SOME ACCOUNTING CONCEPTS

Accrual basis of accounting

The accounting method under which revenues are recognized on the income statement when they are earned (rather than when the cash is received). The balance sheet is also affected at the time of the revenues by either an increase in Cash (if the service or sale was for cash), an increase in Accounts Receivable (if the service was performed on credit), or a decrease in Unearned Revenues (if the service was performed after the customer had paid in advance for the service).

Under the accrual basis of accounting, expenses are matched with revenues on the income statement when the expenses expire or title has transferred to the buyer, rather than at the time when expenses are paid. The balance sheet is also affected at the time of the expense by a decrease in Cash (if the expense was paid at the time the expense was incurred), an increase in Accounts Payable (if the expense will be paid in the future), or a decrease in Prepaid Expenses (if the expense was paid in advance).

Financial statements

Usually financial statements refer to the balance sheet, income statement, statement of cash flows, statement of retained earnings, and statement of stockholders' equity.

The balance sheet reports information as of a date (a point in time). The income statement, statement of cash flows, statement of retained earnings, and the statement of stockholders' equity report information for a period of time (or time interval) such as a year, quarter, or month.

Incurred

A word used by accountants to communicate that an expense has occurred and needs to be recognized on the income statement even though no payment was made. The second part of the necessary entry will be a credit to a liability account.

Income statement

One of the main financial statements (along with the balance sheet, the statement of cash flows, and the statement of stockholders' equity). The income statement is also referred to as the profit and loss statement, P&L, statement of income, and the statement of operations. The income statement reports the revenues, gains, expenses, losses, net income and other totals for the period of time shown in the heading of the statement. If a company's stock is publicly traded, earnings per share must appear on the face of the income statement.

Balance sheet

One of the main financial statements. The balance sheet reports the assets, liabilities, and owner's (stockholders') equity at a specific point in time, such as December 31. The balance sheet is also referred to as the Statement of Financial Position.

Liabilities

Obligations of a company or organization. Amounts owed to lenders and suppliers. Liabilities often have the word "payable" in the account title. Liabilities also include amounts received in advance for a future sale or for a future service to be performed. 

Interest expense

This account is a non-operating or "other" expense for the cost of borrowed money or other credit. The amount of interest expense appearing on the income statement is the cost of the money that was used during the time interval shown in the heading of the income statement,not the amount of interest paid during that period of time.

Interest payable

This current liability account reports the amount of interest the company owes as of the date of the balance sheet. (Future interest is not recorded as a liability.)

Prepaid insurance

A current asset which indicates the cost of the insurance contract (premiums) that have been paid in advance. It represents the amount that has been paid but has not yet expired as of the balance sheet date.

A related account is Insurance Expense, which appears on the income statement. The amount in the Insurance Expense account should report the amount of insurance expense expiring during the period indicated in the heading of the income statement.

Expenses

Costs that are matched with revenues on the income statement. For example, Cost of Goods Sold is an expense caused by Sales. Insurance Expense, Wages Expense, Advertising Expense, Interest Expense are expenses matched with the period of time in the heading of the income statement. Under the accrual basis of accounting, the matching is NOT based on the date that the expenses are paid.

Expenses associated with the main activity of the business are referred to as operating expenses. Expenses associated with a peripheral activity are non operating or other expenses. For example, a retailer's interest expense is a non operating expense. A bank's interest expense is an operating expense.

Generally, expenses are debited to a specific expense account and the normal balance of an expense account is a debit balance. When an expense account is debited, the account credited might be Cash (if cash was paid at the time of the expense), Accounts Payable (if cash will be paid after the expense is recorded), or Prepaid Expense (if cash was paid before the expense was recorded.) To learn more, 

revenues

Fees earned from providing services and the amounts of merchandise sold. Under the accrual basis of accounting, revenues are recorded at the time of delivering the service or the merchandise, even if cash is not received at the time of delivery. Often the term income is used instead of revenues.

Examples of revenue accounts include: Sales, Service Revenues, Fees Earned, Interest Revenue, Interest Income. Revenue accounts are credited when services are performed/billed and therefore will usually have credit balances. At the time that a revenue account is credited, the account debited might be Cash, Accounts Receivable, or Unearned Revenue depending if cash was received at the time of the service, if the customer was billed at the time of the service and will pay later, or if the customer had paid in advance of the service being performed.

If the revenues earned are a main activity of the business, they are considered to be operating revenues. If the revenues come from a secondary activity, they are considered to be non operating revenues. For example, interest earned by a manufacturer on its investments is a non operating revenue. Interest earned by a bank is considered to be part of operating revenues.