Financial
Accounting
The field of accounting that serves external decision
makes, Such as stock holders, supplies, banks, and government
agencies.
Management Accounting
The field of accounting that serves internal decision
makes, such as to executives, department , heads, collage
deans, hospital, administrators, and people at other management
levels with in on organization. Annual Report
Annual Report a combination of financial statement,
management discussion and analysis, and graphs and charts
that is provided annually to investors.
Balance Sheet
(Statement of financial position, statement of financial
condition)
A financial statement that show the financial status
of business entity at a particular instant in time.
Assets
Economic resources that are expected to benefit future
cash inflow or help reduce future cash out flows.
Liabilities
Economic obligations the organization to out side or
claims against it assets by out side.
Notes Payable
Promissory notes but are evidence of adepts and state
the term of payment.
Owner's Equity
The residual interest in or remaining clam against,
the organization's assets after deducting liabilities.
GAAP
A term that applies to the broad concepts or guidelines
and detailed practices in accounting, including all
the conventions, rules, and procedures that together
make up accepted accounting practice at a given time.
Entity (Entity Concept)
An organization or a section of an organization that
stance apart from her organization and individuals as
a separate economic unit.
Reliability
The quality of information that assures decision makers
that the information captures the
conditions or events it purports to represent.
Transaction
Any event that both affects the financial position of
an entity and can be reliably recorded in money terms.
Inventory
Goods held by a company for the purpose of sale to customers.
Account
A summary record of the changes in a particular asset,
liability, or owner' equity.
Open account
Buying or selling on credit, usually by just an "authorized
signature" of the buyer.
Account payable
A liability that results from a purchase of goods or
services on open account.
Compound entry
A transaction that affects more than two account.
Capital
A term used to identify owners` equities for proprietorships
and partnerships.
Operating cycle
The time span during which cash is used to acquire goods
and services, which in turn are sold to customers, who
in turn pay for their purchases with cash.
Fiscal year
The year established for accounting purposes. Fiscal
year 12month periods.
Interim periods
The time span established for accounting purposes that
are less tan a year.
Revenues
Gross increases in owners` equity arising from increases
in assets received in exchange for the delivery of goods
or services to customers.
Expenses
Decreases in owners` equity that arise because goods
or services are delivered to customers.
Income (profit, earnings)
The excess or revenues over expenses.
Retained income
Additional owners` equity generated by income or profits.
Accrual basis
Recognizes the impact of transactions on the financial
statements in the time periods en revenues and expenses
occur.
Cash basis
Accounting method that recognizes the impact of transactions
on the financial statements only when cash is received
or disbursed.
Recognition
A test for determining whether revenues should be recorded
in the financial statements of a given period. To be
recognized, revenues must be earned and realized.
Product costs
Costs that are linked with revenues and are charged
as expenses when the related revenue is recognized
Matching
The recording of expenses in the same time period as
the related revenues are recognized.
Period costs
Items identified directly as expenses of the time period
in which they are incurred.
Cost recovery
The concept by which some purchases of goods or services
are recorded as assets because their costs are expected
to be recovered in the form of cash inflow (or reduced
cash outflows) in future periods.
Double-entry system
The method usually followed for recording transactions,
whereby at least two accounts are always affected by
each transaction.
Ledger
A group of related accounts kept current in a systematic
manner.
General ledger
The collection of accounts that accumulates the amounts
reported in the major financial statements.
T-account
Simplified version of ledger accounts that takes the
form of the capital letter T.
Balance
The difference between the total left-side and right-side
amounts in an account at any particular time.
Debit
An entry or balance on the left side of an account.
Credit An entry or balance on the right side of an account.
Charge
A word often used instead of debit.
Amortization
The systematic write-off to expense of the cost of an
intangible asset over the period of its economic usefulness.
Depletion
Allocating the cost of a natural resource to the units
removed as the resource is mined, pumped cut or otherwise
consumed.
Patents
A patent is an exclusive right granted by the federal
government of manufacture, use and sale of a particular
product.
Intangibles
Those assets which are used in the operation of a business
but which have no physical substance and are non current.
Intangible assets
Rights or economic benefits, such as franchises, patents,
trademarks, copyrights, and goodwill, those are not physical
in nature.
Interest coverage
Income before interest expense and income taxes divided by
interest expense.
Interest period
The time period over which the interest rate applies.
Interest rate
The percentage applied to a principal amount to calculate
the interest charged.
Interim periods
The time span established for accounting purpose the are less
than a year.
