Financial Accounting Flashcards
Accounting
-is the information system that identifies, records, and communicates the economic events of an organization to interested users.
Internal Users
- are managers who plan, organize and run a business.
ex: marketing managers, production supervisors, finance directors.
External Users
- for investment, credit decision and reporting purposes.
- are investors, creditors, tax authorities, labor unions, regulatory agencies, stockholders, donors.
Sole Proprietorship
- easy to establish
- owner controlled
- tax advantage: profit of the business is taxed on owner’s personal tax return.
- disadvantage: personally liable for all debts and legal obligations of the business.
Partnership
- simple to establish
- shared control
- broader skills and resources
- tax advantage: individual partners pay taxes on their proportionate shares of the profit.
- disadvantage: personally liable for all debts and legal obligations of the business.
Corporation
- easier to transfer ownership
- easier to raise funds
- no personal liabilities
- disadvantage: double taxation (pay higher taxes)
Investors
-use accounting information to make decisions to buy, hold, or sell stock.
Creditors
- ex: suppliers and bankers
- use accounting information to evaluate the risks of selling on credit or lending money.
Tax Authorities
- ex: IRS
- want to know whether the company complies with the tax laws.
Labor Unions
-want to know whether the owners have the ability to pay wages and benefits.
Regulatory Agencies
- ex: SEC
- want to know whether the company is operating with the prescribed rule.
Income Statement
Revenues
- Expenses
= Net Income/Loss
- “specific period of time”–> “For the month/year ended”
- amount received from issuing stocks are NOT revenue.
- amount paid out as dividends are NOT expenses.
Retained Earnings Statement
Retained Earnings Jan 1
+ Net Income/Loss
- Dividends
= Retained Earnings Dec 31
-the amounts and causes of change in retained earnings.
-“specific period of time”–> “For the month/year ended”
-high growth companies (like google & facebook) often pay no dividends.
-
Balance Sheet
Assets = Liabities + Stockholder’s Equity
- “specific date”–> “Oct 31. 2017”
- claims of creditors are called liabilities/debt.
- claims of owners are called stockholder’s equity.
Statement of Cash Flows
Cash flows from operating activities \+ Cash flows from investing activities \+ Cash flows from financing activities = Net Increased/Decreased in cash \+ Cash at beginning of year = Cash at end of year
- provide financial information about the cash receipts and cash payments of a business.
- “specific period of time”–> “For the month/year ended”
Accounting Information System
- collecting and processing transaction data and communicating financial information to decision makers.
- keeps track of the result of each of the various business activities (operating, investing, financing).
Operating Activities accounts
- Revenue: Sales Revenue, Service Revenue, Interest Revenue.
- Expense: COGS, Selling Expenses, Marketing Expenses, Administrative Expenses, Interest Expenses, Income Taxes.
- Payable: Account Payable, Interest Payable, Wages Payable, Sales Taxes Payable, Property Taxes Payable, Income Taxes Payable.
- activities that affects the status of current asset.
ex: sell products & services, make inventory purchases, pay taxes, incur employee salaries, incur utility and other operating expenses.
Investing Activities
- involves the purchase of the sources a company needs in order to operate.
- ex: assets, PPE, cash, investments.
- activities that affect the status of non current asset.
ex: buy/sell PPE, long term investment, intangible asses.
Financing Activities
- debt financing and issuing of stock are two primary sources of outside funds for corporations.
- activities that affect the status of non current liabilities and stockholder’s equity.
ex: sell/repurchase own stock, borrow money/repay loans, sell/retire bonds, pay dividends.
Debt Securities
-company issues bonds (a type of debt securities) to its creditors.
Bonds Payable
-debt securities sold to investors that must be repaid at a particular date in the future.
Common Stock
-the total amount paid in by stockholders for the shares they purchased.
Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A)
-management’s view on the company’s ability to pay near-term obligations, its ability to fund operations and expansion, and its results of operations.
Notes To The Financial Statement
-help to clarify the financial statements and provide additional detail. These notes are essential to understanding a company’s operating performance and financial position.
Auditor’s Report
-prepared by an independent outside auditor. It states the auditor’s opinion as to the fairness of the presentation of the financial position and results of operations and their conformance with GAAP.
Auditors
-an accounting professional who conducts an independent examination of a company’s financial statements.
Unqualified Opinion
-the auditor is satisfied that the financial statements provide a fair representation of the company’s financial position and results of operations in accordance with GAAP.
Classified Balance Sheet
-groups together similar assets and liabilities, using a number of standard classifications and sections.
Assets: Current~, Noncurrent~, LT Investments, PPE, Intangible~
Liabilities: Current~, LT~
Stockholder’s Equity: Contributed Capital, Retained Earnings
Current Assets
-assets that company expects to convert to cash or use up within one year or its operating cycle, whichever is longer.
Operating Cycle
-the time it takes to go from cash back to cash.
Long-Term Investment
- investments in stock and bonds of other corporations that are held for more than 1 year.
- LT assets (ex: land and building) that the company is not currently using in its operating activities.
- LT note receivables.
PPE
- Plant Property Equipment.
- tangible LT assets used in a business’s day to day operations.
Depreciation
-the allocation of the cost of an asset to a number of years.
Accumulated Depreciation
-the total amount of depreciation that company has expensed thus far in the asset’s life.
Intangible Assets
-assets that do not physical substances.
Current Liabilities
- are obligations that the company is to pay within the next year or operating cycle, whichever is longer.
ex: note payable, account payable, current portion of LT debt.