

    • Posting is necessary for the creation of financial statements. A trial balance cannot be drafted without determining the balance of each ledger account.

    • Posting helps us to know the balance of each account This helps to run the business smoothly by tracking balances timely and making up for any likely deficiency in advance.

    • Analysis of how balances of various ledger accounts have changed over time helps us to draw valuable conclusions for the business.

    Conclusion

    We can conclude by saying that the process of posting refers to transferring the entries from the journal to the ledger accounts.

    Posting is an essential step of the accounting cycle and without it, financial statements cannot be prepared. Any error while posting is bound to adversely affect the creation of the financial statements.

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Aadil
AadilCurious
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  2. Pooja_Parikh Aspiring Chartered Accountant

    A contra account is a general ledger account that is used to reduce the value of the account related to it. Basically, a contra account is the opposite of its associated account. If the associated account has a debit balance, then the contra account would have a credit balance. They are used to mainRead more

    A contra account is a general ledger account that is used to reduce the value of the account related to it. Basically, a contra account is the opposite of its associated account. If the associated account has a debit balance, then the contra account would have a credit balance. They are used to maintain the historical value of the main account while all the deductions are recorded in the contra account, which when clubbed together show the net book value.

    For example

    if the cost of machinery was Rs. 50,000 and the company wants to preserve its original cost, then the accumulated depreciation of such machinery is recorded separately. Let’s say Rs 10,000 was the accumulated depreciation. Then such amount is recorded in the contra account named accumulated depreciation account. This makes the net value of the machinery Rs 40,000.

    Types

    There are various types of contra accounts such as contra asset, contra equity, contra revenue, and contra liability.

    • Contra asset: these accounts have credit balances and are used to reduce the balance of an asset. Eg, Accumulated depreciation.
    • Contra Liability: These accounts have debit balances and are used to reduce the balance of liabilities. Eg, discount on notes.
    • Contra equity: These accounts have a credit balance and are used to reduce the number of shares outstanding which in turn reduces equity. Eg treasury stock.
    • Contra revenue: These accounts have a debit balance. They reduce gross revenue which results in net revenue. Eg sales return.

    Accountants make use of contra accounts instead of reducing the value of the actual account to keep the financial statements clean.

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

    Plant and Machinery are the equipment attached to the earth that supports the manufacturing of the company or its operations. These are tangible non-current assets to the company and as a result, have a debit balance. Depreciation is the decrease in the value of an asset that is spread over the expeRead more

    Plant and Machinery are the equipment attached to the earth that supports the manufacturing of the company or its operations. These are tangible non-current assets to the company and as a result, have a debit balance.

    Depreciation is the decrease in the value of an asset that is spread over the expected life of the asset. Not depreciating an asset presents a false image of the company as the asset is recorded at a higher value and profit is overstated as depreciation expense is not provided for.

    There are two ways that a company provide depreciation:

    • By reducing the balance of an asset in the Asset Account by passing a journal entry.
    • By maintaining a separate account for depreciation called Accumulated Depreciation A/c. The nature of this account is naturally credit since it is created to reduce the value of an asset.

    For most of the depreciation methods, we need a rate to provide for depreciation every year. Now, for accounting purposes, the management can use a rate they think is suitable depending on the use and expected life of the machinery.

    Depreciation is calculated on the basis of the Companies act, 2013 for the purpose of book-keeping. According to Schedule 2 of the Companies Act, depreciation on plant and machinery is calculated on the basis of either SLM or WDV.

    Plant and machinery for those special rates are not assigned useful life is considered to be 15 years and depreciation is calculated @ 18.10% on WDV and @6.33% on SLM.

    According to the Income Tax Act, 15% depreciation is provided every year on Plant and Machinery and, an additional 20% depreciation is provided in the first year of installation of machinery.

    Depreciation on Machinery is charged on the basis of usage of such machinery. if it is used for 180 days or more then full depreciation is allowed and if it is used for less than 180 days then only 50% depreciation is allowed.

