Sunday, January 24, 2016

Accounts & Finance Basic Questions

Basic Accounts; 

What is the meaning of TDS? How it is charged?
TDS means Tax Deduct at the source. It is deducted by the customer who gets the services from vendor or supplier and is deposited to IT Department.

What is the difference between Finance & Accounts?
Finance is related to money. whereas accounts is an art of recording, summarizing, classifying the books of accounts
Finance is the art of managing money, whereas accounting is the language which we use to manage money transactions.
What is difference between account payable and bills payable?
Bills Payable
Bills drawn by the creditor and accepted by the trader in settlement of accounts.
APAmount owed by the company to its vendors or suppliers in respective of goods/services purchased on credit.
Vendor Account Reconciliation;
Vendor account reconciliation what is the amount of vendor in our books. Vendor account and our account much be tally that like this payment, invoice, debit note, credit note, closing or opening balance.
Vendor account reconciliation is outstanding of suppliers or sundry creditors.
In the 2 way matching process quantity and amount on the invoice are matched to the quantity and amount on the corresponding purchase order
The 3 way matching process is used when an operating location is using online receiving,
In 3 way matching an invoice is matched to the corresponding purchase order for quantity and amount and to receiving information.
The 4 way matching process is used when an operating location is using online receiving and inspection. In 4 way matching an invoice is matched to the corresponding purchase order for quantity and amount, receiving, and inspection information.

There are four types of purchase orders.
1) Standard: This PO is created for one-time purchase of material.
2) Blanket: In this PO delivery schedule are not known clearly (Net price 1 and qty should invoice value while creating PO).
3) Contract: In this PO material required are not specified.
4) Regular PO: It is a long term agreement PO. In this PO it specifies materials, estimated costs, and tentative delivery schedules.

The Typical Procure to Pay Cycle
These steps are usually involved in your typical procure to pay cycle:
Identification of Requirement
Authorization of Purchase Request
Final Approval of Purchase Request
Procurement
Identification of Suppliers
Inquiries
Receipt of the Quotation
Negotiation
Selection of the Vendor
Purchase Order Acknowledgement
Advance Shipment Notice
Goods Receipt
Invoice Recording
3 Way Match
Payment to Supplier

Depreciation – What is depreciation?
Definition: Depreciation is permanent and continuing diminution in the quality, quantity or value of an asset.
Depreciation is the measure of wearing out of a fixed asset. All fixed assets are expected to be less efficient as time goes on.
Depreciation is calculated as the estimate of this measure of wearing out and is charged to the Profit & Loss account either on a monthly or annual basis. The cost of the asset less the total depreciation will give you the Net Book Value of the asset.

Types of depreciation
Common methods of depreciation are as follows: Straight Line Depreciation; same depreciation is charged over the entire useful life.
Reducing Balance Depreciation; Depreciation expense decreases at a constant rate as the life of an asset progresses.
Sum of the Year' Digits Depreciation; Depreciation charge declines by a constant amount as the life of the asset progresses.
Units of Activity Depreciation; Depreciation charge varies each period in proportion to the change in level of activity

Accruals Concept;

Accrual Definition
An accrual is a journal entry that is used to recognize revenues and expenses that have been earned or consumed, respectively, and for which the related cash amounts have not yet been received or paid out. Accruals are needed to ensure that all revenues and expenses are recognized within the correct reporting period, irrespective of the timing of the related cash flows. Without accruals, the amount of revenue, expense, and profit or loss in a period will not necessarily reflect the actual level of economic activity within a business.
Examples of accruals that a business might record are:
Expense accrual for interest. A local lender issues a loan to a business, and sends the borrower an invoice each month, detailing the amount of interest owed. The borrower can record the interest expense in advance of invoice receipt by recording accrued interest.
Expense accrual for wages. An employer pays its employees once a month for the hours they have worked through the 26th day of the month. The employer can accrue all additional wages earned from the 27th through the last day of the month, to ensure that the full amount of the wage expense is recognized.
Expense accrual for supplier goods and services. A supplier delivers goods at the end of the month, but is remiss in sending the related invoice. The company accrues the estimated amount of the expense in the current month, in advance of invoice receipt.
Sales accrual. A services business has a number of employees working on a major project for the federal government, which it will bill when the project has been completed. In the meantime, the company can accrue revenue for the amount of work completed to date, even though it has not yet been billed.

What is the difference between a Credit and a Debit balance?
A debit is an entry on the left side of an account. For example, the account Cash is debited when cash is received. The account Cash will be credited when cash is paid out. (A credit is an entry on the right side of an account.)
Credit balance: balance in an account showing that more money has been received than is owed
Debit balance: balance in an account showing that more money is owed than has been received

Explain Bank Reconciliation Statement. Why is it prepared?
Bank Reconciliation Statement is a statement prepared to reconcile the balances of cash book maintained by the concern and pass book maintained by the bank at periodical intervals. At the end of every month entries in the cash book are compared with the entries in the pass book. The causes of differences in balances of both the books are scrutinized and then reconciliation statement is prepared. This statement is prepared for a special purpose and once in a month. It is prepared with a view to indicate items which cause difference between the balances as per the bank columns of the cash book and the bank pass book at a particular date.

