Accounting and Finance Lectures Flashcards
What are the three main methods of reporting financial information?
- SFP - Statement of Financial Position [AKA balance sheet in the UK)
- Income Statement (AKA Profit and loss account (P+L)]
- Statement of Cash Flows
All statements are interlinked and present different information.
What is the accounting equation?
Capital = Assets - Liabilities
Rearranged to:
Assets = Capital + Liabilities.
Capital Transactions?
Capital Transactions affect business in the longer term. Capital Expenditure is expenditure on non-current assets.
Revenue Transactions?
Revenue Transactions affect business in current period. Revenue expenditure is expenditure on items consumes in the period. ItT will have no value at the end of the period to wish it relates.
Terms: Relevance?
Accounting information should make a difference, making it capable of influencing decisions. It should help predict future events or help confirm past events.
Terms: Faithful Representation?
Accounting information should represent what it is supposed to represent. It should be complete, as to represent all the information needed in order to understand what is being portrayed. It should be free from error.
Terms: Comparability?
Standards set in place to make comparison between different companies simpler.
Terms: Verifiability?
Provides insurance to users that the accounting information provided faithfully represents what it is supposed to represent. Different accounting specialists should come to the same conclusion that it provides a faithful portrayal.
Terms: Timeliness?
Accounting information should be produced in time for users to make their decisions. The later the financial information is produced, the less useful it becomes.
Terms: Understandability?
Accounting informant should be set out as clearly and concisely as possible. Also, those at whom the information is aimed should understand it.
How does Financial Accounting compare to Managerial Accounting?
They generally share common objectives, but they differ on emphasis in various respects. Finaical accounts tend to be for general purpose, with a broad overview, subject to regulation, annual or bi-annual, almost always historic and have a great emphasis on objectives wit verifiable evidence.
How is financial accounting having to develop?
Has to respond to:
- Increasing sophistication of customers
- Development of global economy
- Rapid technological changes.
- deregulation of domestic markets.
- Increasing pressure from owners (shareholders) for competitive economic returns.
- Increasing volatility of financial markets.
How are Assets split up and what are the definitions of the two respective divisions?
- Non-Current Assets: AKA Fixed assets. Any assets that are held onto for more than a year.
- Current assets: Held onto for less than a year.
Current Assets?
Assets being held for a short term, with the following criteria:
- Held for sale or consumption during the business’s normal operating cycle.
- Expected to be sold within a year within the current statement of financial position.
- Held principally for trading.
- They are cash. or near cash such as easily marketable, short-term investments.
Current Assets?
Assets being held for a short term, with the following criteria:
- Held for sale or consumption during the business’s normal operating cycle.
- Expected to be sold within a year within the current statement of financial position.
- Held principally for trading.
- They are cash, or near cash such as easily marketable, short-term investments.
Non-current assets?
aka fixed assets. All assets that do not meet the definition of current assets. Only tangible assets shown, PPE and financial investmenrs
Equity?
Claims of the owner(s) against the business. It represents the amounts that owners would revive once all assets were sold and all liabilities were settles at their SFP amounts. Equity = Net assets. Sometimes referred to as owner’s capital. Owners capital will be seen as an external finance, with the businesses accounts being completely separate to the owners. When financial statements are prepared, the funds from the owner will be seen as coming from outside the business and will appear as a claim against the business in its statement of financial position.
Liabilities?
Represent the claims of all individuals and organisations, apart from the owners(s). They arise from past transactions or events such as supplying foods or lending money to the business. A liability will be settles through an outflow of assets (usually cash)
Intangible Assets?
For instance, someone who has been invested in for a long time who is owned by a football club. There only value can be judged from what they were purchased for. Another instance would be relationships and connections made within a community over time. This cannot be valued but certainly holds value. It will be realised upon the sale of the underlying asset.
Business entity concept?
The business has a separate entity from the owners(s).
Types of current assets?
- Inventories.
- Trade Receivables/ Debtors.
- Other Recievables.
- Cash and Cash Equivalents.
Types of Capital?
+ Capital introduced.
+ Profit for the year.
- Drawings.
Different types of equity?
- Ordinary share capital.
- Share premium.
- Retained earnings
- Other reserves
What are the limitations of SFP?
- Historic costs vs current costs. (something may have changed, like economic climate or scandal)
- Just a snapshot at one point in time - Revaluations required due to appreciation of assets over time. (Revaluations are required due to the appreciation of assets over time, such as equipment(down) or buildings (up))
- Doesn’t reflect all assets and liabilities and current markets value fo the entity.