CHAPTER 2

1
ACCOUNTING CYCLE FOR SERVICE GIVING BUSINESS

Introduction
In Chapter-1, we were recording effects of business transactions using the accounting equation
format. This, however, is not cost and time effective when an organization has large volume of
transactions to process and several asset, liability, capital, revenue and expense items. As a
result, as the volume of transactions grows and the number of specific elements of the financial
statements increases, it will be necessary to design and use systematic way of processing
transactions and generating accounting information. The following sections discuss an improved
system of transforming business transactions into useful accounting information.

Basic accounting records - refer to records organizations use in transforming business

transactions into useful accounting information and include accounts, ledgers and journals.

2.1 Nature and Classification of Accounts

1. Definition - an account is the basic storage unit for accounting data. It is used to classify
transactions in terms of their effects on specific asset, liability, capital, revenue and expense
items. Thus, a separate account is kept to record and accumulate/store monetary effects of
transactions on such specific items that appear on the financial statements as Cash, Supplies,
Accounts Payable, Bank Loan Payable, Alemu-Capital, Fees Earned, Rent Income, Salary
Expense and Supplies Expense.

2. Nature of an Account - The simplest form of an account is called “T” account. It is so

named because it looks like the capital letter "T" as shown in the figure below. In its most
elementary form, an account (i.e. T account)has three parts:
o the account title - used to write the name of the account such as Cash
o the left (debit) side - a place to record increases or decreases in the account in monetary
terms
o the right (credit) side - a place to record increases or decreases in the account in
monetary terms
Account Title

Left (Debit) Side Right (Credit) Side

If monetary increases in an account are recorded in the debit/credit side, then the decreases in the
same account are recorded in the credit/debit side.

Business organizations practically use the so-called two-column, three-column (see an example
of this account form on page-23) or four-column accounts for recording and storing business
transactions. The purpose of the first two columns is to separately record the increases and
decreases (debits and credits) in the account and that of the additional columns is to keep running
(debit or credit) balance of an account. For pictorial representation of and for more information
on the two- and four-column accounts, read page 59 of your textbook, Accounting Principles,
16th edition by Fess and Warren.

Fundamentals of Accounting – I CH2 Page 1

3. Classification of Accounts - accounts may be classified into two major root categories: 2
balance sheet and income statement accounts.

i. Balance sheet accounts - refer to accounts that appear on the balance sheet. They include
assets, liabilities and owner's equity accounts. These accounts (except drawing and
income summary accounts) are also called permanent or real accounts. They are so
named because their balances will not be closed at the end of each accounting period
rather are carried forward from period to period so long as business activities continue.

a. Assets - include any tangible and intangible items that have monetary value to and owned
by a business. Assets are further divided into current and non-current.

o Current assets - include cash and other assets that are expected to be converted into
cash, sold or consumed within a very short period of time usually one year or less.
Examples include
 Cash - coins and paper money on hand or deposited at bank.
 Accounts Receivable - claims against customers (debtors) for goods and services
sold on credit. They are based on oral promise or good faith rather than supported
by written evidences.
 Notes Receivable - claims against customers supported by written evidences.
 Merchandise Inventory - finished goods held for resale.
 Prepaid Expenses (assets) - include consumable items such as supplies and
advance payments for such items as insurance (Prepaid Insurance) and rent
(Prepaid Rent).

o Non-current assets - also called fixed/plant assets refer to assets with the potential to
provide benefit to the business for relatively long period of time, at least more than a
year. They include land, buildings, vehicles, machinery, equipment, patent, furniture,
fixtures and long-term receivables. All non-current assets held for use in operations,
except land held for purposes other than agriculture, lose their usefulness with the
passage of time or as a result of usage. Such decline in usefulness is called
depreciation or amortization and is a business expense identified as Depreciation or
Amortization Expense.

b. Liabilities - refer to obligations of a business to pay cash, perform service or deliver

goods to its creditor. Liabilities are further divided into current and non-current.
o Current liabilities - refer to obligations that must be paid/settled within one year or
less. They include Accounts Payable, Notes Payable, Salary Payable, Income/Sales
Tax Payable and Rent Payable.

o Non-current liabilities - also called long-term liabilities refer to obligations that are
expected to be settled over an extended period of time usually more than a year.
Examples include Mortgage Notes Payable and Bonds Payable. A part of a long-term
debt which is due within a year or less is reclassified and reported as current liability.

Fundamentals of Accounting – I CH2 Page 2

 c. Owner’s Equity - refers to residual claim of the owner against the assets of a business.
For sole-proprietorship and partnership forms of businesses, owner’s equity accounts 3
include:
o Capital - used to accumulate investments made by the owner/partner and profit
earned by the business but not withdrawn by the owner/partner. Capital account is
identified by the name of the owner/partner and the word capital. E.g. Alemu, Capital.
o Drawing - used to accumulate money or other assets taken out of the business by the
owner/partner for personal consumption. Drawing decreases capital of a business.
Like capital, drawing account is identified by the name of the owner/partner and the
word drawing. E.g. Alemu, Drawing.
o Income Summary - used to summarize effects of revenues and expenses on the
capital of business.

ii. Income statement accounts - refer to accounts that appear on the income statement. They
include revenue and expense accounts. These accounts are used to temporarily
accumulate effects of revenue and expense transactions on capital of a business. These
accounts, together with drawing and income summary accounts, are also called
temporary or nominal accounts. They are so named because their balances will be closed
to zero by the end of an accounting period thus will not be carried forward from period to
period. By the end of the accounting period, balances of such accounts are summarized
and transferred to the capital account. Thus, these accounts exist for only one accounting
period.

a. Revenues - refer to gross increases in owner’s equity as a result of inflows of cash or any
other assets in exchange for inventories sold, services rendered, properties leased, money
lend or any other activity performed by the business to generate income. Revenues
include:
o Sales - from sales of inventories
o Fees Earned - from performing services
o Rent/Royalty Income - from letting others use one’s own properties such as building
and machinery
o Interest Income - from lending money

b. Expenses - refer to expired cost of goods and services consumed in generating revenues
or carrying out the day-to-day affairs of a business. Expenses include:
o Cost of Goods Sold - expired cost of inventories sold to customers
o Salary/Wages Expense - cost of services received from employees
o Utilities Expenses - cost of utility services consumed, such as telephone, electricity
and water services.
o Depreciation Expense - expired cost of tangible non-current assets as a result of
usage or passage of time.