Internal control
A system of both internal administrative control and internal
accounting control.
Interperiod tax allocation:
see tax deferral.
International accounting standards
committee (IASC)
An organization representing
over one hundred accountancy boards from over seventy-five
countries that is developing a common set of accounting standard
to be used throughout the world.
Inventory
Goods held by a company for the purpose of sale to customers.
Inventory: see holding again.
Inventory shrinkage
Difference between (a) the value of inventory that would occur
if there were no theft, breakage, or losses of inventory and
(b) the value of inventory when it is physically counted.
Interperiod tax allocation:
see tax deferral.
Inventory turnover
The cost of goods sold divided bye the average inventory held
during the period.
Investing activities
Activities that involve (1) providing and collecting cash
as a lender or as and owner of securities and (2)acquiring
and disposing of plant,property,equipment,and other long –term
productive assets.
Inward transportation: see freight in.
Issued shares
The aggregate number f shares potentially in hands of share
holders.
Journal entry
An analysis of the effects of a transaction on the accounts,
usually accompanied by explanation.
Journalizing
The process of entering transactions into journal.
Keying of entries
The process of numbering or otherwise specifically identifying
each journal entry and each posting.
Last in, first out (LIFO)
This inventory method assumes that the units acquired most
recently are used or sold first.
Lease
A contract whereby an owner (lesser) grants the use of property
to a second party (lesse) for rental payments.
Leasehold improvements:
Investment by a lesse in items that are not permitted to be
removed from the premises when a lease expires, such as installation
of new fixtures,panles,wallsand air conditioning equipment.
Leasehold:
The right to use a fixed asset for a specified period time,
typically beyond one year.
Ledger:
A group of related accounts kept current in a systematic manner.
Leveraging:
See trading on the equity.
Liabilities:
Economic obligations of the organization to outsiders or claims
against its assets by outsiders.
Licenses: see franchises.
LIFO increment: see LIFO layer.
LIFO layer: a separately identifiable
additional segment of LIFO inventory.
LIFO reserve: the differences
between a company `s inventory valued at LIFO and what it
would be under FIFO.
Limited liability: a feature
of the corporate form of organization whereby corporate creditors
ordinarily have claims against the corporate assets only .the
owners personal assets are not subject to the creditors grasp.
Line of credit: an arrangement
to a bank to provide automatically short term loans up to
some reestablished maximum.
Liquidating value: a measure
of the preferences to receive assets in the event of corporate
liquidation.
Long lived assets: resources
that are held for an extended item, such as land, buildings,
equipment, natural resources, and patents.
Long term liabilities: obligations
that fall due beyond one year from the balance sheet date.
Long term solvency: an organization’s
ability to generate enough cash to repay long term debts as
they mature.
Lower of cost or market method (LCM)
The superimposition of a market-price test on an inventory
cost method.
Management accounting:
The field of accounting that servers internal decision maker,
such as top executives, department heads, college deans, hospital
administrators, and people at other management levels with
in an organization.
Management reports:
Explicit statements in annual reports of publicly held companies
that stare management is responsible for all audited and UN
audited information in the annual report.
Management’s discussion
and analysis (MD&A)
A required section of annual reports that concentrates on
explaining the major changes in the income statement and the
major changes in liquidity and capital resources.
Market rates:
See yield to maturity.
Marketable securities:
Any notes, bonds, or stocks that can readily be sold via markets.
The term is often used as a synonym for short-term investments.
Matching:
The recordings of expenses in the same time period as the
related revenues are recognized.
Materiality convention:
The concept that states that a financial statement item is
material if its omission or misstatement would tend to mislead
the reader of the financial statements under consideration.
Minority interests:
The outside shareholders interest as opposed to the parent’s
interest, in a subsidiary corporation.
Modified accelerated cost recovery
system (MACRS)
The basis for computing depreciation for tax purposes in the
United States. it is based on arbitrary”recovery”periods
instead of useful lives.
Mortgage bond:
A form of long term debt that is secured by the pledge of
specific property.
Multiple step income statement:
An income statement that contains one or more subtotals that
highlight significant relationships.
Municipal bond interest:
Interest paid by states and local governments that is not
treated as taxable income by the United States government.
Net book value: see book value.
Net income:
The remainder after all expenses have been deducted revenues.
Net operating loss (NOL)
An operating loss for tax purposes that can be carried back
three years or forward fifteen years offset taxable income
in other years.
Net sales
Total sales revenue reduced by sales returns and allowances.
