Accounting Principles & Procedures Flashcards
What are the 3 types of financial statements you might come accross relating to a company?
Balance sheets
Income statements
Cash flow statements
What is an asset?
A resource owned or controlled by a business entity conaining economic value
What is a liability?
Something a person or company owes
Give an example of an asset
Cash
Real estate
Give an example of a liability
Payroll expenses / wages
Money owed to suppliers
Bank debt
What is the difference between financial and management accounts?
Financial accounts is the collection of accounting data to create financial statements required by law
Managerial accounting is the interal processing used to account for business transactions
What do you understand about the term Generally Accepted Accouning Principles (GAAP)
Standards that encompass the details, complexities and legalities of business accounting
→ must be followed when compiliing financial statements
What is the purpose of GAAP?
To improve the clarity of the communication of financial information
Name 3 principles of GAAP
- Regularity - rules applied as standard practice
- Consistency - use same standards throughout
- Sincerity - provide objective and accurate info
How do companies know which reporting framework to comply with?
It is set out in FRS 100 Application of Financial Reporting Requirements
Can you tell me about a common financial measure?
- Gross profit margin / net profit margin
- Working capital ( Current assets minus current liabilities)
- Debt-to-equity ratio (total debt/total equity)
What is a debt-to-equity ratio?
Solvency ratio which measures how much a company finances itself using debt as opposed to equity
What is the acid test?
Type of liquidity ratio
→ measures the ability of a company to use its near cash or quick assets to extinguish or retire its current liabilities immediately
What is ROCE?
Return on capital employed
→ compares the relative profitability of a company after taking into account the amount of capital used
What is the working capital ratio?
Working capital ratio = current assets / current liabilities
→ assess companies liquidity
What is the gearing ratio?
Compares some form of owner equity (or capital) to funds borrowed by the company (debt-to-equity ratio - debt/shareholders equity)
What are net assets?
Value of a companies assets minus its liabilities
What is net assets per share?
An expression of net asset value that represents the value per share of a mutual fund or an exchange-traded fund
Can you tell me what the role of an auditor is?
Inspect organisations’ financial accounts to ensure they’re correct and comply with the law
When are audited accounts needed and why?
All UK companies require an audit, except for ‘small companies’ with turnover below £10.2m or total assets below £5.1m (or less than 50 employees)
Needed because it is require by law and provides a high level of assurance to shareholders
Do public limited companies need an audit?
Yes, PLC must get their annual financial statements audited each year by independent auditors or accountants as prescribed in section 143 of the Companies Act 2013
Tell me something you understand from the Companies Act 2006
- Replaced Companies Act 1985 and aims to improve shareholders rights, modernise and simplify corporate law
→ one of the largest acts in history with over 1300 sections
→ primary source of UK company law
What are the International Accounting Standards (IAS) ?
Previous accounting standards - replaced in 2001 by the IFRS
Why was IFRS introduced to replace IAS?
- Easier to compare businesses around the world and increase transparency and trust in financial reporting
- Foster global trade and investment
What is IFRS?
International Financial Reporting Standards
What is the difference between UK GAAP and IFRS?
FRS 102 is the most commonly used UK GAAP accounting standard and is more cost effective than IFRS
IFRS is internationally used
→ Differences in lease and investment property
What is the basis of valuation under IFRS 13?
Fair value
What is fair value?
The price that would be receieved to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date
What is IFRS 16?
International accounting model that specifies how leases are recognised in financial statements
Single leaseholder accounting model - Leaseholders required to recognise leases as assets and liabilities in their financial statements
What is the objective of IFRS 16?
- Ensure that leaseholders provide relevant information that represents their lease
- Assess the effect that leases have on the financial position, financial performance and cash flows of an entity.
What is the result of IFRS 16 accounting?
- Increase in assets, liabilities and net debt where leases are brought onto the balance sheet
- Affects key accounting and financial ratios impacting a companies attractiveness and ability to raise finance
- Might result in entities taking shorter leases to reduce nebt debt on the balance sheet
WHat has changes in relation to lease accounting / IFRS 16?
CHanges the accounting substantially for lessees → eliminates a lessees classificaiton of leases as either operating leases or finance leases
When did IFRS 16 changes come into effect?
1st January 2019
What is FRS 102?
The financial reporting standard applicable in UK and Ireland
→ designed to apply to the general prupose financial statements and financial reporting of entities including those that are not constitutes as companies and those that are not-profit orientated
What changes have been made to FRS 102?
Changes in the definition of intangible assets → greater range of intangible assets recognised
Companies required to account for holiday and sick pay liabilities at each year end → for example, employees carrying over holiday recognised as a liability on the balance sheet
How have FRS 102 changes affected investment property?
Investment property is measured at fair value at each reporting date with changes in fair value recognised in profit or loss
→ will require a valuation exercise in practice → instruction of a valuation expert
What are statutory accounts?
Also known as financial statements or year-end accounts
→ Drawn up to report various financial measures and related disclosures for filing with companies house
Why is good financial record keeping important to you?
- Makes budgetting easier
- Important for tax purposes
- Prevents fraud and theft
- Helps to efficiently manage cash flow
- Makes management easier
Tell me 3 ways you ensure that Client money is handled properly?
- Kept in a seperate account with word ‘client’ in the account name and distinct identifier of client
- Have in clear writing, confirmation from the bank that client money in the account is not to be transferred or combined
- Ensure account details are provided to clients and that money is immediatley available
What RICS guidance or schemes do you adhere to in relation to Client money?
RICS Client Money Handling, 2019 (professional statement)
RICS Client Money Protection Scheme, 2019
Explain your understanding of the VAT domestic reverse charge for building and construction services
The VAT domestic reverse charge procedure is an anti-fraud measure designed to counter criminla attacks on the UK VAT system
→ customers are able to charge themselves VAT and pay it directly to HMRC, rather than the supplier sending them an invoice at a later date
When do changes to the reverse charge apply from?
1st March 2021 - to include Building and Construction Services