What are the reasons which cause pass book of the bank and your bank book not tally?
* Cheque deposited into the bank but not yet collected
* Cheques issued but not yet presented for payment
* Bank charges
* Amount collected by bank on standing instructions of the concern.
* Amount paid by the bank on standing instructions of the concern.
* Interest debited by the bank
* Interest credited by the bank
* Direct payment by customers into the bank account
* Dishonor of Cheques
* Clerical errors

Process flow for Procure to pay will go through two departments
(Commercial & Finance)
Procure - Commercial Department the following steps involve to procure any item
1. Received Requisition from concern Department
2. Request for Quotation from Suppliers at least three
3. Finalize the best Quotation by keeping in mind about our companies standard
4. Check the Budget for the same
5. Negotiate with supplier for more economic pricing and finalize the payment terms
6. Process the PO and forward to the supplier to supply the goods and services
Pay Cycle - Finance Department
The following steps need to be fulfil
1. Invoice should be match with PO
2. Invoice should has all the supporting documents such as PO copy, Delivery note duly signed by receiver (our staff who authorized to received goods / store keeper)
3. If the invoice is for services then it should be forwarded to the concern department head or project manager for his confirmation of work done and his approval
4. Even if it not the services invoice, it should forwarded to the concern person's approval who request the PO for the same
5. Finance can reject the invoice if it is not budgeted and ask for the reasons.
6. After receiving all the confirmation and approvals from the concern department heads the invoice will be update in to the accounting system first in order to avoid any duplication of Invoice and PO (it shown on accounting package if the invoice is duplicate if not, ate last it tells you if the PO already used or cancel)
7. Finance approved the invoice and process the payment base on payment terms with the supplier.

Provision (Accounting) 

A provision can be a liability of uncertain timing or amount. A liability, in turn, is a present obligation of the entity arising from past events, the settlement of which is expected to result in an outflow from the entity of resources embodying economic benefits.

Though it is often thought to be, a provision should not be a form of savings. Examples are income tax liability, product warranty, environment restoration, etc

Accounts payable -- Amounts owed by the company for the goods or services it has purchased from outside suppliers.

Accounts receivable -- Amounts owed to the company by its cust
omers.

Accrual basis, system, or method -- An accounting system that records revenues and expenses at the time the transaction occurs, not at the time cash changes hands. If you buy a coat and charge it, the store records or accrues the sale when you walk out with the coat, not when you pay your bill. Cash basis accounting is used by individuals. Accrual basis accounting is used by most businesses.
Accrued expenses, accruals -- An expense which has been incurred but not yet paid for. Salaries are a good example. Employees earn or accrue salaries each hour they work. The salaries continue to accrue until payday when the accrued expense of the salaries is eliminated.

Aging -- A process where accounts receivable are sorted out by age (typically current, 30 to 60 days old, 60 to 120 days old, and so on.) Aging permits collection efforts to focus on accounts that are long overdue.

Amortize -- To charge a regular portion of an expenditure over a fixed period of time. For example if something cost $100 and is to be amortized over ten years, the financial reports will the entire $100 would show up on the financial report as an expense in the year show an expense of $10 per year for ten years. If the cost were not amortized, the expenditure was made. (Entries on Expenditure and Expense.)

Appreciation-- An increase in value. If a machine cost $1,000 last year and is now worth $1,200, it has appreciated in value by $200. (The opposite of depreciation.)

Assets-- Things of value owned by a business. An asset may be a physical property such as a building, or an object such as a stock certificate, or it may be a right, such as the right to use a patented process.

Current Assets- Are those assets that can be expected to turn into cash within a year or less. Current assets include cash, marketable securities, accounts receivable, and inventory.

Fixed Assets- Cannot be quickly turned into cash without interfering with business operations. Fixed assets include land, buildings, machinery, equipment, furniture, and long-term investments.
Intangible Assets- Are items such as patents, copyrights, trademarks, licenses, franchises, and other kinds of rights or things of value to a company, which are not physical objects. These assets may be the most important ones a company owns. Often they do not appear on financial reports.

Audit-- A careful review of financial records to verify their accuracy.

Bad debts -- amounts owed to a company that are not going to be paid. An account receivable becomes a bad debt when it is recognized that it won't be paid. Sometimes, bad debts set up to provide for possible bad debts. Creating or adding to a reserve is are written off when recognized. This is an expense. Sometimes, a reserve is also an expense.

Balance sheet -- a statement of the financial position of a company at a single specific time (often at the close of business on the last day of the month, quarter, or while liabilities and capital are listed on the right side or bottom. The total year.) The balance sheet normally lists all assets on the left side or top numbers on the right side or bottom. A balance sheet balances according to this of all numbers on the left side or top must equal or balance the total of all equation: Assets = Liabilities + Capital.

Bond -- A written record of a debt payable more than a year in the future. The bond shows amount of the debt, due date, and interest rate.

Book value --Total assets minus total liabilities. (See also net worth.) Book value also means the value of an asset as recorded on the company's books or financial reports. Book value is often different than true value. It may be more or less.
Breakeven point -- The amount of revenue from sales which exactly equals the amount of expense.
Breakeven point is often expressed as the number of units that must be sold to produce revenues exactly equal to expenses. Sales above the breakeven point produce a profit; below produces a loss.

