More about the balance Sheet
1、 2 more of 9 basic accounting concepts
④The going-concern concept
持续经营
Accounting assumes that an entity, or concern, normally will keep on going from one year to the next. This assume is therefore called the going-conern concept
"concern" here means "company" or "entity"
Specifically, the going-concern concept states that accounting assumes that any entity will continue to operate indefinitely unless there is evidence to the contrary
Because of the going-concern concept, accounting does not report what the assets could be sold for if the entity ceases to exist
⑤The asset-measurement concept
fair value(market value)
In Accounting, the name for what an asset is "worth" is its fair value (also called market value)
In general, as asset it reported at its fair value when reliable information as to its market value is avalaible. Usually, this information is obtained from an outside party.
Thus, the concept is: If reliable information is avalaible, an asset is measured as its fair value
The fair value of most assets is known on the date the asset was acquired because the buyer and the seller agreed on the amount
In general, land, buildings, equipment, and inventories have this characteristic; their fair value cannot be reliably measured except at the time they were acquired. They are reported at cost or a number based on cost
ortherwise, the measurement is based on its cost
Two reasons for measuring some assets at cost
estimating fair value of each asset may be expensive and unreliable
fair values are difficult to estimate; that is, they are subjective, wheras costs are objective
many assets are not going to be sold in the near future; they will be used in ongoing operations
it stems from going-concern concept
The going-concern concept makes it unnessary to know the market value of many assets; the assets will be used in future operations rather than being sold immediately
Monetary assets are those that have a claim on a specified amount of money.
cash
securities
bonds
In general, but with some exceptions, monetary assets are reported at faire value, non monetary assets are reported at cost or an amount based on cost
Accountings does not report what many of the individual assets are worth, that is, their fair value. Accounting therefore does not report what the whole entity is worth
The number labeled total assets on the BS is derived from adding some items measured at fair value to others items measured at cost
The total assets amount reported on the balance sheet is not meaningful. Its purpose is to show the arithmetic correctness of the equation: A = L+E
As an exception to the general rule, the total assets of a money market fund, a bond fund, a stock fund, or similar investment fund is meaning full. All of the items are measured at their fair value
2、 The meaning of the principal items reported on a balance sheet
Assets
Three requirements to count as an asset in acccounting
A. the item must be controlled by the entity, usually this means the entity must own the item
In accounting, the employees of an entity are not assets because the entity does not own them
B. the item must be valuable to the entity
C. the item must have been acquired at a measurable cost
say, is company A have built up an excellent reputation because of the consistenly high quality of its products, this reputation is not an asset in accounting, even though it may be worth millions of dollars
The Seven-Up company was purchased by Cadbury Schweppes plc. Included in the purchase price of .7 billion was an item called "Trademarks, patents, and goodwill". In accounting, 7-UP is an asset of Cadbury Schweppes plc.
Categories
Current Assets
~ are cash and that are expected to be converted into cash or used up in the near future, usually within one year. On the BS, they are usually reported separately from non-current assets.
cash
is money on hand or money in bank accounts that ca be withdrawn at any time
When an entity writes a check, the amount of its cash is not actually reduced until the check has been cashed. Nevertheless, the usual practise is to record a decrease in cash on the day the check is mailed
Investments in safe, very short-term funds, such as money market funds that are often included in the cash item, rather than in marketable securities. The item is then called
cash and cash equivalents
securities
are stocks and bonds. They give valuable rights to the entity that owns them
marketable securites
are securities that are expected to be converted into cash within one year
Accounts Receivable
an account that is owned to the business, usually by one of its customers, as a result of the ordinary extension of credit.
