Financial Management Flashcards
Questions
Answers
1.2.1 Define the term business entity. (p. 11)
Any business organization that exists as an economic unit
1.2.2 What is a single proprietor? (p.11)
Someone who is in business for themselves and the business is unincorporated
1.2.3 Define the term partnership. (p.11)
This is a business owned by two or more persons and the business is unincorporated
1.2.4 What is a corporation? (p.12)
This is a business that has been incorporated and is owned by stockholders
1.3.1 Why is it important for a Fleet Manager to have a firm grasp of accounting? (p.12)
Fleet Managers are aware that external reporting may affect how decisions are made inside an organization
1.3.2 What is an audit? (p.14-15)
2 Types - Internal: aimed at ensuring compliance to organizational operating procedures / External: The goal of an external audit is to ensure compliance with external reporting standards
1.4.1 What information can be used to help in the vehicle acquisition decision? (p. 21)
Acquisition decisions require information from both external reporting and internal management system
1.4.2 What does a cost accounting system track and what information can it provide? (p.21)
Tracks vehicle operating (fuel,maintenance, administration), as well as fixed (depreciation) costs
1.4.3 What information does the Fleet Manager need to make the lease vs. owndecision? (p.22)
Cost Based Approach provides the necessafy info to make the decision
1.5.1 What is a chart of accounts? (p.24)
Meant to define how money, or the equivalent, is spent or received. It is used to organize the finances of the organization and to segregate expenditures, revenue, assets, and liabilities.
1.5.2 Define the term asset. (p.24)
Anything tangible or intangible that is capable of being owned or controlled to produce value
1.5.3 What are the three categories of assets? (p.24-25)
- Short Term (Cash) 2. Long Term (bonds / Stocks) 3. Intangible (copyright / trademark)
1.5.4 Define the term liability. (p.25)
A debt and obligation of an organization.
1.5.5 What are the two categories of liabilities? (p.25)
- Short Term (Usually settled within 1 year / AP, Taxes paid) 2. Long Term (not expected to be settled within one year). ( Notes payable, long-term leases, pension) obligations, product warranties, bonds, etc)
1.5.6 Define the terms income/revenue. (p.25)
Income: Income is reported on an organization’s income statement Revenue: (revenue is the amount of money that is brought into an organization)
1.5.7 Define the term expense. (p.25)
Decrease in economic benefit during an accounting period - Examples are: Depreciation, salaries, supplies, interest expenses, etc
1.6.1 What is depreciation and what methods can be used to calculate it? (p.28)
Declining in Value / The transfer of the value of an asset shown on the balance sheet to the income statement in the form of an expense
1.6.2 How do you calculate straight line depreciation? (p.28-29)
Need the number of years this asset is expected to last and what the asset’s expected value will be at the end of its useful life - purchased a van for $25,000 and expects it to last for 5 years. At the end of those 5 years, the salvage value is $10,000. Therefore the asset needs to be depreciated $15,000 over the next 5 years.
1.6.3 How would you calculate depreciation using the Double Declining BalanceMethod? (p.27-28)
Under the Straight Line Method, this asset depreciated at 20% per year. In this method, we will ‘double’ that to 40% in the early years.
