Financial Intelligence Book Flashcards
Accruals
An accrual is the portion of a revenue or expense item that is recorded in a particular time span. Product development costs, for instance, are likely to be spread out over several accounting periods, and so a portion of the total cost will be accrued each month. The purpose of accruals is to match costs to revenues in a given time period as accurately as possible.
Allocations
Allocations are apportionments of costs to different departments or activities within a company. For instance, overhead costs such as the CEO’s salary are often allocated to the company’s operating units.
Depreciation
Depreciation is the method accountants use to allocate the cost of equipment and other assets to the total cost of products and services as shown on the income statement. It is based on the same idea as accruals: we want to match as closely as possible the costs of our products and services with what was sold. Most capital investments other than land are depreciated. Accountants attempt to spread the cost of the expenditure over the useful life of the item.
Goodwill
Goodwill comes into play when one company acquires another company. It is the difference between the net assets acquired (that is, the fair market value of the assets less the assumed liabilities) and the amount of money the acquiring company pays for them. For example, if a company’s net assets are valued at $1 million and the acquirer pays $3 million, then goodwill of $2 million goes onto the acquirer’s balance sheet. That $2 million reflects all the value that is not reflected in the acquiree’s tangible assets—for example, its name, reputation, and so on.
Balance sheet
The balance sheet reflects the assets, liabilities, and owners’ equity at a point in time. In other words, it shows, on a specific day, what the company owned, what it owed, and how much it was worth. The balance sheet is called such because it balances—assets always must equal liabilities plus owners’ equity. A financially savvy manager knows that all the financial statements ultimately flow to the balance sheet.
Cash
Cash as presented on the balance sheet means the money a company has in the bank, plus anything else (like stocks and bonds) that can readily be turned into cash. Really, it’s that simple. Later we’ll discuss measures of cash flow. For now, just know that when companies talk about cash, it really is the cold, hard stuff.
The matching principle
The matching principle is a fundamental accounting rule for preparing an income statement. It simply states, “Match the cost with its associated revenue to determine profits in a given period of time—usually a month, quarter, or year.” In other words, one of the accountants’ primary jobs is to figure out and properly record all the costs incurred in generating sales.
Cost of sales
Cost of sales includes actual product cost, the cost of transportation to the Company’s warehouses, stores and clubs from suppliers, the cost of transportation from the Company’s warehouses to the stores and clubs and the cost of warehousing for our Sam’s Club segment and import distribution centers.
Sales
Sales or revenue is the dollar value of all the products or services a company provided to its customers during a given period of time.
Income statement
The income statement shows revenues, expenses, and profit for a period of time, such as a month, quarter, or year. It’s also called a profit and loss statement, P&L, statement of earnings, or statement of operations. Sometimes the word consolidated is thrown in front of those phrases, but it’s still just an income statement. The bottom line of the income statement is net profit, also known as net income or net earnings.
Operating expenses
Operating expenses are the costs required to keep the business going from day to day. They include salaries, benefits, and insurance costs, among a host of other items. Operating expenses are listed on the income statement and are subtracted from revenue to determine profit.
Capital expenditures
A capital expenditure is the purchase of an item that’s considered a long-term investment, such as computer systems and equipment. Most companies follow the rule that any purchase over a certain dollar amount counts as a capital expenditure, while anything less is an operating expense. Operating expenses show up on the income statement, and thus reduce profit. Capital expenditures show up on the balance sheet; only the depreciation of a piece of capital equipment appears on the income statement.
One big rule about income statements
Remember that many numbers on the income statement reflect estimates and assumptions. Accountants have decided to include some transactions here and not there. They have decided to estimate one way and not another.
Earnings per share
Earnings per share (EPS) is a company’s net profit divided by the number of shares outstanding. It’s one of the numbers that Wall Street watches most closely. Wall Street has “expectations” for many companies’ EPS, and if the expectations aren’t met, the share price is likely to drop.
Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) and Cost of Services (COS)
Cost of goods sold or cost of services is one category of expenses. It includes all the costs directly involved in producing a product or delivering a service.