Capital-- Money invested in a business by its owners. (See equity.) On the bottom or right side of a balance sheet.
Capital also refers to buildings, machinery, and other fixed assets in a long-term use.
Capitalize-- To capitalize means to record an expenditure on the balance sheet as an asset, to be amortized over the future. The opposite is to expense. For example, research expenditures can be capitalized or expended. If expended, they are charged against income over a period of time usually related to the life of the products or the expenditure occurs. If capitalized, the expenditure is charged against services created by the research.
Cash --Money available to spend now. Usually in a checking account.

Cash flow -- The amount of actual cash generated by business operations, which usually differs from profits shown.
Chart of accounts -- A listing of all the accounts or categories into which business transactions will be classified and recorded. Each account usually has a number. Transactions are coded by this number for manipulation on computers.

Contingent liabilities --Liabilities not recorded on a company's financial reports, but which might become due. If a company is being sued, it has a contingent liability that will become a real liability if the company loses the suit.

Retained earnings -- Profits not distributed to shareholders as dividends, the accumulation of a company's profits less any dividends paid out. Retained earnings are not spendable cash.

Sales
Two, Three, and Four Way Matching x the expense or cost of all items sold during an accounting period. Each unit sold has a cost of sales or cost of the goods sold. In businesses with a great many items flowing through, the cost of sales or cost of goods sold is often During the Period - Ending Inventory.
Computed by this formula: Cost of Sales = Beginning Inventory + Purchases

Credit-- An accounting entry on the right or bottom of a balance sheet. Usually an increase in liabilities or capital, or a reduction in assets. The opposite of credit is debit. Each credit in a balance sheet has a balancing debit. Credit has other usages, as in credit your account with the refund." "You have to pay cash, your credit is no good." Or "we will

Debit-- An accounting entry on the left or top of a balance sheet. Usually an increase in assets or a reduction in liabilities. Every debit has a balancing credit.
Deferred income -- A liability that arises when a company is paid in advance for goods or services that will be provided later. For example, when a magazine subscription is paid in advance, the magazine publisher is liable to provide magazines for the life are delivered of the subscription. The amount in deferred income is reduced as the magazines

Depreciation-- An expense that is supposed to reflect the loss in value of a fixed asset. For example, if a machine will completely wear out after ten year's use, the cost of the machine is charged as an expense over the ten-year life rather than all at once, when the machine is purchased. Straight line depreciation charges the same amount to expense each year. Accelerated depreciation charges more to expense in early years, less in later years. Depreciation is an accounting expense. In real the depreciation period ends. life, the fixed asset may grow in value or it may become worthless long before,

Discounted cash flow -- A system for evaluating investment opportunities that discounts or reduces the value of future cash flow. (See present value.)

Dividend-- A portion of the after-tax profits paid out to the owners of a business as a return on their investment.

Double entry -- A system of accounting in which every transaction is recorded twice -- as a debit and as a credit.

Earnings per share -- A company's net profit after taxes for an accounting period, divided by the average number of shares of stock outstanding during the period.

80 - 20 rule -- a general rule of thumb in business that says that 20% of the items produce 80% of the action -- 20% of the product line produces 80% of the sales, 20 percent of the customers generate 80% of the complaints, and so on. In evaluating any of the transactions you are concerned with. This rule is not exactly accurate, business situation, look for the small group which produces the major portion but it reflects a general truth, nothing is evenly distributed.

Equity-- The owners' share of a business.

Expenditure-- An expenditure occurs when something is acquired for a business -- an asset is purchased, salaries are paid, and so on. An expenditure affects the balance sheet when it occurs.
However, an expenditure will not necessarily show up on the income statement or affect profits at the time the expenditure is made. All expenditures eventually most expenditures involve the exchange of cash for something, expenses need not show up as expenses, which do affect the income statement and profits. While involve cash. (See expense below.)

Expense-- An expenditure which is chargeable against revenue during an accounting period. An expense results in the reduction of an asset. All expenditures are not expenses. For example, a company buys a truck. It trades one asset - cash - to acquire another asset. An expenditure has occurred but no expense is recorded. Only as the truck is depreciated will an expense be recorded. The concept of expense as different is important in understanding how accounting works and what financial reports from an expenditure is one reason financial reports do not show numbers that represent spendable cash. The distinction between an expenditure and an expense when the expenditure occurs. The opposite is to capitalize.) Mean. (To expense is a verb. It means to charge an expenditure against income
Fiscal year -An accounting year than begins on a date other than January.

Fixed cost -- A cost that does not change as sales volume changes (in the short run.) Fixed costs normally include such items as rent, depreciation, interest, and any salaries unaffected by ups and downs in sales.

Goodwill-- In accounting, the difference between what a companies pays when it buys the assets of another company and the book value of those assets. Sometimes, real goodwill is involved- a company's good reputation, the loyalty of its customers, and so on. Sometimes, goodwill is an over payment.


Interest-- A charge made for the use of money.

Inventory-- The supply or stock of goods and products that a company has for sale. A manufacturer may have three kinds of inventory: raw materials waiting to be converted into goods, work in process, and finished goods ready for sale.

Inventory obsolescence -- Inventory no longer salable. Perhaps there is too much on hand, perhaps it is out of fashion. The true value of the inventory is seldom exactly what is shown on the balance sheet. Often, there is unrecognized obsolescence.
Inventory shrinkage --a reduction in the amount of inventory that is not easily explainable. The most common cause of shrinkage is probably theft.

