HBX- Accounting 3 Flashcards
Journey from identifying a transaction to creating a financial statement

Real Accounts
(Also name other names)
Real Accounts/Permanent Accounts/Stock Measures
Accounts which contain cumulative balances since the inception of the business. The balances in these accounts flow from one accounting period to the next. Real accounts include all asset, liability, and owners’ equity accounts and may also be referred to as permanent accounts or Balance Sheet accounts.
Nominal Accounts
(Also name other names)
Nominal Accounts/Temporary Accounts/Flow Accounts
Accounts that are reset to zero at the end of each accounting period. Nominal accounts include all revenue and expense accounts, and may also be referred to as temporary accounts or Income Statement accounts. The net balance of nominal accounts is transferred to retained earnings at the end of each accounting period.
How Real & Nominal Accounts are Organized on a Trial Balance Sheet

Are Revenues and Expenses actually equity or not?
Revenues and expenses impact the owners’ equity part of the accounting equation. However, revenues and expenses are not just a subcategory of equity accounts. Rather, they are each their own account types. The distinction between owners’ equity as compared with revenues and expenses is contained in the definition of real versus nominal accounts itself.
Owners’ equity accounts, like common stock and retained earnings, are real or permanent accounts. This means they go on the balance sheet and maintain a cumulative balance over time. Revenue and expense accounts, on the other hand, are nominal or temporary accounts. This means they go on the income statement and reflect activity over a period of time.
Balance Sheet
Balance Sheet = FINANCIAL POSITION
Financial report that shows the financial position of a company at a specific point in time-they literally have a specific date on them.; a snapshot of the resources that are owned or controlled by company, and how those resources were financed. The balance sheet shows the balance of all asset, liability, and equity accounts as of a given date.
Difference between a trial balance and a balance sheet.
a trial balance is much more detailed than the info on the balance sheet.
(Because of materiality)

Materiality
Materiality
Something is considered to be material if it is reasonably likely to impact the decision-making of those who are using the accounting data or financial reports. Businesses are only required to do detailed record-keeping and reporting for items that are material.
What are the Typical Sections of a Balance Sheet?
Typical Sections of a Balance Sheet Are:
- Current Assets
- Non-Current Assets
- Current Liabilities
- Non Current Liabilities
- Owner’s Equity
At the beginning of a financial period- there should be nothing on the balance sheet for nominal accounts- because they start at 0.