2.1.1 Why is it important to track vehicle expenses? (p.33)
- It provides guidance to fleet management personnel in classification of vehicle expenses for internal control and management 2. It provides common standards to measure the effectiveness of cost controls
2.1.2 Describe the RACE system. (p.33)
Recommended Automobile Classification Expenses (RACE) system
2.1.3 Describe fixed expenses and give some examples that are common in fleets.(p.33-34)
Costs are those expenses that will incur by just having a vehicle ( Depreciation, Insurance, Tax)
2.1.4 What are the “rules of thumb” when deciding whether an expense is fixed or not?(p.34)
- Veh. Just sits in lot Fixed
- Add Upfit and it sits in Lot (Upfit is part of - Capital of unit
- Purchased veh, needs refurbishment, and the cost of refurbishing
the vehicle is more than 50% of its value , then cost of refurbishment is considered part of a - recapitalization cost. - Purchased a veh. needs refurbishment, and the cost of the refurbishment
is less than 50% of the vehicle’s value
(operational) - because it’s still in use
2.1.5 What are operating expenses? (p.34-35)
Anything or item that is consumed during the course of the vehicle’s life
2.1.6 List some common fleet operating expenses. (p.35)
Fuel - Oil - Tires - Maintainance
2.1.7 Should vehicle repairs and refurbishment be considered operating expenses?(p.35)
Yes, if less than 50% of value and still in use
2.1.8 What are incidental expenses? (p.35-36)
Everything else, i.e. carwashes, Floor mats,
2.1.9 Explain other terminology for expenses that may be used in fleets? (p.36)
- Direct Costs: operating costs, or the costs that can be linked directly to fleet operations
- Indirect Costs: includes some of the fixed and the incidental categories of fleet expenses
- Overhead Costs: indirect costs
2.2.1 What is a cost allocation system? (p.36)
System deals with linking costs or groups of costs with one or more cost objectives, such as products, departments, or divisions ( cost center)
2.2.2 What does the Cost Allocation Spectrum illustrate? (p.36)
The array of approaches available for cost allocation
2.2.3 Describe the positions identified on the Cost Allocation Spectrum. (p.37)
A. organizations do not track the costs of fleet operations / Central Budget* SMALL FLEET
B: similar to A except that they know the majority of their costs
C. fleets know their costs and allocate them to customers, but do not recover from their customers by billing
D. fleets know and allocate operating costs and bill customers for them general (capital)
E. fleet departments know, allocate and bill for the majority of operating and capital costs related to fleet
F. fleets have a comprehensive system that tracks even incidental and all overhead costs
2.3.1 What is a General Fund? (p.37-38)
Annul Budget - The general fund may be sufficient to cover only capitalization costs, or all capital, operating, and incidental expenses of fleet operations
2.3.2 What are the determining factors in adopting a General Fund? (p.38)
- Type of Organization 2. Management Goals
2.3.3 What is an Internal Service Fund (ISF)? (p.38)
Financing of goods and services provided by one department or unit to other departments or units of the same organization on a cost reimbursement basis
2.3.4 What types of organizations use an ISF? (p.38)
Government
2.3.5 What is an Enterprise Fund? (p.38)
Similar to ISF but at least some of the customers are external.
2.3.6 What types of organizations use an Enterprise Fund? (p.38-39)
Airports, Ambulance parking
2.3.7 What three steps can an organization take to improve knowledge of fleet costs?(p.39)
- w/ Sr. Management, determine it’s position on Spectrum and ideal position for the future
- Identify any impediments to moving to that ideal position
- Implement cost accounting processes to allow it to reach to that position
2.3.8 What are common hurdles to an organization achieving an identified goal? (p.39-40)
- Behavioral: ( attitudes )
- Technical: lack of all info needed
- Structural: Lack of Distinction, lines of authority
2.3.9 What four steps should an organization take once it is ready to implement a cost accounting system? (p.40)
- Develop an activity dictionary
- Determine Spending
- Identify the Org’s products, services, and customers,
- Select Activity cost Drivers, that link activity costs to the Organizations produces, services, and customers
3.1.1 Describe some of the administrative tasks involved in purchasing a vehicle.(p.43)
Manage L&T, PPT
3.1.2 Describe the debt purchasing method. (p.43-44)
companies use debt as a part of their overall corporate financial strategy. Companies may use any one or a combination of all types of debt to finance vehicle acquisitions
3.1.3 List some of the other considerations involved in purchasing with debt. (p.44)
Equity securities do not ensure any payment to investors by the issuer - Bond prices are determined by the market
3.1.4 What are secured and unsecured debts? (p.44)
Secured: if creditors have recourse to the assets of the company on a proprietary basis, or otherwise ahead of general claims against the company
Unsecured debt: consists of financial obligations where creditors do not have recourse to the assets of the borrower to satisfy their claims
3.1.5 What is the difference between a public and private debt? (p.44)
Private Debt: Bank type loans Public Debt: General description covering all finiancial instruments tahat are freely tradable on public exchange
3.1.6 What is a term loan? (p.44)
Basic Loan / Simples form of Debt - consists of an agreement to lend a fixed amount of money, called the principal sum, for a fixed period of time, with this amount to be repaid by a certain date
3.1.7 What is a syndicated loan? (p.44)
A loan that is granted to companies that wish to borrow more money than any single lender is prepared to risk in a single loan
3.1.8 What are bonds, and how are they used? (p.45)
debt securities issued by certain institutions and are one of the three main asset classes, along with stock and cash equivalents - Many companies, municipalities, states and foreign governments issue bonds to investors in a marketplace when they wish to borrow money for the purpose of financing a variety of projects for a defined period of time at a fixed interest rate
3.1.9 What are stocks? (p.45)
While bonds are debt securities, stocks are considered as equity for the holder with ownership interest and no contractual obligation
3.1.10 What is mezzanine financing? (p.45)
Refers to a subordinated debt or preferred equity instrument, often used by smaller companies, that represents a claim on a company’s assets, which is senior only to that of the common shares. Mezzanine financing can be structured either as debt (typically an unsecured and subordinated note) or preferred stock.