4. Rules of Debit and Credit - are conventions/principles (part of the GAAP) for recording
increases and decreases in an account. According to these principles
o Increases in an asset account are recorded on the debit side while decreases are recorded
on the credit side.
o Increases in a liability account are recorded on the credit side while decreases are
recorded on the debit side.

Fundamentals of Accounting – I CH2 Page 3

 o Increases in an owner’s equity account are recorded on the credit side while decreases
are recorded on the debit side. 4
o For revenues represent increases in owner’s equity, increases in a revenue account are
recorded on the credit side while decreases, if any, are recorded on the debit side.
o For expenses and drawings represent decreases in owner’s equity, increases in expense
and drawing accounts are recorded in the debit side while decreases, if any, are recorded
in the credit side.

5. Normal balance of an Account - Account balance refers to the difference between total
increase and total decrease recorded in an account. Total increase recorded in an account is
usually greater than the total decrease recorded in the same account. Thus, the usual (normal)
balance of an account is positive. This implies that the normal balance of an asset, an
expense or a drawing account is debit while that of a liability, capital or revenue account is
credit. Abnormal balance in an account may arise as a result of
 Recording errors - for any account
 Bank overdraft (over-drawing bank account) - for cash at bank account
 Over-collection - for receivable accounts
 Overpayment - for payable accounts
 Reversing entries - for revenue and expense accounts

The following table summarizes the rules of debit and credit and the normal balances of
accounts.

Account Type Increases Decreases Normal balance

Balance Sheet Accounts
Asset Debit Credit Debit
Liability Credit Debit Credit
Owner’s Equity
Capital Credit Debit Credit
Drawing Debit Credit Debit
Income Summary Credit Debit Credit (income)
Debit (loss)
Income Statement Accounts
Revenue Credit Debit Credit
Expense Debit Credit Debit

6. Numbering and Sequencing Accounts - The numbering system used to identify accounts
depends on the size, complexity and nature of the business activity an organization is
involved. Small organizations may use identification numbers consisting of one to three
digits while large organizations use numbers with more than three digits. The numbering
system usually starts with balance sheet accounts and follows with income statement
accounts. A chart of accounts (see on the next page) is usually prepared to facilitate the
analysis of business transactions in the accounting cycle and the formulation of journal
entries. Each digit making up an account number has its own purpose. For instance, the first
digit may show whether the account is classified as a balance sheet or an income statement
account and the other digits further identify possible classifications of the account.

Fundamentals of Accounting – I CH2 Page 4

7. Chart of Accounts - refers to the list of the titles and related identification numbers of all
general ledger accounts a business uses for recording its financial affairs. Example of chart of 5
accounts for a certain business is given below.
Account 221 Mortgage Notes Payable
Number Name 300 Owner’s Equity
301 Alemu, Capital
Balance Sheet Accounts
302 Alemu, Drawing
100 Asset 303 Income Summary
111 Cash
112 Accounts Receivable Income Statement Accounts
121 Buildings 400 Revenue
200 Liability 401 Fees Earned
211 Accounts Payable 402 Interest Income
500 Expense
501 Salary Expense
502 Utility Expense

2.2 Ledgers
1. Definition - Ledger refers to a kind of folder/ring binder used to arrange and put in one place
all accounts used by a business. Accounts are placed in the ledger in sequence and each
account may take one or more pages of the ledger.

2. Types - two types of ledgers: general and subsidiary.

o General ledger - a ledger that contains all accounts that appear on the balance sheet and
income statement of a business. General ledger accounts are called controlling accounts
because they show the total balance of a certain element of the financial statements such
as Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable regardless of the amount of money
expected to be collected from each credit customer and the amount of money payable to
each creditor, respectively. Controlling accounts are assigned with and identified by their
respective account numbers. According they are placed in the general ledger according to
their numerical orders.

o Subsidiary ledger –
a ledger that contains accounts showing details of controlling accounts. For example, Accounts
Receivable Ledger, also called customers’ ledger, contains accounts of individual credit
customers showing the amount of money due from each credit customer. Subsidiary ledger
accounts are identified by the name of the credit customer or creditor and are accordingly
arranged alphabetically.

Note that a business may set up both general and subsidiary ledgers not only for Accounts
Receivable and Accounts Payable but also for any account for which the business wants to have
detailed information about.

Fundamentals of Accounting – I CH2 Page 5

 2.3 Journals

1. Definition - Journal, also called the book of original entry, refers to a business document where
effects of business transactions on specific elements of the financial statements are recorded in
or copied from source documents. In Chapter-1, we have seen how to record and summarize
effects of business transactions on asset, liability and owner’s equity items using the accounting
equation format. Such system, however, is not practicable or is not cost- and time-effective
when a business has thousands of transactions to record and several asset, liability, capital,
revenue and expense items. Directly recording business transactions in the accounts is not also
wise and may result in recording errors which may be easily avoided by using journals. Thus,
organizations design and use the journal to initially record business transactions.