Inventory turnover -- A ratio that indicates the amount of inventory a company uses to support a given level of sales. The formula is: Inventory Turnover = Cost of Sales Average ratio is significant in comparison with the ratio for previous periods or the Inventory. Different businesses have different general turnover levels. The ratio for similar businesses.

Invested capital -- The total of a company's long-term debt and equity.

Journal-- A chronological record of business transactions.

Ledger-- A record of business transactions kept by type or account. Journal entries are usually transferred to ledgers.

Liabilities-- Amounts owed by a company to others. Current liabilities are those amounts due within one year or less and usually include accounts payable, accruals, loans due to be paid within a year, taxes due within a year, and so on. Long-term liabilities normally include the amounts of mortgages, bonds, and long-term loans that are due more than a year in the future.

Liquid-- Having lots of cash or assets easily converted to cash.

Marginal cost, marginal revenue -- Marginal cost is the additional cost incurred by adding one more item. Marginal revenue is the revenue from selling one more item. Economic theory says that maximum profit comes at a point where marginal revenue exactly equals marginal cost.

Net worth -- Total assets minus total liabilities. Net worth is seldom the true value of a company.

Opportunity cost --A useful concept in evaluating alternate opportunities. If you choose alternative
A, you cannot choose B, C, or D. What is the cost or loss of profit of not alternative A.? In personal life you may buy a car instead of taking a European choosing B, C, or D? This cost or loss of profit is the opportunity cost of the vacation. The opportunity cost of buying the car is the loss of the enjoyment

Overhead-- A cost that does not vary with the level of production or sales, and usually a cost not directly involved with production or sales. The chief executive's salary and rent are typically overhead.

Post --To enter a business transaction into a journal or ledger or other financial record.

Prepaid expenses, deferred charges -- Assets already paid for, that are being used up or will expire. Insurance paid for in advance is a common example. The insurance protection is an asset. It is paid for in advance, it lasts for a period of time, and expires on a fixed date.

Present value -- A concept that compares the value of money available in the future with the value of money in hand today. For example, $78.35 invested today in a 5% savings account will grow to $100 in five years. Thus the present value of analyze investment opportunities that have a future payoff. $100 received in five years is $78.35. The concept of present value is used to

Price-earnings (p/e) ratio -- The market price of a share of stock divided by the earnings (profit) per share. P/E ratios can vary from sky high to dismally low, but often do not reflect the true value of a company.

Profit-- The amount left over when expenses are subtracted revenues.
Gross profit is the profit left when cost of sales is subtracted from sales, before any operating expenses are subtracted. Operating profit is the profit from the primary operations of a business and is sales minus cost of sales minus operating expenses. Net profit before taxes is operating profit minus non-operating expenses and plus non-operating income. Net Profit after taxes is the bottom line, after everything has been subtracted. Also called income, net income, and earnings. Not the same as cash flow and does not represent spendable dollars.

Retained earnings -- Profits not distributed to shareholders as dividends, the accumulation of a company's profits less any dividends paid out. Retained earnings are not spendable cash.

Return on investment (ROI) -- A measure of the effectiveness and efficiency with which managers use the resources available to them, expressed as a percentage. Return on equity is usually net profit after taxes divided by the shareholders' equity. Return on invested capital is usually net profit after taxes plus interest paid on long-term debt divided by the equity plus the long-term debt. Return on assets used is usually the operating profit divided by the assets used to produce the profit. Typically used to evaluate divisions or subsidiaries. ROI is very useful but can only be used to compare consistent entities -- similar companies in the same industry industries have different ROIs. or the same company over a period of time. Different companies and different.

Revenue-- The amounts received by or due a company for goods or services it provides to customers. Receipts are cash revenues. Revenues can also be represented by accounts receivable.

Risk --The possibility of loss; inherent in all business activities. High risk requires high return. All business decisions must consider the amount of risk involved.

Stock-- A certificate (or electronic or other record) that indicates ownership of a portion of a corporation; a share of stock. Preferred stock promises its owner a dividend that is usually fixed in amount or percent. Preferred shareholders get paid first out of any profits. They have preference. Common stock has no preference and no fixed rate of return. Treasury stock was originally issued to shareholders but has been subsequently acquired by the corporation. Authorized by issued stock is stock which official corporate action has authorized but has not sold or issued. (Stock also means the stock of goods, the stock on hand, the inventory of a company.)

Sunk costs -- Money already spent and gone, which will not be recovered no matter what course of action is taken. Bad decisions are made when managers attempt to recoup sunk costs.

Trial balance -- At the close of an accounting period, the transactions posted in the ledger are added up. A test or trial balance sheet is prepared with assets on one side and don't, the accountants must search through the transactions to find out why. Liabilities and capital on the other. The two sides should balance. If they they keep making trial balances until the balance sheet balances.

Variable cost -- A cost that changes as sales or production change. If a business is producing nothing and selling nothing, the variable cost should be zero. However, there will probably be fixed costs.

Working capital -- Current assets minus current liabilities. In most businesses the major components of working capital are cash, accounts receivable, and inventory minus accounts payable. As a business grows it will have larger accounts receivable and more inventory. Thus the need for working capital will increase.
Write-down-- The partial reduction in the value of an asset, recognizing obsolescence or other losses in value.

Write-off-- The total reduction in the value of an asset, recognizing that it no longer has any value. Write-downs and write-offs are non-cash expenses that affect profits.