3.1.11 Describe some other options to finance debt. (p.46)
• Securitization – This occurs when illiquid assets are put through a financial process to transform them into a security. An example would be Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS), which is an asset-backed security secured by a collection of mortgages.
• Treasuries– A United States Treasury security is a government debt issued by the US Department of the Treasury, and comes in four types: Treasury bills, Treasury notes, Treasury bonds, and Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS).
• Swaps - Typically, a swap contract exchanges fixed rate obligations for afloating rate instrument in the same currency. In its simplest form, the two parties to an interest rate swap exchange their interest payment obligations
(no principal changes hands) on two different kinds of debt instruments, one being a fixed interest rate, the other being a floating rate.
• Certificate of Deposit (CD) – Is issued by commercial banks as a promissory
3.2.1 Define the term lease. (p.46)
A lease is a rental that, by contract, is clearly defined as to length, cost and stipulations
3.2.2 What four questions should be asked in order to categorize leases? (p.46-47)
• Does the ownership (title) transfer at the end of the lease?
• Does the lease contain an option to purchase the asset at a bargain price?
• Is the term of the lease at least 75% of the estimated economic life of the asset?
• Is the present value of the future minimum lease payments at least 90% of
the fair market value of the asset?
3.2.3 What is a capital lease? (p.47)
Is classified and accounted for by the lessee as a purchase and by the lessor as a sale or financing transaction - AKA Finance Lease / Direct Lease
3.2.4 What is the difference between a finance lease and direct financing lease?(p.47)
Finance Lease sometimes referred to as Lease-purchase) Lessee responsible for Maint. - Direct Financing Lease - Leaseplan
3.2.5 What is an operating lease? (p.47-48)
organizations that continually update or replace equipment, want to use equipment without ownership and want to return equipment at lease-end to avoid technological obsolescence
3.2.6 What are the advantages to using an operating lease? (p.48)
Excellent strategy for bypassing capital budgeting restraints - Under an operating lease, the leased asset is not considered an asset of the lessee; the lessee records the asset as an operating expense
3.2.7 Describe several types of operating leases. (p.48-49)
Open-End: Open-end leases account for 95% of all leases / unlike the closed-end lease, the lessee accepts the risk for; the residual value of a vehicle when sold at lease termination
Close End: The lessor assumes full risk for the re marketing of the vehicle. Closed-end leases are also known as “walk-away leases” or “net leases” and may also include vehicle. maintenance and/or insurance clauses. The organization never takes ownership of vehicles under this financing arrangement
- TRAC: Terminal Rental Adjustment This type of open-end lease may have significant tax advantages for non-public lessees Clause
3.2.8 Describe lease term. (p.49-50)
The lease term is defined as the contractual term plus renewals where the lessee has a “significant economic incentive” to exercise the options.
3.2.9 What consists of an estimated lease payment? (p.50)
Includes interim rents, contractual rents, renewal and purchase options
3.2.10 What are residual guarantees? (p.50)
Estimated payments (not the full amount of the guarantee) under residual guarantees are booked as an estimated payment with review and adjustment at each reporting date.
3.2.11 What are short term leases? (p.50-51)
12 months or less / Eligible for charge-off
3.2.12 What are four methods to identify lease types for lessors? (p.51)
• The “receivable & residual” (R&R) method is to be used for all leases of the entire asset to one lessee. This method produces results much like
direct finance lease accounting for third party equipment;
• Short-term leases may upon election be accounted for using the current GAAP operating lease method.
• Investment properties (land and buildings) for qualifying real estate lessors that are investment companies use the “investment properties” method, that is, operating lease accounting with fair valuing of the leased asset, and
• A “multi-lessee” exception allowing lessors in leases of investment property (commercial real estate) to use existing operating lease accounting.
3.2.14 What is floating rate financing? (p.52)
With floating rate financing, base rates are set each billing cycle, based on the prevailing rates at the time.