Transactions are recorded in the journal chronologically (i.e. in order of their occurrence) based
on the rules of debits and credits and the double-entry accounting system. Double-entry
accounting refers to the system of recording the dual, called debit and credit, effects of business
transactions. As a result, recording transactions initially in the journal helps, among other things,
to
 Ensure that all effects of a business transaction are recorded
 Have in one place a complete information about a recorded transaction
 Easily identify recording errors, and
 Have an historical record of transactions.

2. Types - two types of journals: general and special.

o General journal - a two-column form used to record any kind of business transaction

o Special journal - a journal designed to record frequently occurring identical transactions.

Detailed discussions on special journals are deferred to Chapter-5.

An organization may use only general journal or both general and special journals depending up
on the volume and similarities of its business transactions.

2.4 Accounting Cycle

1. Definition

 Accounting cycle refers to the procedures (steps) for gathering business transactions,
processing and converting them into useful accounting information that will be
communicated to users to serve as a basis for investment, credit and similar economic
decisions.

2. Steps
 Figure 2.1 shows the 10 steps in the accounting cycle. An enterprise normally uses these
accounting procedures to record transactions and prepares financial statements.

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Fundamentals of Accounting – I CH2
Let us see one by one.

Step1: Identifying and Recording Transactions and Other Events

The first step in the accounting cycle is analysis of transactions and selected other events. The first
problem is to determine what to record. Although IFRS provides guidelines, no simple rules exist
that state which events a company should record. Although changes in a company’s personnel or
managerial policies may be important, the company should not record these items in the accounts.
On the other hand, a company should record all cash sales or purchases—no matter how small. The

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Fundamentals of Accounting – I CH2
concepts we presented in Chapter 1 determine what to recognize in the accounts. An item should be
recognized in the financial statements if it (1) meets the definition of an element, (2) is probable that
any future economic benefit associated with the item will flow to or from the entity, and (3) has a
cost or value that can be measured reliably. For example, should we value employees for statement
of financial position and income statement purposes? Certainly skilled employees are an important
asset (highly relevant), but the problems of determining their value and measuring it reliably have
not yet been solved. Consequently, human resources are not recorded. Perhaps when measurement
techniques become more sophisticated and accepted such information will be presented, if only in
supplemental form.

Transactions recorded may be an exchange between two entities where each receives and sacrifices
value, such as purchases and sales of goods or services. Or, transactions may be transfers in one
direction only. For example, an entity may incur a liability without directly receiving value in
exchange, such as charitable contributions. Other examples include investments by owners,
distributions to owners, payment of taxes, gifts, casualty losses, and thefts. In short, a company
records as many transactions as possible that affect its financial position. As discussed earlier in the
case of human resources, it omits some events because of tradition and others because of
complicated measurement problems. Recently, however, the accounting profession shows more
receptiveness to accepting the challenge of measuring and reporting events previously viewed as too
complex and immeasurable.

Step2: Journalizing
1. Definition - Journalizing refers to the process of recording business transactions in journals.
2. Steps - The following steps may be carried out to journalize business transactions:
 Collect source documents - Source documents show that a transaction has really occurred
and give complete information about the transaction such as date of the transaction, parties
and amount of money involved, terms of payment, etc.
 Analyze transactions - This involves determining specific accounts affected (cash, fees
earned, etc) by the transaction, classification of the accounts affected (asset, liability, etc),
direction of the effect (increase or decrease), monetary amount of the effect ($400, $100,
etc) and how to record the increase and decrease (debit or credit).
 Journalize - Record the dual effects of transactions in chronological order using the rules of
debits and credits. Below are sample general journal and additional steps needed to
journalize business transactions.

General Journal ii Page -8-

Date Description PR Debit Credit
Year Date Name of Account to be Debited Monetary Dr
Month Name of Account to be Credited Monetary Cr
Brief explanation about the transaction
i
iii
iv v vi

Note the following when journalizing transactions.

i. Write the year, month and date of the transaction in the date column. The year and
month need not be repeated for subsequent entries until a new page or a new
month/year begins while the date may be repeated in as much as the number of
independent entries to be recorded.
ii. Write the name of the account to be debited on the first line customarily placed at the
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Fundamentals of Accounting – I CH2
 extreme left of the description column. Enter the corresponding debit amount on the
same line in the extreme left of the debit column. An entry which includes more than
one debit or more than one credit is called a compound journal entry. Regardless of
how many debits or credits are contained in a compound journal entry, all the debits
are entered before any credit.
iii. Write the name of the account to be credited on the line below the debit entry
somehow indented i.e. placed about 1 inch in to the right side of the description
column. Enter the corresponding credit amount on the same line in the extreme left of
the credit column.
iv. Write a brief explanation of the transaction on the line immediately below the last
account credited. This explanation includes any data needed to identify the transaction,
such as the name of the customer or supplier. The explanation needs not to be
indented.
v. Leave a blank line below each entry. This spacing causes each journal entry to stand
out clearly as a separate unit and makes the journal easier to read.
vi. Leave the PR (which stands for posting reference) column blank at the time of making
the journal entry. When the debits and credits are later transferred to accounts in the
ledger, the identification numbers of the accounts which the entries are posted to will
be listed in this column to provide a cross reference with the ledger.
vii. Whether a transaction results in single or compound entry, equal dollar amounts of
debits and credits should be recorded.

A company records in accounts those transactions and events that affect its assets, liabilities, and
equities. The general ledger contains all the asset, liability, and equity accounts. An account in the
above illustration shows the effect of transactions on particular asset, liability, equity, revenue, and
expense accounts.