Prepaid expenses
Prepaid expenses are those expenses which are paid in advance to the party. Which ideally comes under Assets side in balance sheet. Journal Entry: - PP exp A/c --- Dr to Cash/Bank A/c.
What is a Non-PO Invoice?
Non-PO invoices means fast line purchasing done for emergency purpose or purchase without proper procurement planning.
Non Po invoices are the invoices issued for utility bills such as rental charges, water bills, telephone charges & electricity charges. While making payment against Non Po invoices, approval from d...


Monday, April 12, 2010

Introduction of Accounting




Meaning of Accounting
In 1941, The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) had
defined accounting as the art of recording, classifying, and summarizing in a significant manner and in terms of money, transactions and events which are, in part at least, of financial character, and interpreting the results thereof’. With greater economic development resulting in changing role of accounting, its scope, became broader. In 1966, the American Accounting Association (AAA) defined accounting as ‘the process of identifying, measuring and communicating economic information to permit informed judgments and decisions by users of information’.

In 1970, the Accounting Principles Board of AICPA also emphasized that the function of accounting is to provide quantitative information, primarily Financial in nature, about economic entities, that is intended to be useful in making economic decisions.

Accounting can therefore be defined as the process of identifying,
Measuring, recording and communicating the required information relating to the economic events of an organization to the interested users of such information. In order to appreciate the exact nature of accounting, we must understand the following relevant aspects of the definition:
• Economic Events
• Identification, Measurement, Recording and Communication
• Organization
• Interested Users of Information

• The owners/shareholders use them to see if they are getting a satisfactory return
on their investment, and to assess the financial health of their company/business.

• The directors/managers use them for making both internal and external
Comparisons in their attempts to evaluate the performance. They may compare the financial analysis of their company with the industry figures in order to ascertain the company’s strengths and weaknesses. Management is also concerned with ensuring that the money invested in the company/organisation is generating an adequate return and that the company/organisation is able to pay its debts and remain solvent.

• The creditors (lenders) want to know if they are likely to get paid and look particularly at liquidity, which is the ability of the company/organisation to pay its debts as they become due.
• The prospective investors use them to assess whether or not to invest their money in the company/organisation.
• The government and regulatory agencies such as Registrar of companies, Custom departments IRDA, RBI, etc. require information for the payment of various taxes such as Value Added Tax (VAT), Income Tax (IT), Customs and Excise duties for protecting the interests of investors, creditors (lenders), and also to satisfy the legal obligations imposed by the Companies Act 1956 and SEBI from time-to time.

 Accounting as a Source of Information
As discussed earlier, accounting is a definite processes of interlinked activities,
That begins with the identification of transactions and ends with the preparation of financial statements. Every step in the process of accounting generates information. Generation of information is not an end in itself. It is a means to facilitate the dissemination of information among different user groups. Such information enables the interested parties to take appropriate decisions. Therefore, dissemination of information is an essential function of accounting. To be useful, the accounting information should ensure to:
• provide information for making economic decisions;
• serve the users who rely on financial statements as their principal source of information;
• provide information useful for predicting and evaluating the amount, timing and uncertainty of potential cash-flows;
• provide information for judging management’s ability to utilize resources effectively in meeting goals;
• provide factual and interpretative information by disclosing underlying assumptions on matters subject to interpretation, evaluation, prediction, or estimation; and
• provide information on activities affecting the society.
Qualitative characteristics are the attributes of accounting information which tend to enhance its understandability and usefulness. In order to assess whether accounting information is decision useful, it must possess the characteristics of reliability, relevance, understandability and comparability.
Reliability
Reliability means the users must be able to depend on the information. The reliability of accounting information is determined by the degree of correspondence between what the information conveys about the transactions or events that have occurred, measured and displayed. A reliable information should be free from error and bias and faithfully represents what it is meant to represent. To ensure reliability, the information disclosed must be credible, verifiable by independent parties use the same method of measuring, and be neutral and faithful.
The economic development and technological improvements have resulted in an increase in the scale of operations and the advent of the company form of business organisation. This has made the management function more and more complex and increased the importance of accounting information. This gave rise to special branches of accounting. These are briefly explained below:
The purpose of this branch of accounting is to keep a record of all financial transactions so that:
(a) The profit earned or loss sustained by the business during an accounting period can be worked out,
(b) The financial position of the business as at the end of the accounting period can be ascertained, and
(c) The financial information required by the management and other interested parties can be provided.
Cost Accounting : The purpose of cost accounting is to analyses the expenditure so as to ascertain the cost of various products manufactured by the firm and fix the prices. It also helps in controlling the costs and providing necessary costing information to management for decision-making.
Management Accounting : The purpose of management accounting is to assist the management in taking rational policy decisions and to evaluate the impact of its decisions and actions.

As an information system, the basic objective of accounting is to provide useful information to the interested group of users, both external and internal. The necessary information, particularly in case of external users, is provided in the form of financial statements, viz., profit and loss account and balance sheet. Besides these, the management is provided with additional information from time to time from the accounting records of business. Thus, the primary objectives of accounting include the following:
Accounting is used for the maintenance of a systematic record of all financial transactions in book of accounts. Even the most brilliant executive or manager cannot accurately remember the numerous amount of varied transactions such as purchases, sales, receipts, payments, etc. that takes place in business every day. Hence, a proper and complete records of all business transactions are kept regularly. Moreover, the recorded information enables verifiability and acts as an evidence.