3.2.15 Describe fixed rate financing. (p.52)
fixed rate financing set the interest rate at time of lease inception, and do not vary it throughout the lease term
3.2.16 Describe the major lease fees to be aware of. (p. 53)
Admin - Lease Markup - Interest rounding - Issueance - Interem Rent
3.2.17 What two types of leases fall under from a tax accounting perspective? (p.53)
The first is the True Tax Lease (or “True Lease”) where the lessor is the owner of the equipment (in regards to federal income tax purposes) and receives the tax benefits of ownership, including depreciation and tax credits - The second is the Non Tax Lease. With regard to tax purposes, this lease is treated as if it were a purchase or a loan. In other words, the lessee receives the same tax benefits as ownership, including claiming depreciation and interest
3.2.18 What must be true for a lease to be a non-tax lease? (p.53-54)
any of the following are true:
• Any part of the lease payment is applied to an equity position in the asset leased.
• The lessee will, by default, acquire ownership (title) of the equipment upon payment of a specified amount of “rental payments” he or she makes.
• Over a short period of time the equipment is used, the total amount that a lessee pays is an exceedingly large proportion of the total sum required to outright buy the equipment.
• The agreed upon payments exceed the current fair rental value.
• At the time any purchase option may be exercised, the title to the equipment
may be acquired for an exceedingly small purchase option price in relation
to the actual value of the equipment.
• Any portion of the lease payments are specifically designated as interest
(or its equivalent.)
3.3.1 What should the Fleet Manager consider when making the decision to rent or not.(p.54)
Type of vehicle required - Time Required - Cost
3.3.2 What is the largest benefit of renting over leasing or purchasing? (p.54)
No long Term Obligation
3.3.3 What are the basic guidelines for vehicle rental? (p.54)
• Replace vehicles that are being repaired or undergoing scheduled maintenance inspections,
• Meet requirements during peak periods,
• Meet infrequent specialty requirements,
• A business case demonstrates that renting is the best option.
3.4.1 List some alternatives to providing an employee with a permanent vehicle. (p.55)
REIMBURSEMENT - Rentals
3.4.2 What should a fleet policy contain when considering a mix of reimbursement andemployee provided vehicles? (p.55-56)
Low Mileage Drivers - High Employee Turnover - Temp Drivers - New Hires (Allowance or rental pending unit assignment - Startup companies ( low capital)
3.4.3 What are the three types of reimbursement programs? (p.56)
Mileage Reimbursement - Fixed Allowance - Fixed and Variable Reimbursement. (Cent/ mile)
3.4.4 Why have some companies switched from flat allowances to accountable plan allowance programs? (p.56)
Disadvantage for low mileage drivers - doesn’t account for Terrain
3.4.5 What is the dual reimbursement rate? (p.57)
employees qualify for reimbursement at a higher rate (typically the IRS rate) if no organization-provided vehicles are available for/applicable to the employees’ travel needs, but receive reimbursement at a reduced rate if they decline to use vehicles provided by the organization (such as assigned, shared-use or motor pool vehicles).
3.4.6 What criteria must a vehicle mileage reimbursement plan meet in order to be deemed non-taxable? (p.57-58)
• Business Connection - The costs being covered via the allowance and/or
reimbursement must be incurred in connection with business purposes
• Substantiation - Employee must provide information sufficient to substantiate the amount, time, place and business purpose of the expense, and
• Employer Reimbursement - An allowance arrangement must require an employee to return to his or her employer within a reasonable period of time any amount paid under the arrangement in excess of the expenses ubstantiated.
3.4.7 What are the two tax free programs in the US? (p.58)
Flat rate Per mile - Accountable Allowance Plan
3.4.8 What is the IRS standard mileage rate? (p.58)
intended to be a deduction guideline for taxpayers who opt for a standard deduction in lieu of tracking business vehicle expenses diligently
3.4.9 What criteria must an allowance plan meet in order for it to be non-taxable to the employee? (p.58-59)
• Reasonably calculated, not to exceed the amount of the expenses or the anticipated expenses;
• Provided on a uniform and objective basis with respect to expenses
• Periodically paid at a rate that combines a fixed rate and a variable rate; and
• Be consistently applied in accordance with reasonable business practices
3.4.10 What is a fixed and variable rate allowance plan? (p.59)
FAVR / Fixed Allowance