In practice, companies do not record transactions and selected other events originally in the ledger.
A transaction affects two or more accounts, each of which is on a different page in the ledger.
Therefore, in order to have a complete record of each transaction or other event in one place, a
company uses a journal (also called “the book of original entry”). In its simplest form, a general
journal chronologically lists transactions and other events, expressed in terms of debits and credits
to accounts.

Step3: Posting
1. Definition - Posting refers to the process transferring monetary amounts of debit and credit
entries from the general journal to the accounts in the ledger which are affected by the debit and
credit entries. Posting is necessary to classify and group similar business transactions in terms of
their effects on specific asset, liability, capital, revenue and expense items.

2. Steps – The following steps may be carried out in posting journal entries to general ledger
accounts:
i. Locate in the general ledger the first account debited in the first general journal entry.
ii. Copy the date (i.e. year, month and date) of the entry to be posted from the journal to the
date column of the general ledger account.
iii. Copy the debit amount from the general journal to the debit column of the particular
account affected in the general ledger.
iv. Record the general journal page in the posting reference column of the account debited in
the general ledger.
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Fundamentals of Accounting – I CH2
 v. Record the identification number of the account debited in the posting reference column of
the general journal from which the debit amount is copied to indicate that the debit
amount is posted to the appropriate account in the general ledger.
vi. Determine and write the balance of the account in its balance column if available.
vii. The explanation column of the account is used to give description of special entries such
as adjusting, closing, reversing and correcting entries posted to the account. Entries
recording normal and recurring transactions need no explanation.
viii. Repeat the above posting procedures for the credit portion of the journal entry.

An Expanded Example to apply 10 steps in accounting cycle

To show an expanded example of the basic steps in the recording process, we use the October
transactions of Pioneer Advertising Agency Inc. Pioneer’s accounting period is one month.
Illustrations 3-9 through 3-18 show the journal entry and posting of each transaction. For simplicity,
we use a T-account form instead of the standard account form. Study the transaction analyses
carefully.

The purpose of transaction analysis is (1) to identify the type of account involved, and (2) to
determine whether a debit or a credit is required. You should always perform this type of analysis
before preparing a journal entry. Doing so will help you understand the journal entries discussed in
this chapter as well as more complex journal entries in later chapters. Keep in mind that every
journal entry affects one or more of the following items: assets, liabilities, equity, revenues, or
expenses.

Note: on your work sheet the name of the company has transferred to Alpha Company. So that you
can take Pioneer Advertising Agency Inc. in place of Alpha on this handout!!

1. October 1: Shareholders invest 100,000 cash in an advertising venture to be known as Pioneer

Advertising Agency Inc.

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Fundamentals of Accounting – I CH2
2. October 1: Pioneer purchases office equipment costing 50,000 by signing a 3-month,
12%, 50,000 note payable.

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 Step4: Trial Balance Preparation
A trial balance lists accounts and their balances at a given time. A company usually prepares a trial
balance at the end of an accounting period. The trial balance lists the accounts in the order in which
they appear in the ledger, with debit balances listed in the left column and credit balances in the
right column. The totals of the two columns must agree.

The trial balance proves the mathematical equality of debits and credits after posting. Under the
double-entry system this equality occurs when the sum of the debit account balances equals the sum
of the credit account balances. A trial balance also uncovers errors in journalizing and posting. In
addition, it is useful in the preparation of financial statements. The procedures for preparing a trial
balance consist of:
1. Listing the account titles and their balances.
2. Totaling the debit and credit columns.
3. Proving the equality of the two columns.

There are three types of trial balance:

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Fundamentals of Accounting – I CH2
 o Unadjusted Trial Balance - prepared before account balances are adjusted
o Adjusted Trial Balance - prepared after account balances are adjusted
o Post-closing Trial Balance - prepared after temporary accounts are closed.

Illustration 2.3 presents the trial balance prepared from the ledger of Pioneer Advertising Agency
Inc. Note that the total debits (287,000) equal the total credits (287,000). A trial balance also often
shows account numbers to the left of the account titles.

A trial balance does not prove that a company recorded all transactions or that the ledger is correct.
Numerous errors may exist even though the trial balance columns agree. For example, the trial
balance may balance even when a company (1) fails to journalize a transaction, (2) omits posting a
correct journal entry, (3) posts a journal entry twice, (4) uses incorrect accounts in journalizing or
posting, or (5) makes offsetting errors in recording the amount of a transaction. In other words, as
long as a company posts equal debits and credits, even to the wrong account or in the wrong
amount, the total debits will equal the total credits.

Step5: Adjusting Entries

In order for revenues to be recorded in the period in which services are performed and for expenses
to be recognized in the period in which they are incurred, companies make adjusting entries. In
short, adjustments ensure that companies, like SAP (DEU), Cathay Pacific Airways (HKG), and
Nokia (FIN), follow the revenue recognition and expense recognition principles. The use of
adjusting entries makes it possible to report on the statement of financial position the appropriate
assets, liabilities, and equity at the statement date. Adjusting entries also make it possible to report
on the income statement the proper revenues and expenses for the period. However, the trial balance
—the first pulling together of the transaction data—may not contain up-to-date and complete data.
This occurs for the following reasons.
1. Some events are not journalized daily because it is not expedient. Examples are the
consumption of supplies and the earning of salaries and wages by employees.
2. Some costs are not journalized during the accounting period because these costs expire with
the passage of time rather than as a result of recurring daily transactions. Examples of such
costs are building and equipment depreciation and rent and insurance.
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Fundamentals of Accounting – I CH2
 3. Some items may be unrecorded. An example is a utility service bill that will not be received
until the next accounting period.