The owners of business are keen to have an idea about the net results of their business operations periodically, i.e. whether the business has earned profits or incurred losses. Thus, another objective of accounting is to ascertain the profit earned or loss sustained by a business during an accounting period which can be easily workout with help of record of incomes and expenses relating to the business by preparing a profit or loss account for the period.
Profit represents excess of revenue (income), over expenses. If the total revenue of a given period is Rs 6,00,000 and total expenses are Rs. 5,40,000 the profit will be equal to Rs. 60,000(Rs. 6,00,000 – Rs. 5,40,000). If however, the total expenses exceed the total revenue, the difference reflects the loss.

Accounting also aims at ascertaining the financial position of the business
Concern in the form of its assets and liabilities at the end of every accounting period.
A proper record of resources owned by business organisation (Assets)
Qualitative Characteristic of Accounting Information
Decision Makers (Users of Accounting Information) Understandability Decision Usefulness Relevance, Reliability, Timeliness, Dedicative Feedback, Verifiability Faithfulness Value, Neutrality Comparability.
The accounting information generated by the accounting process is communicated in the form of reports, statements, graphs and charts to the users who need it in different decision situations. As already stated, there are two main user groups, viz. internal users, mainly management, who needs timely information on cost of sales, profitability, etc. for planning, controlling and decision-making and external users who have limited authority, ability and resources to obtain the necessary information and have to rely on financial statements (Balance Sheet, Profit and Loss account).
Primarily, the external users are interested in the following:
• Investors and potential investors-information on the risks and returns on investments;
• Unions and employee groups-information on the stability, profitability and distribution of wealth within the business;
• Lenders and financial institutions-information on the creditworthiness of the company and its ability to repay loans and pay interest;
• Suppliers and creditors-information on whether amounts owed will be repaid when due, and on the continued existence of the business;
• Customers-information on the continued existence of the business and thus the probability of a continued supply of products, parts and after sales service;
• Government and other regulators- information on the allocation of resources and the compliance to regulations;
• Social responsibility groups, such as environmental groups-information on the impact on environment and its protection;
• Competitors-information on the relative strengths and weaknesses of their competition and for comparative and benchmarking purposes. Whereas the above categories of users share in the wealth of the company, competitors require the information mainly for strategic purposes.
For centuries, the role of accounting has been changing with the changes in economic development and increasing societal demands. It describes and analyses a mass of data of an enterprise through measurement, classification and summarization, and reduces those date into reports and statements, which show the financial condition and results of operations of that enterprise. Hence, it is regarded as a language of business. It also performs the service activity by providing quantitative financial information that helps the users in various ways. Accounting as an information system collects and communicates economic information about an enterprise to a wide variety of interested parties. However, accounting information relates to the past transactions and is quantitative and financial in nature, it does not provide qualitative and nonfinancial information. These limitations of accounting must be kept in view while making use of the accounting information.
􀀹 As a language – it is perceived as the language of business which is used to communicate information on enterprises;
􀀹 As a historical record- it is viewed as chronological record of financial transactions of an organisation at actual amounts involved;
􀀹 As current economic reality- it is viewed as the means of determining the true income of an entity namely the change of wealth over time;
􀀹 As an information system – it is viewed as a process that links an information source (the accountant) to a set of receivers (external users) by means of a channel of communication;
􀀹 As a commodity- specialized information is viewed as a service which is in demand in society, with accountants being willing to and capable of providing it.

Basic Terms in Accounting
Entity
Entity means a thing that has a definite individual existence. Business entity means a specifically identifiable business enterprise like Super Bazaar, Hire Jewellers, ITC Limited, etc. An accounting system is always devised for a specific business entity (also called accounting entity).
Transaction A event involving some value between two or more entities. It can be a purchase of goods, receipt of money, payment to a creditor, incurring expenses, etc. It can be a cash transaction or a credit transaction.
Assets are economic resources of an enterprise that can be usefully expressed in monetary terms. Assets are items of value used by the business in its operations. For example, Super Bazar owns a fleet of trucks, which is used by it for delivering foodstuffs; the trucks, thus, provide economic benefit to the enterprise. This item will be shown on the asset side of the balance sheet of Super Bazaar. Assets can be broadly classified into two types: Fixed Assets and Current Assets.
Fixed Assets are assets held on a long-term basis, such as land, buildings, machinery, plant, furniture and fixtures. These assets are used for the normal operations of the business.
Current Assets are assets held on a short-term basis such as debtors (accounts receivable), bills receivable (notes receivable), stock (inventory), temporary marketable securities, cash and bank balances.
Liabilities are obligations or debts that an enterprise has to pay at some time in the future. They represent creditors’ claims on the firm’s assets. Both small and big businesses find it necessary to borrow money at one time or the other, and to purchase goods on credit. Super Bazar, for example, purchases goods for Rs. 10,000 on credit for a month from Fast Food Products on March 25, 2005. If the balance sheet of Super Bazaar is prepared as at March 31, 2005, Fast Food Products will be shown as creditors on the liabilities side of the balance sheet. If Super Bazaar takes a loan for a period of three years from Delhi State Co-operative Bank, this will also be shown as a liability in the balance sheet of Super Bazaar. Liabilities are classified as long-term liabilities and short-term liabilities (also known as short-term liabilities). Long-term liabilities are those that are usually payable after a period of one year, for example, a term loan from a financial institution or debentures (bonds) issued by a company.
Short-term liabilities are obligations that are payable within a period of one year, for example, creditors, bills payable, bank overdraft.
Amount invested by the owner in the firm is known as capital. It may be brought in the form of cash or assets by the owner for the business entity capital is an obligation and a claim on the assets of business. It is, therefore, shown as capital on the liabilities side of the balance sheet.
Sales are total revenues from goods or services sold or provided to customers.
Sales may be cash sales or credit sales.
These are the amounts of the business earned by selling its products or providing services to customers, called sales revenue. Other items of revenue common to many businesses are: commission, interest, dividends, royalties, rent received, etc. Revenue is also called income.
Costs incurred by a business in the process of earning revenue are known as expenses. Generally, expenses are measured by the cost of assets consumed or services used during an accounting period. The usual items of expenses are: depreciation, rent, wages, salaries, interest, cost of heater, light and water, telephone, etc.
Spending money or incurring a liability for some benefit, service or property received is called expenditure. Payment of rent, salary, purchase of goods, purchase of machinery, purchase of furniture, etc. are examples of expenditure. If the benefit of expenditure is exhausted within a year, it is treated as an expense (also called revenue expenditure). On the other hand, the benefit of an expenditure lasts for more than a year, it is treated as an asset (also called capital expenditure) such as purchase of machinery, furniture, etc.
The excess of revenues of a period over its related expenses during an accounting year profit. Profit increases the investment of the owners.
A profit that arises from events or transactions which are incidental to business such as sale of fixed assets, winning a court case, appreciation in the value of an asset.
The excess of expenses of a period over its related revenues its termed as loss. It decreases in owner’s equity. It also refers to money or money’s worth lost (or cost incurred) without receiving any benefit in return, e.g., cash or goods lost by theft or a fire accident, etc. It also includes loss on sale of fixed assets.



