Week 2 - Accounting concepts, rules and the accounting equation Flashcards
What are accounting concepts/ conventions
the basic assumptions that underlie the accounts
What are accounting standards?
technical are rules which give guidance on how specific transactions should be accounted for
What are accounting policies
detailed methods of measurement and valuation adopted by specific entities
What are the two basic fundamental accounting concepts?
- going concern concept
- accruals concept
(apply to all financial statements)
What is the going concern concept
this concept is the assumption that the business will continue operating into the foreseeable future
What will be valued with the going concern concept if it continues to operate into the foreseeable future?
assets, liabilities, income and expenses will be valued using the normal rules of accounting (usually historical cost)
What will be valued with the going concern concept if it doesn’t continues to operate into the foreseeable future?
if the business is not likely to continue, assets, liabilities, income and expenses are valued for their net realisable value (what the business could get for them if they were sold today)
What informs users about the going concern concept?
information in the accounts informs users whether the accounts are prepared on a going concern basis or not
What is the accruals concept
this concept is the assumption that income, expenses, assets and liabilities are recognised (shown in the accounts) when the transaction takes place. It doesn’t matter if they are paid for/ cash is received at that date
How is revenue recorded in the accruals concept
assumed that revenue is recorded in the accounts when earned, and expenses is recorded when incurred and matched with revenue regardless of when cash is received or paid out
What is closely associated to the accruals concept?
the matching concept
What is the matching concept?
all expenses incurred in an accounting period must be matched with the revenue earned in that period
(seen as part of the accruals concept)
Example of accruals (matching)
eg business has following transactions
15th Jan: Purchase £100 of goods on credit
15th Feb: Paid for the purchased goods
15th Mar: Sold on credit for £150 goods purchased on 15th Jan
15th Apr: Received payment for goods sold on 15th March
so no profit or loss in Jan, Feb or April
What do you use in accounting to make the number negative
brackets
Eg for profit or loss on the accrual basis
Eg Even though interest is charged in the third month, 30,000 spread it over the three months
Loan interest 10,000 in Jan, Feb, March
What sort of profit is accrual based?
Accounting profit
What two financial statements use accrual based profits?
Income Statement and Balance Sheet
Why are income statements and balance sheets use accrual-based profits?
they give a more realistic view of the company’s performance and financial position than cash-based profits
What is a historical cost?
record items in accounts at the original cost when the transaction took place
usually to measure assets
What is a money measurement concept?
only items which can be measured in monetary terms are included in the accounts
eg human capital, unable to put a specific number on it
What is the entity concept?
business can be separated from the owner
What is the time period concept?
life of business can be split into different time periods so information can be recorded
What are the 4 other accounting concepts
Historical cost, money measurement concept, the entity concept, the time period concept
What are accounting standards
are accounting are rules which show how transactions should be disclosed, measured and recognised
(must be followed to ensure financial statements give a true and fair view of the entity’s activities)
What are accounting policies?
are the specific accounting methods selected by companies from those methods allowed in the accounting standards
(accounting policies are disclosed by entities in the notes to the financial statements in the annual report)