Financial Accounting Flashcards
What is accounting
Process of identifying measuring and communicating economic information to permit informed judgement and decisions by users of the information
What is financial accounting
provides information to users outside the organisation, the information is contained in an annual report that is published by the organisation
provides information about the financial position what an organisation owns and owes
the field of accounting that deals with the preparation of financial statements that are to be used by users external to an organisation
what does the annual report of financial accounting assume
users have some business and accounting knowledge
who uses financial accounting
investing in shares - will there be dividends, share price go up
buying or selling to another company asses reliability for payments of delivery ethical standards
seeking employment - wages and salaries staff retention, directors pay, social responsibilities future plans
governments tax revenue, executive pay, diversity, social responsibility
What is the annual report
all incorporated businesses must produce an annual report for the shareholders of the company, the annual report is used to make economic decisions so the information is verified by an external audit
What is an audit
independent examination of the financial statements to establish that they show a true and fair view , does not guarantee that they are correct just true, and does not cover all info in annual report
What is an income statement
profit and loss account, info on financial performance of a company
What is on an income statement
revenue, cost of sales, gross profit, distribution expenses, administration expenses, operating profit, other incomes, finance charges, profit before tax, tax, profit of the year
What is gross profit
as revenue and cost of sales does not include any one off items, tells you how well core business is doing, compares revenue from selling the product directly with the cost of the production of it
How do you calculate gross profit
Revenue - cost of sales
what is operating profit
Highlights the profit the business has generated from its operation, more volatile than gross profit figure (as one off purchases) successful business will try and keep tight control of administration and distribution expenses
how you calculate operating profit
gross profit - (distribution + administration expenses costs)
What is profit before tax
operating profit plus other income that is not from the business such as rent dividends or interest received
How do you calculate profit before tax
gross profit + other income - finance charges
What is profit for the year and how is it calculated
profit for the year - profit after tax
What is inventory
=stock=unsold items, adjusting for unsold items will mean there are the same number of items in sales as there in costs of sales, good the company intend to sell but havent sold yet, will comprise of finished, part finished (work in progress) and raw materials. combination of all three to provide inventory figure
How do you calculate cost of sales
opening inventory + purchases - closing inventory + production costs
Profit does not equal
cash results
how do you calculate gross profit percentages
gross profit/sales x100
what does profit reflect
the actual performance of each sale
why is cash important
needed for a business to survive
What does profit do
it gives a fair reflection of actual performance it is based on the accruals (matching principle)
What are accruals
accruals revenues and expenses are recognised when they are earned and incurred not when cash flows in or out of the company
How are profits smoothed
using the accruals principle
When will costs be included on the income statement
when they have been used to make profits
When something is purchased how will charged against revenue
only a portion will initially charged against revenue as an expense ie when you purchase a machine for 30,000 to be used for 3 year, 30,000 cash will leave the business, 10,000 per year for 3 years is take of the profit figure as an expense
What is the issues with how costs are included on the income statement
a business may go bankrupt or have liquidity problems initially or during an expansion but still show a profit
how long will you estimate something to be used for
an accounting estimates as is that it will be used up equally
What is the statement of financial position
or balance sheet, shows the worth of a company its format is based on the accounting equation assets = liabilities + equity
Assets are
resources that are controlled by an entity that are expected to bring economic benefit split into two groups current and non current
liabilities are
an obligation of an entity arising from past event the settlement of which involves the transfer of resources
Equity represents
the residual interest in the assets of the entity after deducting all the liabilities
what are the two sides the statement of financial position
one side are assets (everything owned by the company) and the other is everything owed by the company both to the owners of the company and third parties such as banks
What is an example of a non current asset
land and buildings, plant and machinery, motor vehicles, intangible assets
are to be owned for longer than 12 months
What is an example of a current asset
inventories, trade receivables, prepayment (bills payed in advance), cash
owned at the reporting date but are to be used by the business to make profits in the next 12 months
Equation of total assets
current assets plus non current assets
What is equity made up of
share capital, share premium, revaluation reserve, retained earnings
What are non current liabilities made up of
debentures, loans. Due after 12 months
What are current liabilities
trade payables, tax, overdraft. Due within the next 12 months
Does the statement of financial positon show the worth of a company
no the assets appear at original cost less depreciation - they do no appear at market value
and items for which no cash has been paid cannot be included, but ideas people and reputation would be included in a valuation of the business
For all incorporated businesses what must be made
an annual report (produced for the shareholders0
How can an incorporated business be registered
as a private limited company (Ltd) as a public limited company (plc)
what is the advantage of being a plc
a plc can offer its shares for sale to the general public but an ltd can not
this can be done on the stock exchange, these can then retraded meaning the ownership of a plc may be constantly changing,
who may hold shares
individuals may hold shares but it is pension funds, insurance companies and other financial institutions which hold large blocks of shares
What are the four main areas of a financial report
the income statement
the statement of financial positon
the statement of changes in equity
the statement of cash flow
What regulates the annual report
statutory regulations - company acts and european union directives
accounting standards - UK accounting standards board and international
stock exchange regulation more frequent and more detail reporting
what is in the 2006 companies acts
requirements to prepare annual accounts prepared in accordance with either international or national accounting standards
details when an audit is required
outlines the company’s duty to file circulate the annual report
What does separate entity mean
in company law, the company is a person in it own right, separate legal identity, it is the company that will sue and can be sued
What does double entity mean
Every transaction that company enters into affects two accounts