Discount is the deduction in the price of the goods sold. It is offered in two ways. Offering deduction of agreed percentage of list price at the time selling goods is one way of giving discount. Such discount is called ‘trade discount’. It is generally offered by manufactures to whole sellers and by whole sellers to retailers. After selling the goods on credit basis the debtors may be given certain deduction in amount due in case if they pay the amount within the stipulated period or earlier. This deduction is given at the time of payment on the amount payable. Hence, it is called as cash discount. Cash discount acts as an incentive that encourages prompt payment by the debtors.
The documentary evidence in support of a transaction is known as voucher.
For example, if we buy goods for cash, we get cash memo, if we buy on credit, we get an invoice; when we make a payment we get a receipt and so on.
It refers to the products in which the business units is dealing, i.e. in terms of which it is buying and selling or producing and selling. The items that are purchased for use in the business are not called goods. For example, for a furniture dealer purchase of chairs and tables is termed as goods, while for other it is furniture and is treated as an asset. Similarly, for a stationery merchant, stationery is goods, whereas for others it is an item of expense (not purchases)
Withdrawal of money and/or goods by the owner from the business for personal use is known as drawings. Drawings reduces the investment of the owners. Purchases are total amount of goods procured by a business on credit and on cash, for use or sale. In a trading concern, purchases are made of merchandise for resale with or without processing. In a manufacturing concern, raw materials are purchased, processed further into finished goods and then sold. Purchases may be cash purchases or credit purchases.
Stock (inventory) is a measure of something on hand-goods, spares and other items in a business. It is called Stock in hand. In a trading concern, the stock on hand is the amount of goods which are lying unsold as at the end of an accounting period is called closing stock (ending inventory). In a manufacturing company, closing stock comprises raw materials, semi-finished goods and finished goods on hand on the closing date. Similarly, opening stock (beginning inventory) is the amount of stock at the beginning of the accounting period.
Debtors are persons and/or other entities who owe to an enterprise an amount for buying goods and services on credit. The total amount standing against such persons and/or entities on the closing date, is shown in the balance sheet as sundry debtors on the asset side.
Creditors are persons and/or other entities who have to be paid by an enterprise an amount for providing the enterprise goods and services on credit. The total amount standing to the favor of such persons and/or entities on the closing date, is shown in the Balance Sheet as sundry creditors on the liabilities side.

The Profit & Loss Account aims to monitor profit. It has three parts.
This records the money in (revenue) and out (costs) of the business as a result of the business’ ‘trading’ ie buying and selling. This might be buying raw materials and selling finished goods; it might be buying goods wholesale and selling them retail. The figure at the end of this section is the Gross Profit.
This starts with the Gross Profit and adds to it any further costs and revenues, including overheads. These further costs and revenues are from any other activities not directly related to trading. An example is income received from investments.

The Appropriation Account. This shows how the profit is ‘appropriated’ or divided between the three uses mentioned above.

Uses of the Profit and Loss Account.
The main use is to monitor and measure profit, as discussed above. This assumes that the information recording is accurate. Significant problems can arise if the information is inaccurate, either through incompetence or deliberate fraud. 
Once the profit(loss) has been accurately calculated, this can then be used for comparison ie judging how well the business is doing compared to itself in the past, compared to the managers’ plans and compared to other businesses. 
There are ways to ‘fix’ accounts. Internal accounts are rarely ‘fixed’, because there is little point in the managers fooling themselves (unless fraud is going on) but public accounts are routinely ‘fixed’ to create a good impression out to the outside world. If you understand accounts, you can usually (not always) spot these ‘fixes’ and take them out to get a true picture.