Note Receivable
a promissory note agreeing to pay what is owned written by customers
Inventories
goods being held for sale, as well as supplies, raw materials, and partially products that will be sold upon completion
Prepaid Expense
intangible assets that will be used up in the near future; they are intangible current assets
Non-current Assets
Assets that are expected to be useful for longer than one future year are called ~
Property, Plant and Equipment
the usual name for tangible, noncurrent assets
On BS, this item is usually subcontracted from the original cost because is has been "used-up". This "used-up" portion is called
Depreciation
intangible non-current assets
Investment
Patents and Trademarks
Goodwill
tangible assets
intangible asset is a property
assets that can be touched; they are physical substance
intangible asset
tangible asset is property right
e.g. Insurance protection can't be touched, it is an ~
Liabilities
The claims of creditors and other outside parties are called ~
current liabilities
claims that become due within a short time, usually within one year
Accounts Payable
Accounts that the company owes to its suppliers
Bank Loan Payable
it corresponds to the asset, Notes Receivable
Accrued Liabilities
Amounts owed to employees and others for services they have provided but for which they have not been paid are listed as ~
Estimated Tax Liabilites
the amount owed to the gov for taxes
It is shown separately from other liabilities, both because
the amount is large
the exact amount owed may not be known as of the day of the balance sheet
Long-term Debt
current portion
the other under noncurrent liabilites
current ratio
current assets/current liabilities
This ratio indicates the entity's ability to meet its current obligations
noncurrent liabilities
Long-term Debt, less current portion
Deferred Income Taxes
Although a single liability may have both a current portion and a noncurrent portion, a single asset is not always so divided.
Equity
Paid-in Capital
The amount of capital supplied by equity investors or, the amount that was originally contributed by the stockholders/shareholders
It is reported as two separate amounts
Common Stock
The market price of shares of certain company changes everyday, the amount of Paid-in Capital reported on BS does not reflect these changes; transactions between individual shareholders do not affect the entity
Additional Paid-in Capital
Retain Earnings
The amount of equity that has been earned by the profitable operations of the company and that has been retained in the entity
It represents those amount that have been retained in the entity after part of the company's earnings have been paid to shareholders in the form of dividends
Retained Earnings = Earnings - Dividends
They are additions to equity that have accumulated since the entity began, not those of a single year
The amount of it shows the amount of capital generated by operating activities. It is not cash
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Basic Concepts and the Balance Sheet
1、 The nature of the balance sheet
Accounting is a language. The purpose of any language is to convey information. Accounting information is provided by reports called financial statements
A balance sheet gives financial information about an entity
The b-s is a snapshot of the financial position of the entity as of one moment in time
b-s has two sides.
The heading of the left side is Assets,
and the heading of the right side is Liabilities and Equity
2、 The accounting meaning of assets, liabilities and equity
Assets
~ are valueable resources owned by the entity. An entity needs cash, equipment, and other resources in order to operate.
An entity's employees, althouth usually its most valuealbe resource, are not accounting assets
Liabilities
~ are entity's obligations to outside parties who have furnished resources.
These parties are generally called creditors because they have extended credit to the entity
Creditors have a claim against the assets in the amount shown as liability
Because an entity will use its assets to pay its claims, the claims are claims against assets. They are claims against all the assets, not any particular asset
Equity
The other source of the funds that an entity uses to acquire its assets is called equity.
Total paid-in capital
The total amount supplied by equity inverstors is called ~
Earnings
Equity funds also comes from a second source, the profits or ~ generated by the entity
The amount of these earnings that has not been paid to equity inverstors in the form of dividends is retained in the entity and therefore is called retained-earnings
Thus, there are two source of equity funds
paid-in capital
retained earnings
Creditors can sue the entity if the amounts due them are not paid. Equity investors have only a residual claim; if the entity is dissolved, they get whatever is left after the liabilities have been paid, which may be nothing
Liabilities therefore are a stronger claim against the assets and equity is a weaker claim
3、 3 of 9 concepts that govern all accounting:
The dual-aspect concept
the total amount of assets will always be equal to the total amount of liabilites plus equity
Any assets not claimed by creditors will be claimed by equity investors, and
the toal amount of claims(liabilities+equity) cannot exceed what there is to be claimed.
The fact that total assets must equal, or balance, total liabilities plus equity is why the statement is called a balance sheet. This equality tells nothing about the entity's financial condition; it always exists unless the accoutant made a mistake
This equality exists even if liabilities are greater than assets.
equity would be a negative amount
The equation (Assets= Liabilities + Equity) is fundamental, it governs all accounting
Accounting term
things of value
assets
one who lends money
creditors
creditors' claims
liabilities
investors' claims
equity
The term "Net assets" is sometimes used instead of "Equity". It refers to the fact that equity is always the difference between Assets and Liabilities
The money-measurement concept
The entity concept
An entity is any org for which financial statements are prepared
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