Neutrality
Choosing accounting policies without attempting to achieve
purposes other than measuring economic impact freedom from
bias.
Nominal dollars:
Those dollar s that are not restated for fluctuations in the
general purchasing power of the monetary unit.
Nominal interest:
A contractual rate of interest paid on bonds.
Notes payable:
Promissory notes that are evidence of a debt and state the
terms of payment.
Open account:
Buying or selling on credit, usually by just an “authorized
signature” of the buyer.
Operating activities:
Transaction that affect the income statement.
Operating cycle:
The time span during which cash is used to acquired good and
services which in turn are sold to customers, who in turn
pay for their purchases with cash.
Operating income:
Gross profit less all operating expenses.
Operating income percentage on sales: Operating income divided
by sales.
Operating lease:
A lease that should be accounted for by the lessee as ordinary
rent expenses.
Operating management:
Is mainly concerned with the major day to day activities that
generate revenues and expenses.
Operating profit: see operating income.
Operating statement: see statement of income.
Other postretirement benefits:
Benefits provided to retired workers in addition to a pension
such as life and health insurance.
Output controls:
An internal accounting control that’s check output
against input and ensure that only authorized persons receive
reports.
Outstanding shares:
Shares in the hands shareholders equal to issued shares less
treasury shares.
Owners equity:
The residual interest in or remaining claim against the organization’s
assets after deducting liabilities.
P&L STATEMENT: see statement in income
Paid in capital:
The total capital investment in a corporation by its owners
at the inception of business and subsequently.
Paid in capital in excess of par value:
When issuing stock, the difference between the total amount
received and the per value.
Par value: The nominal dollar amount printed on stock certificates.
see face amount.
Parent company
A company owning more the 50% of the voting shares of another
company, called the subsidiary company.
Participating:
A characteristics of preferred stock that provides increasing
dividends when common dividends increase.
Partnership:
A special form of organization that joins two or more individuals
together as co –owners.
Patents:
Grants by federal government to an inventor, bestowing (in
United States) the exclusive right for 17 years to produce
and sell the invention.
Payment date:
The date dividends are paid.
Pensions:
Payments to former employees after the retire.
Percentage of accounts receivable method:
An approach to estimating bad debts expense and uncollectible
accounts at year end using the historical relations of uncollectible
to accounts receivable.
Percentage of sales method:
An approach to estimated bad debts expense and uncollectible
accounts based on the historical relations between credit
sales uncollectible.
Period cost:
Items identified directly as expenses of the time period in
which they are inccured.
Periodic inventory system:
The system in which the cost of goods sold is computed periodically
by relying solely on physical counts without keeping day-to-day
records of units sold or on hand.
Permanent accounts: Balance sheet accounts.
Permanent differences:
Differences between pretax income as reported to shareholders
and taxable income as reported to the government because a
revenue or expense item is recognized for one purpose but
not the other.
Perpetual inventory system:
A system that keeps a running, continuous record that tracks
inventories and the cost of goods sold on a day to day basis.
Physical capital maintenance:
A concept of income measurement whereby income emerges only
after recovering an amount that allows physical operating
capability to be maintained.
Physical count:
The process of counting all the items in inventory at a moment
in time.
Plant assets: see tangible assets.
Pooling –of - interest method:
A way of accounting for the combination of two corporations
based on the book values of the acquired company’s net
assets, as distinguished from the purchase method.
Posting:
The transferring of amounts from the journal to the appropriate
accounts in the ledger.
Preemptive rights:
The rights to acquire a pro-data amount of any new issues
of capital stock.
Preferred stock:
Stock that has some priority over other shares regarding dividends
or the distribution of assets upon liquidation.
Premium on bonds:
The excess of the proceeds over the face amount of a bond.
Present value:
The value today of a future cash inflow or outflow.
Pretax income:
Income before income taxes.
Pretax operating rate of return on total assets:
Operating income divided by average total assets available.
Primary EPS:
EPS calculated as if all common stock equivalents that dilute
EPS were converted to common stock.
Private accounting:
Accountants who work for business, government agencies and
other nonprofit organizations.
Private placement:
A process whereby notes are issued by corporations when money
is borrowed from a few sources, not from the general public.
Privately owned:
A corporation owned by a family, a small group of shareholders,
or a single individual, in which shares of ownership are not
publicly sold.
Pro forma statement:
A carefully formulated expression of predicted results.
Processing controls:
Internal accounting controls relating to the design, programming,
and operation of the system.
Product costs:
Costs that are linked with revenue and are charged as expenses
when the related revenue is recognized.