Example Profit and Loss Account:

An example profit and loss account is provided below:

A trial balance is a list of all the nominal ledger (general ledger) accounts contained in the ledger of a business. This list will contain the name of the nominal ledger account and the value of that nominal ledger account. The value of the nominal ledger will hold either a debit balance value or a credit value balance. The debit balance values will be listed in the debit column of the trial balance and the credit value balance will be listed in the credit column. The profit and loss statement and balance sheet and other financial reports can then be produced using the ledger accounts listed on the trial balance.

The trial balance is usually prepared by a bookkeeper who has used daybooks to record financial transactions and then post them to the nominal ledgers and personal ledger accounts. The trial balance is a part of the double-entry bookkeeping system and uses the classic 'T' account format for presenting values.


Summary with Reference to Learning Objectives
1. Meaning of Accounting : Accounting is a process of identifying, measuring, recording the business transactions and communicating thereof the required information to the interested users.
2. Accounting as a source of information : Accounting as a source of information system is the process of identifying, measuring, recording and communicating the economic events of an organisation to interested users of the information.
3. Users of accounting information : Accounting plays a significant role in society by providing information to management at all levels and to those having a direct financial interest in the enterprise, such as present and potential investors and creditors. Accounting information is also important to those having indirect financial interest, such as regulatory agencies, tax authorities, customers, labour unions, trade associations, stock exchanges and others.
4. Qualitative characteristics of Accounting : To make accounting information decision useful, it should possess the following qualitative characteristics.
• Reliability • Understandability
• Relevance • Comparability
5. Objective of accounting : The primary objectives of accounting are to:
• maintain records of business;
• calculate profit or loss;
• depict the financial position; and
• make information available to various groups and users.
6. Role of accounting : Accounting is not an end in itself. It is a means to an end.
It plays the role of a:
• Language of a business
• Historical record
• Current economic reality
• Information system
• Service to users


Provisions and Reserve
Provisions
There are certain expenses/losses which are related to the current accounting period but amount of which is not known with certainty because they are not yet incurred. It is necessary to make provision for such items for ascertaining true net profit. For example, a trader who sells on credit basis knows that some of the debtors of the current period would default and would not pay or would pay only partially. It is necessary to take into account such an expected loss while calculating true and fair profit/loss according to the principle of Prudence or Conservatism.

Reserves
A part of the profit may be set aside and retained in the business to provide for certain future needs like growth and expansion or to meet future contingencies such as workmen compensation. Unlike provisions, reserves are the appropriations of profit to strengthen the financial position of the business. Reserve is not a charge against profit as it is not meant to cover any known liability or expected loss in future. However, retention of profits in the form of reserves reduces the amount of profits available for distribution among the owners of the business. It is shown under the head Reserves and Surpluses on the liabilities side of the balance sheet after capital. Examples of reserves
are:

Types of Reserves
A reserve is created by retention of profit of the business can be for either a
general or a specific purpose.
1. General reserve: When the purpose for which reserve is created is not specified, it is called General Reserve. It is also termed as free reserve because the management can freely utilize it for any purpose. General strengthens the financial position of the business.
2. Specific reserve: Specific reserve is the reserve, which is created for some specific purpose and can be utilized only for that purpose. Examples of specific reserves are given below :
(i) Dividend equalization reserve: This reserve is created to stabilize or maintain dividend rate. In the year of high profit, amount is transferred to Dividend Equalization reserve. In the year of low profit, this reserve amount is used to maintain the rate of dividend.
(ii) Workmen compensation fund: It is created to provide for claims of the workers due to accident, etc.
(iii) Investment fluctuation fund: It is created to make for decline in the value of investment due to market fluctuations.
(iv) Debenture redemption reserve: It is created to provide funds for

The Accounting rule for Real Account is
Debit What Comes In and Credit What Goes out All Asset Accounts It Includes both Tangible assets like Cash, car, Furniture and Intangible assets Like Goodwill, Patents.

Accounting Rule for Personal Account is Credit the Benefit Giver and Debit the Benefit Receiver, All Accounts which can be attached to an individual or Organisation. It can be either an Asset or Liability
Say an organisation buys goods on Credit from Mr. X for 1000 $ so here the Account of Mr. X is a Personal Account and will be a Creditor i.e. Liability.

Debit All Losses and Expenses and Credit all Incomes and Profits.
All Income, Expense, Profit, Losses accounts are Nominal Account.


Questions for Practice
Short Answers
1. Define accounting.
2. State what is end product of financial accounting.
3. Enumerate main objectives of accounting.
4. List any five users who have indirect interest in accounting.
5. State the nature of accounting information required by long-term lenders.
6. Who are the external users of information?
7. Enumerate informational needs of management.
8. Give any three examples of revenues.
9. Distinguish between debtors and creditors.
10. ‘Accounting information should be comparable’. Do you agree with this Statement? Give two reasons.
11. If the accounting information is not clearly presented, which of the qualitative
Characteristic of the accounting information is violated?
12. “The role of accounting has changed over the period of time”- Do you agree?
Explain.
13. Giving examples, explain each of the following accounting terms:
• Fixed assets • Gain • Profit
• Revenue • Expenses • Short-term liability
• Capital
14. How will you define revenues and expenses?
15. What is the primary reason for the business students and others to Familiarise themselves with the accounting discipline?