Accounting Notes
Accounting Notes
What is Accounting?
- Language of business
- Measure business activity-> process data into reports-> communicate results to decision
makers
Financial Accounting
- Record past transactions
- Prepare reports for internal and external decision makers
Management Accounting
- Future
- Make complex choices, predictions and decisions
Business Structures
1. Proprietorship (Sole trader)
Advantages
- Easy to set up
- Full control
- All profit + capital
Disadvantages
- Unlimited liability
- Limited resources
- Limited life
2. Partnership (2 or more)
Advantages
- Cheap to set up
- Greater access to skill and capital
- Greater access to expertise and knowledge
- No tax on partnership income
Disadvantages
- Unlimited liability
- Shared control over decision-making
- Limited life
3. Company
Advantages (shareholders + directors)
- Limited liability
- Greater ability to attract capital
- Taxed at company tax rate
Disadvantages
- Costly to form
- Complicated, more regulations
Lecture 2- The double entry system
Definitions
Entity- Business/company Eg. Sole trader, partnership, company
Separate Entity- Separate from affairs of owner (part for individual, part for company)
Valuation- Historical cost (original price)
Valuation
Eg. Computer originally costs $1000, but to bring it in, you have to pay extra
Valuation:
Computer $1000
Freight (shipping) $50
Insurance $100
Import Tax $150
Total $1300
; Value of the computer is $1300 and not $1000
Financial reports
1. Income statement (R-E=P)
2. Balance sheet
3. Statement of changes in equity
4. Statement of Cash flow
Accounting cycle
Debit and Credit rules
Lecture 3- The double entry system
(Journalising Transactions)
Step 1: Recording transactions
Ledger accounts
- Book containing ledger accounts is called the general ledger
- Ledger accounts - T accounts
Trial Balance
Purpose
- Error detection
- Check accuracy (DEBIT MUST EQUAL CREDIT)
Identifying errors
- Math error
- Transposition error
- Missing one side of the posting
- Posting on the wrong side of the ledger account
- Listing incorrect balances in the trial balance
- Incorrect opening balance in the ledger account
Accrued Expense
- ALWAYS LIABILITY
- Past expense that hasn’t been paid for
- Eg. My gardener does service first, provide me with invoice, I pay invoice to gardener
later (perspective of a buyer)
- Dr expense
- Cr expense payable
Accrued Revenue
- Revenue earned that has not been billed yet
- Eg. I am a gardener, I mow the lawn, finished the job so I raise and invoice, then i get
paid later (perspective of a seller)
- Dr account receivable
- Cr revenue
Unearned Revenue (Prepaid Revenue)
- AlWAYS LIABILITY
- Payment received but goods/service has not been provided
- Eg. I paid the school’s tuition of $40,000 in advance at the beginning of the year but I
have not received the education.
- Dr unearned revenue
- Cr revenue
Depreciation
- Reducing book value of a tangible asset due to use
- Dr depreciation expense
- Cr accumulated depreciation
Lecture 6 - The double entry system
(Adjusted Trial balance, worksheet)
Accounting worksheet
Definition
Summarize accounting cycle, determine accuracy of financial statements.
Includes
- Unadjusted trial balance
- Adjustments
- Adjusted Trial balance
- Income statement
- Balance sheet
Income statement
- Determine profit or loss
- Revenue - Expense = Profit / Loss
In a retail business
○ Sales are a major form of revenue
○ Less sales return and sales discount, which equals net sales
○ Format:
$ $
Revenue
Sales revenue
Net sales
Purchases
Opening inventory
Freight inwards
Gross profit
Less: expenses
Net profit/loss
In a service business
○ Fees are a major revenue item
○ Format:
$ $
Revenue
Service revenue
Less: expenses
Rent expense
Wage expense
Depreciation expense
Net profit/loss
Statement of changes in Owner’s equity
- Calculate ending capital
- OE= C-D + R-E
Balance Sheet
- A=L+OE
Asset classification
- Current Assets (CA), owned for less than accounting period (12 months)
- Eg. cash, receivables
- Non current Assets (NCA), owned for more than accounting period
- Eg. property, plant, equipment
Liability classification
- Current liability (CL), will be paid within one accounting period
- Eg. accounts payable
- Non current liability (NCL), take longer than one accounting period to pay
- Eg. mortgages
Temporary Accounts
Revenue
Expense
Drawings
Permanent Accounts
Assets
Liability
Equity
Revenues
Expenses
Net Profit
$ $
Opening capital
+ Investments
- Drawings
Ending capital
Balance sheet