Professional corporation
A form of corporation providing professional people some corporate
benefits without limited liability.
Profit: see income.
Profitability evaluation:
The assessment of the likelihood that a company will provide
investors with a particular rate return on their investment.
Promissory note:
A written promise to repay principal plus interest at specific
future dates.
Protective covenant:
A provision dated in a bond, usually to protect the bondholders’
interests.
Public accounting:
The field of accounting where services are offered to the
general public on a free basis.
Publicly owned:
A corporation in which shares in the ownership are sold to
the public.
Purchase allowance: see sales allowance.
Purchase method:
A way of accounting for the acquisition of one company by
another; based on the market prices paid for the acquired
company’s assets.
Purchase returns: see sales returns.
Rate of return on common equity (ROE)
Net income less preferred dividends divided by average common
equity.
Rate of return on stockholders equity (ROE)
Net income divided by average common stockholders equity.
Raw material inventory:
Includes the cost of materials held for use in the manufacturing
of a product.
Receivables:
See accounts receivables .
Recognition:
A test for determining whether revenues should be recorded
in the financial statements of a given period. to be recognized
revenues must be earned and realized.
Reconcile a bank statement:
To verify that the bank balance for cash is consistent with
the accounting records.
Redemption price:
The call price which is typically 5% to 10% above the per
value of the bond or stock.
Registered instrument:
Bonds that require the interest and maturity payments to be
made to specific owners.
Reinvested earnings: see retained earnings.
Relevance:
The capability of information to make difference to the decision
maker.
Reliability:
The quality of information that assures decision makers that
the information captures the conditions or events it purports
to represent.
Replacement cost:
The cost at which and inventory item could be acquired today.
Report format:
A classified balance sheet with assets.
Represtational faithfulness: see validity.
Reserve:
Has one of the three meanings (1)a restriction of dividend
declaring power as denoted by a specific subdivision of retained
income,(2)an offset to an asset, or (3)an estimate of a definite
liability of indefinite or uncertain amount.
Reserve for doubtful accounts: see allowance for uncollectible
accounts.
Residual value:
The amount received from disposal of a long lived asset at
the end of its useful life.
Restricted retained income:
A part of retained income that may not be reduced by dividend
declarations.
Result of operations: see statement if income.
Retail method: see retail inventory method.
Retail inventory method:
A popular inventory costing method based on sales prices,
often used as a control device and for obtaining an inventory
calculation for the financial purposes.
Retailer:
A company that sells items directly to the final users, individuals
.
Retained earnings:
A synonym for retained income.
Retained income:
Additional owners` equity generated by income or profits.
Returned on sales ration:
Net income divided by sales.
Return on stockholder’s equity ratio.
Net income divided by invested capital(measured by average
stockholders equity).
Return on total assets (ROA)
Income before interest expense divided by average total assets.
Revaluation equity:
A part of stockholders equity that includes all holdings gains
that are excluded from income.
Revenues:
Gross increases in owner’s equity arising from increases
in assets received in exchange for the delivery of goods or
services to customers.
Reversing entries:
Entries that switch back all debits and credits made in a
related preceding adjusting entry.
Sales: a synonym for revenues.
Sales allowance:
Reduction of the selling price (the original price previously
agreed upon).
Sales returns:
Products returned by the customer.
Sales revenues: see sales.
Salvage value: see residual value.
Scrap value: see residual value.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The agency designated by the U.S congress to hold the ultimate
responsibility for authorizing the generally accepted accounting
principles for companies’ whose stock is held by the
general investing public.
Series:
Different groups of preferred shares issued at different times
with different features.
Shareholders equity: see stockholders equity.
Short term debt securities:
Largely notes and bonds with maturities of one year or less.
Short term equity securities:
Capital stock in other corporations held with the intention
to liquidate with in one year as needed.
Short term investment :
A temporary investment in marketable securities of otherwise
idle cash.
Short term liquidity:
An organization’s ability to meet current payments as
they become due.
Simple entry
An entry for a transaction that affects only two accounts.
Simple interest
For any period, intrest rate multiplied by an unchanging principal
amount.
Single step income statement
An income statement that groups all revenues together and
then lists and deducts all expenses together without drawing
any intermediate subtotals
Sinking fund
Cash or securities segregated for meeting obligations on bonded
debt.
Sinking fund bonds
Bonds with indentures that require the issuer to male annual
payments to a sinking fund.
Sole proprietorship
A separate organization with a single owner.
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