     

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

    Profit refers to the excess of total revenue over total expenses. According to the rule "Debit all expenses and losses, Credit all incomes and gains", expenses are recorded on the debit side while revenues are recorded on the credit side. There is profit when Total revenue > Total expenses, whichRead more

    Profit refers to the excess of total revenue over total expenses. According to the rule “Debit all expenses and losses, Credit all incomes and gains”, expenses are recorded on the debit side while revenues are recorded on the credit side.

    There is profit when Total revenue > Total expenses, which means the balance of the credit side > the balance of the debit side. Since, in accounting Dr. side is always equal to the credit side, a balancing figure (representing profit or loss) is shown on the shorter side, to make both sides equal.

    When Credit side > Debit side, Profit(balancing figure) is shown on the Dr. side so that both sides are equal. 

     

    PROFIT

    Profit refers to the excess of total revenue over the total expenses of the business for an accounting year. In simple words, it shows how much extra the firm earned after deducting all the expenses it incurred during the year.

    Profit = Total Revenue – Total Expenses

    Suppose, the firm earned a total revenue of $10,000 for the accounting year 2022-23. Also, it incurred total expenses of $6,000 during the year. So, Profit for the AY 2022-23 is $4,000.

     

    ASCERTAINING PROFIT

    To ascertain profit earned or loss incurred by the firm during an accounting year, it prepares two accounts.

    • Trading A/c
    • Profit and Loss A/c

     

    Points to be noted:

    • Both accounts are Nominal Account which follows the rule “Debit all expenses and losses, Credit all incomes and gains”
    • The debit side records expenses while the Credit side records incomes.
    • Both are balanced accounts, which means its Dr. side is always equal to its Cr. side.
    • If they are not balanced, then a balancing figure is added to the shorter side which represents profit or the loss depending on which side is greater.
    • If Dr. side > Cr. side, it means expenses are more than the incomes and thus, there is a loss.
    • If Cr. side > Dr. side, it means there are more incomes than expenses and thus, there is Profit.

     

    TRADING ACCOUNT

    It is the first final account prepared for calculating gross profit or gross loss during the year because of the trading activities of the firm.

    Trading activities are related to the buying and selling of goods. In between buying and selling a lot of activities are there like transportation, warehousing, loading, unloading, etc. All expenses that are directly related to buying and selling as well as manufacturing of goods are known as Direct expenses and are also recorded in the trading accounts.

    Items included on the debit side:

    • Opening stock
    • Purchases
    • Direct expenses like wages, import duty, royalty, manufacturing expenses, etc.
    • Gross Profit

     

    Items included on the credit side:

    • Sales
    • Closing stock
    • Gross loss

     

    Gross Profit is when Cr. side (incomes) > Dr. side (expenses). It is recorded on the debit side as a balancing figure.

     

    PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT

    A businessman incurs a lot of expenses during the year which may be directly related or indirectly related to the business.

    As the Trading account only considers direct expenses, the businessman prepares the P&L A/c which considers all the expenses incurred during a year to ascertain net profit or loss.

    Items written on the Debit side

    • Gross loss (transferred from the trading a/c)
    • Office and administrative expenses (like employee’s salary, office rent, office lighting bills, legal charges, printing expenses, etc.)
    • Selling and distribution expenses (like advertisement fees, commission, carriage outward, packaging charges, etc.
    • Miscellaneous expenses (like interest on loan, interest on capital, repair, depreciation, etc.)
    • Net Profit

     

    Items written on the Credit side

    • Gross Profit (transferred from trading a/c)
    • Other incomes and gains (Like income from investments, interest received, rent received, etc.)
    • Net loss

     

    Net Profit is when the Cr. side (incomes)> Dr. side(expenses). It is recorded on the Debit side as a balancing figure.

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

    Definition Gross profit is the excess of the proceeds of goods and services rendered during a period over their cost, before taking into account administration, selling, distribution, and financial expenses. When the result of this computation is negative it is referred to as gross loss Formula : ToRead more

    Definition

    Gross profit is the excess of the proceeds of goods and services rendered during a period over their cost, before taking into account administration, selling, distribution, and financial expenses.