Adjusting entries are required every time a company, such as Sony (JPN), prepares financial
statements. At that time, Sony must analyze each account in the trial balance to determine whether
it is complete and up-to-date for financial statement purposes. The analysis requires a thorough
understanding of Sony’s operations and the interrelationship of accounts. Because of this involved
process, usually a skilled accountant prepares the adjusting entries. In gathering the adjustment data,
Sony may need to make inventory counts of supplies and repair parts. Further, it may prepare
supporting schedules of insurance policies, rental agreements, and other contractual commitments.
Companies often prepare adjustments after the statement of financial position date. However, they
date the entries as of the statement of financial position date.

Types of Adjusting Entries

Adjusting entries are classified as either deferrals or accruals. Each of these classes has two
subcategories, is illustrated as follow:

We review specific examples and explanations of each type of adjustment in subsequent sections.
We base each example on the October 31 trial balance of Pioneer Advertising Agency Inc.
(Illustration 2.3). We assume that Pioneer uses an accounting period of one month. Thus, Pioneer
will make monthly adjusting entries, dated October 31.

a) Adjusting Entries for Deferrals

To defer means to postpone or delay. Deferrals are expenses or revenues that are recognized at a
date later than the point when cash was originally exchanged. The two types of deferrals are prepaid
expenses and unearned revenues. If a company does not make an adjustment for these deferrals, the
asset and liability are overstated, and the related expense and revenue are understated. For example,
in Pioneer Advertising’s trial balance, the balance in the asset Supplies shows only supplies
purchased. This balance is overstated; the related expense account, Supplies Expense, is understated
because the cost of supplies used has not been recognized. Thus the adjusting entry for deferrals
will decrease a statement of financial position account and increase an income statement account.
The following illustration shows the effects of adjusting entries for deferrals.

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Prepaid Expenses: Assets paid for and recorded before a company uses them are called prepaid
expenses. When expenses are prepaid, a company debits an asset account to show the service or
benefit it will receive in the future. Examples of common prepayments are insurance, supplies,
advertising, and rent. In addition, companies make prepayments when they purchase buildings and
equipment.

Prepaid expenses are costs that expire either with the passage of time (e.g., rent and insurance) or
through use and consumption (e.g., supplies). The expiration of these costs does not require daily
entries, an unnecessary and impractical task. Accordingly, a company like Louis Vuitton (LVMH
Group) (FRA) usually postpones the recognition of such cost expirations until it prepares financial
statements. At each statement date, Louis Vuitton makes adjusting entries to record the expenses
that apply to the current accounting period and to show the remaining amounts in the asset accounts.

As shown above, prior to adjustment, assets are overstated and expenses are understated. Thus, an
adjusting entry for prepaid expenses results in a debit to an expense account and a credit to
an asset account.

Supplies: A business enterprise may use several different types of supplies. For example, a public
accounting firm will use office supplies such as stationery, envelopes, and accounting paper. An
advertising firm will stock advertising supplies such as graph paper, video film, and poster paper.
Supplies are generally debited to an asset account when they are acquired. Recognition of supplies
used is generally deferred until the adjustment process. At that time, a physical inventory (count) of
supplies is taken. The difference between the balance in the Supplies (asset) account and the cost of
supplies on hand represents the supplies used (expense) for the period. For example, Pioneer
Advertising purchased advertising supplies costing €25,000 on October 5. Pioneer therefore debited
the asset Supplies. This account shows a balance of €25,000 in the October 31 trial balance (see the
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Fundamentals of Accounting – I CH2
following Illustration). An inventory count at the close of business on October 31 reveals that
€10,000 of supplies are still on hand. Thus, the cost of supplies used is €15,000 (€25,000 -€10,000).
The analysis and adjustment for Supplies is summarized in the following Illustration After
adjustment, the asset account Supplies now shows a balance of €10,000, whichequals the cost of
supplies on hand at the statement date. In addition, Supplies Expense shows a balance of €15,000,
which equals the cost of supplies used in October. Without an adjusting entry, October expenses are
understated and net income overstated by €15,000. Moreover, both assets and equity are overstated
by 15,000 on the October 31 statement of financial position.

After adjustment, the asset account Supplies now shows a balance of €10,000, which equals the cost
of supplies on hand at the statement date. In addition, Supplies Expense shows a balance of
€15,000, which equals the cost of supplies used in October. Without an adjusting entry, October
expenses are understated and net income overstated by €15,000. Moreover, both assets and equity
are overstated by €15,000 on the October 31 statement of financial position.

Insurance: Most companies maintain fire and theft insurance on merchandise and equipment,
personal liability insurance for accidents suffered by customers, and automobile insurance on
company cars and trucks. The extent of protection against loss determines the cost of the insurance
(the amount of the premium to be paid). The insurance policy specifies the term and coverage. The
minimum term usually covers one year, but three to five-year terms are available and may offer
lower annual premiums. A company usually debits insurance premiums to the asset account Prepaid
Insurance when paid. At the financial statement date, it then debits Insurance Expense and credits
Prepaid Insurance for the cost that expired during the period. For example, on October 4, Pioneer
Advertising paid €6,000 for a one-year fire insurance policy, beginning October 1. Pioneer debited
the cost of the premium to Prepaid Insurance at that time. This account still shows a balance of
€6,000 in the October 31 trial balance. An analysis of the policy reveals that €500 ( 6,000 / 12) of
insurance expires each month. The analysis and adjustment for insurance is summarized in
following illustration.
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The asset Prepaid Insurance shows a balance of 5,500, which represents the unexpired cost for the
remaining 11 months of coverage. At the same time, the balance in Insurance Expense equals the
insurance cost that expired in October. Without an adjusting entry, October expenses are
understated by 500 and net income overstated by 500. Moreover, both assets and equity also are
overstated by 500 on the October 31 statement of financial position.

