Semester 1 Flashcards
What is a statement of financial position otherwise known as ?
Balance sheet
What is a statement of financial performance or income statement known as ?
Profit and loss account
What are the 3 major financial statements ?
- Statement of financial position (balance sheet)
- Statement of financial performance or income statement (profit and loss account)
- Cash flow statement
What is the balance sheet equation ?
Assets = capital +/- Profit + liabilities
What is profit defined as ?
- The increase in net assets during an accounting period as shown on Statement of Financial Position
How can profit be calculated ?
Revenue minus expenses
How can the balance sheet equation be rearranged using the formula for profit ?
Assets = Capital + (Revenue – Expenses) + Liabilities; or rearranging
Assets + Expenses = Capital + Liabilities + Revenue
How can revenue be defined ?
Revenue is a ‘measure of the inflow of economic benefits arising from the ordinary operations of a business’
How does revenue arise ?
- Revenue arises when:
Measurable reliably;
Probable that the economic benefits will be received;
Ownership & control passes to buyer
(Revenue from cash sales, credit sales, HP sales etc.)
How can you define expenses ?
Expenses are the costs incurred in earning revenue
What adjustments need to be made at year end to calculate the correct revenue and expenses of a business?
- Cost of goods sold
- Accruals and prepayments
- Depreciation of non current assets.
How can you calculate the cost of sales ?
1 taking the opening inventories
2 adding inventories purchased during the period, and then
3 deducting the closing inventories held.
What is an accrual ?
Accruals are adjustments for 1) revenues that have been earned but are not yet recorded in the accounts, and 2) expenses that have been incurred but are not yet recorded in the accounts.
What is profit when talking about accruals ?
- Profit is the excess of revenue over expenses, (not the excess of cash receipts over cash payments).
What is the matching principle ?
The Matching Principle states that all expenses must be matched in the same accounting period as the revenues they helped to earn.
How is depreciation shown on the income statement ?
- Depreciation is matched to the revenue generated by use of the asset.
- It is deducted from “value” of asset on the balance sheet each year; and
treated as an expense in income statement - It is an application of Matching Concept
Define depreciation…
- Depreciation is the systematic allocation of cost over an asset’s useful economic life
What are the 3 calculation methods for depreciation ?
- The accounting rules suggest three alternative calculation methods:
- Straight-line
- Diminishing or reducing balance
- Units of production (not examinable)
What is straight line depreciation ?
- Cost less estimated residual value
- (Estimated residual value ‘the amount for which a non-current asset is sold when the business has no further use for it’.)
What is reducing balance depreciation ?
- Cost less depreciation to date multiplied by a fixed %
What is the net book value ?
- Net book value, or written down value of asset, shown on the Statement of Financial Position is the amount still to be written off as an expense in the Income Statement.
- In other words, it is the unallocated proportion of an assets cost that has not yet been matched with revenues through the Income Statement
How can you decide which method of depreciation to use ?
- Use matching concept: Match depreciation of asset against revenue it earns each year. If asset generates same revenue each year (most do) use Straight Line Method.
- “Value” on Statement of Financial Position is Net Book Value, not Market Value etc.
- Method must be applied consistently
Method used in the preparation of financial statement must be disclosed to help user’s understanding
Why is a trial balance needed and how is it set up ?
- It is drawn up to summarise the results of the bookkeeping for the period – but before the 3 adjustments discussed this week.
- It has 2 columns, the left, or debit column, lists all the assets and expenses
- The right, or credit column, lists the capital, liabilities and revenue.
- The columns should total the same – because of the balance sheet equation
- You then adjust the figures before preparing the final accounts
What is the dual aspect convention ?
“each transactions has two aspects, and each aspect must be reflected in the financial statements”.
What 4 adjustments need to be made to a trial balance to produce a final account ?
- Cost of goods sold / cost of sales
- Accruals and prepayments
- Depreciation of non-current assets
- Bad and doubtful debts
What happens when we sell goods on credit ?
- Revenue (sales) increases; and
- Receivables (Debtors) increase
How does revenue appear on a trial balance ?
On the trial balance revenue is in the credit column and appears on the Income Statement
How do receivables appear on the trial balance ?
Receivables is in the debit column and appears on the Balance Sheet as a Current Asset
How are bad debts created ?
- When selling goods on credit, not all of our receivables (debtors) actually pay what they owe. - Some will become bad debts, they will change from being an asset and become an expense
What 4 characteristics do assets have ?
An asset has the following characteristics:
- A future benefit;
- from a past transaction or event;
- Be controlled by the business;
- Capable monetary measurement.
What is conservatism or prudence ?
the convention that financial statements should err on the side of caution.
How is it that a debt can turn from an asset to an expense ?
- if we do not expect one of our customers to pay, the debt can no longer be regarded as an asset – it fails the first test that “a future benefit must arise”
- The assets becomes an expense – a bad debt – and we must reduce our receivables
What is the provision for doubtful debts ?
If we have a lot of individual receivables experience tells us that some will not pay – and the convention of conservatism means that we must also reduce the value of receivables by this (estimated) amount.
What are the 2 costs of bad on the income statement ?
- Actual bad debts written off in the year.
- The increase in the provision for doubtful debts in the year (or, exceptionally, a reduction which will reduce the expense for the year)
Why is a cash flow statement important ?
The Cash Flow Statement shows the major sources and uses of cash during a period and may highlight cash problems.
Examples of differences between cash and profit ?
Credit sales: revenue not receipt
Sale of non-current asset: receipt not revenue
Purchase of non-current assets – payment but not expense
Depreciation – expense but not payment
5 sources of cash ?
Profit from operations Sales of non-current assets Issue of shares Long-term borrowings Decrease in working capital
5 uses of cash ?
Losses from operations Buying of non-current assets Paying dividends Repaying loans & interest Increases in working capital
How can cash flows be summarised under 3 main headings ?
Cash flows from operating activities
Cash flows from investing activities
Cash flows from financing activities
What are cash equivalents ?
Cash equivalents are defined as ‘short-term highly liquid investments that are readily convertible to known amounts of cash and are subject to an insignificant risk of changes in value’
6 ways that a cash flow statement is useful ?
- Shows actual cash movements rather than estimates as on income statement
- Cash is easier to understand than profit
- Helps assess possibility of generating future cash flows
- Assess future financing requirements
- Assess possibility of repaying loans, paying interest etc.; and
- Ability to replace worn out assets
What is a limited company ?
A form of business unit that is granted a separate legal existence from that of its owners.
How liable are limited company shareholders to debts ?
The owners (shareholders) of this type of business are liable for debts only up to the amount that they have agreed to invest.
How are limited companies managed ?
Companies are managed by directors appointed annually by the owners (shareholders)
What are limited company directors required to do by law ?
Directors are required by law to report yearly to the owners on their management
There is a framework of law and regulations controlling companies and directors.
What does legal framework for limited company directors ensure ?
Disclosure of all material information
Accountability for the actions of directors
Fairness in directors’ dealings with shareholders
What are the main points in the framework of law and reg for limited companies ?
Statutory regulation (formats for statements) Financial Reporting Council (oversees accounting standards)
What are the 2 sets of accounting standards in use in the UK ?
International Financial Reporting Standards which must be used by all EU listed companies
Financial Reporting Standards (FRS) these can still be used by non-listed (usually smaller) companies in the UK.