    When the result of this computation is negative it is referred to as gross loss

    Formula :

    Total Revenues – Cost Of Goods Sold

    Net profit is defined as the excess of revenues over expenses during a particular period.

    When the result of this computation is negative it is called a net loss.

    Net profit may be shown before or after tax.

    Formula :

    Total Revenues – Expenses
    Or
    Total Revenues – Total Cost ( Implicit And Explicit Cost )

    The basic difference between gross profit and net profit is that gross profit estimates the profitability of a company whereas net profit is to show the performance of the company.

    Key points of Gross Profit

    Some of the key points of as for gross profits follows :

    • Stage of calculation: Gross Profit is calculated in the first stage of the Final Account.

    • Purpose of calculation: It is calculated to know the total profit earned during the particular accounting

    • Type of balance: Gross Profit shows the credit balance of the Trading Account.

    • Dimension: It is a narrow concept as it is a part of Net Profit.

    • Treatment: It is not treated directly in the balance sheet. It is transferred to the Profit And Loss Account.

    Key points of Net Profit

    Some of the key points of as for gross profits follows :

    • Stage of calculation: Net Profit is calculated in the second stage of the Final Account.

    • Purpose of calculation: It is calculated to know the net profit earned during the particular accounting

    • Type of balance: Net Profit shows the credit balance of the Profit And Loss Account.

    • Dimension: It is a wider concept as it includes Gross Profit.

    • Treatment: It is treated directly in the balance sheet by adding or subtracting from the capital.

    Examples

    Now let me explain to you by taking an example which is as follows :

    In a business organization there were the following data given as purchases made Rs 73000, inventory, in the beginning, was Rs 10000, direct expenses made were Rs 7000, closing inventory which was Rs 5000, revenue from operation during the period was Rs 100000.
    Then,
    COST OF GOODS SOLD = Purchases + Opening Inventory + Direct Expenses – Closing Inventory.
    = Rs ( 73000 + 10000+ 7000- 5000)
    = Rs 85000

    GROSS PROFIT = REVENUE – COST OF GOODS SOLD
    = Rs ( 100000 – 85000 )
    = Rs 15000

    Now from the above question keeping the gross profit same if the indirect expenses of the organization are Rs 2000 and the other income is Rs 1000.
    Then,

    NET PROFIT = GROSS PROFIT – INDIRECT EXPENSES + OTHER INCOMES
    = Rs ( 15000 – 2000 + 1000)
    = Rs 14000

    Conclusion

    So here I conclude that gross profit is the difference between revenues from sales and/or services rendered and its direct cost.

    Whereas net profit is after the deduction of total expenses from the total revenues of the enterprise.

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AbhishekBatabyal
AbhishekBatabyalHelpful
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  2. Radhika
    This answer was edited.

    Capital maintenance is a principle that states profit should not be recorded until its cost or capital has been maintained. In other words, profit should not be recognized unless net assets have been maintained. Capital maintenance states that profit recognized is the increase in the value of net asRead more

    Capital maintenance is a principle that states profit should not be recorded until its cost or capital has been maintained. In other words, profit should not be recognized unless net assets have been maintained.

    Capital maintenance states that profit recognized is the increase in the value of net assets. However, there are two exceptions to it:

    • Cash increased because of sale of stock to shareholders
    • Cash decreased because of dividend payout to its shareholders

    It is important because:

    • It protects the interest of shareholders
    • It protects the interest of creditors
    • Accurately analyzing the performance of the company

    Capital maintenance is of two types:

    • Financial Capital Maintenance

    It is measured by the value of assets at the beginning and end of the financial year.

    • Physical Capital Maintenance

    It is measured by the production capacity at the beginning and end of the financial year.

    Capital maintenance is concerned with keeping proper account balances of assets and not the physical assets.

    Inflation is the increase in the economic value of goods due to the lower purchasing power and not an actual increase in the value of assets. So, if the value of an asset is increased due to inflation it does not depict the right picture for the company.

    Hence, if the value of assets increases due to inflation, companies need to adjust the value of assets to assess if capital maintenance has occurred. 

     

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