Depreciation: Companies, like Caterpillar (USA) or Siemens (DEU), typically own various
productive facilities, such as buildings, equipment, and motor vehicles. These assets provide a
service for a number of years. The term of service is commonly referred to as the useful life of the
asset. Because Siemens, for example, expects an asset such as a building to provide service for
many years, Siemens records the building as an asset, rather than an expense, in the year the
building is acquired. Siemens records such assets at cost, as required by the historical cost principle.
To follow the expense recognition principle, Siemens should report a portion of the cost of a long-
lived asset as an expense during each period of the asset’s useful life.

Depreciation is the process of allocating the cost of an asset to expense over its useful life in a
rational and systematic manner.

Need for depreciation adjustment: Under IFRS, the acquisition of productive facilities is viewed
as a long-term prepayment for services. The need for making periodic adjusting entries for
depreciation is therefore the same as we described for other prepaid expenses. That is, a company
recognizes the expired cost (expense) during the period and reports the unexpired cost (asset) at the
end of the period. The primary causes of depreciation of a productive facility are actual use,
deterioration due to the elements, and obsolescence. For example, at the time Siemens acquires an
asset, the effects of these factors cannot be known with certainty. Therefore, Siemens must estimate
them. Thus, depreciation is an estimate rather than a factual measurement of the expired cost.
To estimate depreciation expense, Siemens often divides the cost of the asset by its useful life. For
example, if Siemens purchases equipment for 10,000 and expects its useful life to be 10 years,
Siemens records annual depreciation of 1,000.
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In the case of Pioneer Advertising, it estimates depreciation on its office equipment to be 4,800 a
year (cost 50,000 less residual value 2,000 divided by useful life of 10 years), or 400 per month.
The analysis and adjustment for depreciation is summarized in the following Illustration .

The balance in the Accumulated Depreciation—Equipment account will increase 400 each month.
Therefore, after journalizing and posting the adjusting entry at November 30, the balance will be
800.

Financial Statement presentation: Accumulated Depreciation—Equipment is a contra asset

account. A contra asset account offsets an asset account on the statement of financial position. This
means that the Accumulated Depreciation—Equipment account offsets the Equipment account on
the statement of financial position. Its normal balance is a credit. Pioneer Advertising uses this
account instead of crediting Equipment in order to disclose both the original cost of the equipment
and the total expired cost to date. In the statement of financial position, Pioneer deducts
Accumulated Depreciation—Equipment from the related asset account as follows.

The book value (or carrying value) of any depreciable asset is the difference between its cost and its
related accumulated depreciation. Value of the equipment at the statement of financial position date
is €49,600. Note that the asset’s book value generally differs from its fair value. The reason:
Depreciation is an allocation concept, not a valuation concept. That is, depreciation allocates an
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asset’s cost to the periods in which it is used. Depreciation does not attempt to report the actual
change in the value of the asset. Depreciation expense identifies that portion of the asset’s cost that
expired during the period (in this case, October). Without this adjusting entry, total assets, total
equity, and net income are overstated, and depreciation expense is understated. A company records
depreciation expense for each piece of equipment, such as trucks or machinery, and for all
buildings. A company also establishes related accumulated depreciation accounts for the above,
such as Accumulated Depreciation-Trucks, Accumulated Depreciation—Machinery, and
Accumulated Depreciation-Buildings.

Unearned Revenues: When companies receive cash before services are performed, they record a
liability by increasing (crediting) a liability account called unearned revenues. In other words, a
company now has a performance obligation (liability) to provide service to one of its customers.
Items like rent, magazine subscriptions, and customer deposits for future service may result in
unearned revenues. Airlines, such as Ryanair (IRL), China Southern Airlines (CHN), and Southwest
(USA), treat receipts from the sale of tickets as unearned revenue until they provide the flight
service. Tuition received prior to the start of a semester is another example of unearned revenue.
Unearned revenues are the opposite of prepaid expenses. Indeed, unearned revenue on the books of
one company is likely to be a prepayment on the books of the company that made the advance
payment. For example, if we assume identical accounting periods, a landlord will have unearned
rent revenue when a tenant has prepaid rent.

When a company, such as Ryanair, receives payment for services to be performed in a future
accounting period, it credits an unearned revenue (a liability) account to recognize the liability that
exists. Ryanair subsequently recognizes revenue when it performs the service. However, making
daily recurring entries to record this revenue is impractical. Therefore, Ryanair delays recognition
of revenue until the adjustment process. Then, Ryanair makes an adjusting entry to record the
revenue for services performed during the period and to show the liability that remains at the end of
the accounting period. In the typical case, liabilities are overstated and revenues are understated
prior to adjustment. Thus, the adjusting entry for unearned revenues results in a debit (decrease) to a
liability account and a credit (increase) to a revenue account.

For example, Pioneer Advertising received 12,000 on October 2 from R. Knox for advertising
services expected to be completed by December 31. Pioneer credited the payment to Unearned
Service Revenue. This liability account shows a balance of 12,000 in the October 31 trial balance.
Based on an evaluation of the service Pioneer performed for Knox during October, the company
determines that it should recognize 4,000 of revenue in October. The liability (Unearned Service
Revenue) is therefore decreased and equity (Service Revenue) is increased, as shown in following

Illustration. The liability Unearned Service Revenue now shows a balance of 8,000. This amount
represents the remaining advertising services expected to be performed in the future. At the same
time, Service Revenue shows total revenue recognized in October of 104,000. Without this
adjustment, revenues and net income are understated by 4,000 in the income statement. Moreover,
liabilities are overstated and equity is understated by 4,000 on the October 31 statement of financial
position.