US GAAP STANDARDS: Order for a Balance Sheet
Assets
- Current Assets- Assets that are expected to be converted into cash within one year (Cash, Cash Equivalents, Accounts Receivable, Inventory, Other Current assets)
- Non-Current Assets- those that the business will hold for more than 1 year (Equipment or a building)
Liabilities
- Current- Liabilities that are due within one year
- Non-current Liabilities- those that are due in more than 1 year
Equity
The US uses LIQUIDITY- The order accounts in “how quickly and easily they can be converted into cash” for Assets & likely to be paid the soonest first for liabilities.
IFRS Balance Sheet Order
Equity (the order of this section is the SAME that it is in the US)
Liabilities (ORDER- Likely to be paid the soonest LAST )
- Non-Current Liabilities- those that are due in more than 1 year
- Current Liabilites- Liabilities that are due within one year
Assets
- Non-Current Assets- those that the business will hold for more than 1 year (Equipment or a building)
- Current Assets- Assets that are expected to be converted into cash within one year (Cash, Cash Equivalents, Accounts Receivable, Inventory, Other Current assets)
Is a Note Receivable a Current or Non-Current Asset?
Notes Receivable (Short Term)- Notes Receivable is an asset that arises when a business issues a promissory note to another business. Essentially, it is a loan recorded from the lender’s point of view. A portion or all of the note receivable may be recorded in the current assets or non-current assets section of the balance sheet, depending on how soon the business expects to settle the note.
Intangible Asset
Non-physical long-lived assets such as patents, brands, and goodwill.
Typical Liquidity Order of Assets for US GAAP (It’s reverse for IFRS)
Current
- Cash & Cash Equivalents
- Accounts Receivable (Net)
- Inventory
- Prepaid Insurance
- Other Prepaid Expenses
- Notes Receivable (Short Term)
Non Current
- Investments
- P, P, & E (Property, Plant, & Equipment)
- Software
- Ingtangables
- Other Long Term Assets
Deferred revenue
Deferred revenue is a liability that represents the obligation to provide goods or services to a customer in the future. Deferred revenue is recorded when a business receives a payment in advance from a customer, but the business has not yet delivered the good or provided the service. Once the business fulfills its obligation to provide goods or services, the liability is reduced and the revenue is recognized. May also be referred to as unearned revenue. Remember that deferred revenue is NOT revenue.
Order for Equity items on a balance sheet
There’s normally not an order for Equity HOWEVER In the US, you will usually see
- Common Stock listed first,
- Preferred Stock
- Treasury Stock
- Retained Earnings are listed after all stock items.
Again, as a company adds equity accounts beyond those mentioned above, they will determine their ordering preferences, and it is relatively unimportant that there may be differences from one company to the next.
US GAAP and IFRS generally present this section in a similar order with capital stock accounts first and the retained earnings account last, but you may see some variations. The only thing to remember is that US GAAP places the equity section after liabilities, while IFRS usually places it before liabilities.
Accrued Expenses
Accrued Expenses
Liability account used to record amounts at the end of an accounting period to recognize expenses that were incurred in the period but for which no invoice has yet been received nor payment has yet been made. Examples are salaries/wages payable, accrued rent expense, accrued legal fees. When the accrual is made, the debit is to the appropriate expense account (payroll expense, rent expense, legal expense) and the credit is to the accrued expense account, which is a liability because it represents an obligation which will need to be paid in the future. Remember accrued expenses are NOT expenses.
Liability Order for US GAAP (It’s the reverse for IFRS)
Current
- Accounts Payable
- Wages/Salaries Payable
- Deferred Revenue
- Accrued Expenses**
- Taxes Payable**
- Deferred Income Tax (Current)**
- Notes Payable (short term)
Non Current
- Deferred Income Tax (Non-Current)
- Notes Payable
What Categories would these things be in….
- Petty Cash
- Bank account
- Payroll account
- Accounts Receivable
- Employee Advances
- Grocery Inventory
- Other Current Assets
- Leasehold Improvements
- Machinery & Equipment
- Furniture & Fixtures
- Accumulated Depreciation
- Liquor License
- Other Assets
- Wages Payable
- Current portion of loan payable
- Gift Certificates
- Loan payable
- Capital Stock
- Retained Earnings

Employee Advances
Employee Advances are CURRENT ASSETS
Amounts paid to employees in advance of the employee earning the amount. Equivalent to a loan to the employee. These advances are made at the discretion of the management of the business and they are often repaid by deducting them from subsequent payroll amounts.
Accumulated Depreciation
Accumulated Depreciation- A NON CURRENT ASSET
A contra asset (A contra asset account is an asset account where the balance will be either a credit balance or a zero balance. ) account that includes the cumulative total of all depreciation expenses recorded to date for specific assets. The credit balance in this account offsets the debit balance in the asset account which shows the original value of the asset. When the original asset value is netted against the accumulated depreciation for the asset you arrive at the net book value of the asset.
What is the difference between revenues and expenses?
The net income for the period

An accounting period:
An accounting period: any length of time the business is evaluating its financial performance.
Most business prepare a balance sheet and an income statement after every period. Most businesses also publish quarterly financial statements (public company have to). ALL report annual financial statements.
At the end of each year, balances in the revenue & expense accounts (nominal accounts & make up income statement) are transferred into the owner’s equity account (real account & part of the balance sheet.)