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Adjusting Entries for Accruals
The second category of adjusting entries is accruals. Companies make adjusting entries for accruals
to record revenues for services performed and expenses incurred in the current accounting period.
Without an accrual adjustment, the revenue account (and the related asset account) or the expense
account (and the related liability account) are understated. Thus, the adjusting entry for accruals will
increase both a statement of financial position and an income statement account. The following
Illustration shows adjusting entries for accruals.

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Accrued Revenues: Revenues for services performed but not yet recorded at the statement date are
accrued revenues. Accrued revenues may accumulate (accrue) with the passing of time, as in the
case of interest revenue. These are unrecorded because the earning of interest does not involve daily
transactions. Companies do not record interest revenue on a daily basis because it is often
impractical to do so. Accrued revenues also may result from services that have been performed but
not yet billed nor collected, as in the case of commissions and fees. These may be unrecorded
because only a portion of the total service has been performed and the clients will not be billed until
the service has been completed.

An adjusting entry records the receivable that exists at the statement of financial position date and
the revenue for the services performed during the period. Prior to adjustment, both assets and
revenues are understated. Accordingly, an adjusting entry for accrued revenues results in a debit
(increase) to an asset account and a credit (increase) to a revenue account. In October, Pioneer
Advertising performed services worth 2,000 that were not billed to clients on or before October 31.
Because these services are not billed, they are not recorded. The accrual of unrecorded service
revenue increases an asset account, Accounts Receivable. It also increases equity by increasing a
revenue account, Service Revenue, as shown in Illustration

The asset Accounts Receivable shows that clients owe 74,000 at the statement of financial position
date. The balance of 106,000 in Service Revenue represents the total revenue for services performed
during the month (100,000 + 4,000 + 2,000). Without an adjusting entry, assets and equity on the
statement of financial position, and revenues and net income on the income statement, are
understated.
Accrued Expenses: Expenses incurred but not yet paid or recorded at the statement date are called
accrued expenses, such as interest, rent, taxes, and salaries. Accrued expenses result from the same
causes as accrued revenues. In fact, an accrued expense on the books of one company is accrued
revenue to another company. For example, the 2,000 accrual of service revenue by Pioneer
Advertising is an accrued expense to the client that received the service. Adjustments for accrued
expenses record the obligations that exist at the statement of financial position date and recognize
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the expenses that apply to the current accounting period. Prior to adjustment, both liabilities and
expenses are understated. Therefore, the adjusting entry for accrued expenses results in a debit
(increase) to an expense account and a credit (increase) to a liability account.

Accrued interest: Pioneer Advertising signed a three-month note payable in the amount of 50,000
on October 1. The note requires interest at an annual rate of 12 percent. Three factors determine the
amount of the interest accumulation: (1) the face value of the note; (2) the interest rate, which is
always expressed as an annual rate; and (3) the length of time the note is outstanding. For Pioneer,
the total interest due on the 50,000 note at its maturity date three months in the future is 1,500
(50,000 *12%* 3/12), or 500 for one month. The following Illustration shows the formula for
computing interest and its application to Pioneer. Note that the formula expresses the time period as
a fraction of a year.

As the above illustration shows, the accrual of interest at October 31 increases a liability account,
Interest Payable. It also decreases equity by increasing an expense account, Interest Expense.

Interest Expense shows the interest charges for the month of October. Interest Payable shows the
amount of interest owed at the statement date. Pioneer will not pay this amount until the note comes
due at the end of three months. Why does Pioneer use the Interest Payable account instead of
crediting Notes Payable? By recording interestpayable separately, Pioneer discloses the two types of

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obligations (interest and principal) in the accounts and statements. Without this adjusting entry, both
liabilities and interest expense are understated, and both net income and equity are overstated.

Accrued salaries and wages: Companies pay for some types of expenses, such as employee
salaries and wages, after the services have been performed. For example, Pioneer Advertising last
paid salaries and wages on October 26. It will not pay salaries and wages again until November 23.
However, as shown in the calendar below, three working days remain in October (October 29–31).

At October 31, the salaries and wages for these days represent an accrued expense and a related
liability to Pioneer. The employees receive total salaries and wages of 10,000 for a five-day work
week, or 2,000 per day. Thus, accrued salaries and wages at October 31 are 6,000 (2,000* 3). The
analysis and adjustment process is summarized in the following Illustration

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Fundamentals of Accounting – I CH2
After this adjustment, the balance in Salaries and Wages Expense of 46,000 (23 days * 2,000) is the
actual salaries and wages expense for October. The balance in Salaries and Wages Payable of 6,000
is the amount of the liability for salaries and wages owed as of October 31. Without the 6,000
adjustment for salaries and wages, both Pioneer’s expenses and liabilities are understated by 6,000.
Pioneer pays salaries and wages every four weeks. Consequently, the next payday is November 23,
when it will again pay total salaries and wages of 40,000. The payment consists of 6,000 of salaries
and wages payable at October 31 plus 34,000 of salaries and wages expense for November (17
working days as shown in the November calendar *2,000).

Therefore, Pioneer makes the following entry on November 23.

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Fundamentals of Accounting – I CH2
This entry eliminates the liability for Salaries and Wages Payable that Pioneer recorded in the
October 31 adjusting entry. This entry also records the proper amount of Salaries and Wages
Expense for the period between November 1 and November 23.

Bad debts: Proper recognition of revenues and expenses dictates recording bad debts as an expense
of the period in which a company recognizes revenue for services performed instead of the period in
which the company writes off the accounts or notes. The proper valuation of the receivable balance
also requires recognition of uncollectible receivables. Proper recognition and valuation require an
adjusting entry. At the end of each period, a company, such as Marks and Spencer plc (M&S)
(GBR), estimates the amount of receivables that will later prove to be uncollectible. M&S bases the
estimate on various factors: the amount of bad debts it experienced in past years,general economic
conditions, how long the receivables are past due, and other factors that indicate the extent of
uncollectibility.

To illustrate, assume that, based on past experience, Pioneer Advertising reasonably estimates a bad
debt expense for the month of €1,600.

The analysis and adjustment process for bad debts is summarized in following illustration

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Without this adjustment, assets will be overstated, and expenses will be understated. The Allowance
for Doubtful Accounts is a contra asset account and is shown on the statement of financial position,
similar to Accumulated Depreciation—Equipment. A company often expresses bad debts as a
percentage of the revenue on account for the period. Or, a company may compute bad debts by
adjusting the Allowance for Doubtful Accounts to a certain percentage of the trade accounts
receivable and trade notes receivable at the end of the period.

Step 6: Preparing the Adjusted Trial Balance

After journalizing and posting all adjusting entries, Pioneer Advertising prepares another trial
balance from its ledger accounts (shown as follow). This trial balance is called an adjusted trial
balance. The purpose of an adjusted trial balance is to prove the equality of the total debit balances
and the total credit balances in the ledger after all adjustments. Because the accounts contain all data
needed for financial statements, the adjusted trial balance is the primary basis for the preparation of
financial statements.

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Fundamentals of Accounting – I CH2
Step 7: Preparing Financial Statements
Pioneer Advertising can prepare financial statements directly from the adjusted trial balance. This
shows the interrelationships of data in the adjusted trial balance and the financial statements. As the
following illustration shows, Pioneer prepares the income statement from the revenue and expense
accounts. Next, it derives the retained earnings statement

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Fundamentals of Accounting – I CH2
From the retained earnings and dividends accounts and the net income (or net loss)
shown in the income statement. As Illustration above shows, Pioneer then
prepares the statement of financial position from the asset and liability accounts, the
Share Capital—Ordinary account, and the ending retained earnings balance as reported in the
retained earnings statement.

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Step 8: Closing: Basic Process: The closing process reduces the balance of nominal (temporary)
accounts to zero in order to prepare the accounts for the next period’s transactions. In the closing
process Pioneer Advertising transfers all of the revenue and expense account balances (income
statement items) to a clearing or suspense account called Income Summary. The Income Summary
account matches revenues and expenses. Pioneer uses this clearing account only at the end of each
accounting period. The account represents the net income or net loss for the period. It then transfers
this amount (the net income or net loss) to an equity account. (For a corporation, the equity account
is retained earnings; for proprietorships and partnerships, it is a capital account.) Companies post all
such closing entries to the appropriate general ledger accounts.

 Closing Entries
In practice, companies generally prepare closing entries only at the end of a company’s annual
accounting period. However, to illustrate the journalizing and posting of closing entries, we will
assume that Pioneer Advertising closes its books monthly. The below illustration shows the closing
entries at October 31 A couple of cautions about preparing closing entries: (1) Avoid
unintentionally doubling the revenue and expense balances rather than zeroing them. (2) Do not
close

Dividends through the Income Summary account. Dividends are not expenses, and they are not a
factor in determining net income.
Step9: Posting Closing Entries
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The above illustration shows the posting of closing entries and the underlining (ruling) of accounts.
All temporary accounts have zero balances after posting the closing entries. In addition, note that
the balance in Retained Earnings represents the accumulated undistributed earnings of Pioneer
Advertising at the end of the accounting period. Pioneer reports this amount in the statement of
financial position and as the ending amount reported on the retained earnings statement. As noted
above, Pioneer uses the Income Summary account only in closing. It does not journalize and post
entries to this account during the year. As part of the closing process, Pioneer totals, balances, and
double-underlines the temporary accounts - revenues, expenses, and dividends as shown in T-
account form in the following illustration. It does not close the permanent accounts-assets,
liabilities, and equity (Share Capital-Ordinary and Retained Earnings). Instead, Pioneer draws a
single underline beneath the current period entries for the permanent accounts. The account balance
is then entered below the single underline and is carried forward to the next period (see, for
example, Retained Earnings). After the closing process, each income statement account and the
dividend account have zero balances and are ready for use in the next accounting period.

Post-Closing Trial Balance

Recall that a trial balance is prepared after posting the regular transactions of the period, and that a
second trial balance (the adjusted trial balance) occurs after posting the adjusting entries.

A company may take a third trial balance after posting the closing entries. The trial balance after
closing is called the post-closing trial balance. The purpose of the post-closing trial balance is to
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Fundamentals of Accounting – I CH2
prove the equality of the permanent account balances that the company carries forward into the next
accounting period. Since all temporary accounts will have zero balances, the post-closing trial
balance will contain only permanent (real)—statement of financial position— accounts.

Illustration below shows the post-closing trial balance of Pioneer Advertising Agency Inc. A post-
closing trial balance provides evidence that the company has properly journalized and posted the
closing entries. It also shows that the accounting equation is in balance at the end of the accounting
period. However, like the other trial balances, it does not prove that Pioneer has recorded all
transactions or that the ledger is correct. For example, the post-closing trial balance will balance if a
transaction is not journalized and posted, or if a transaction is journalized and posted twice.

step10: Reversing Entries—an Optional Step

Some accountants prefer to reverse certain adjusting entries by making a reversing entry at the
beginning of the next accounting period. A reversing entry is the exact opposite of the adjusting
entry made in the previous period. Use of reversing entries is an optional bookkeeping procedure; it
is not a required step in the accounting cycle.

Summary of Reversing Entries

We summarize guidelines for reversing entries as follows.
1. All accruals should be reversed.
2. All deferrals for which a company debited or credited the original cash transaction to an
expense or revenue account should be reversed.
3. Adjusting entries for depreciation and bad debts are not reversed.

The End of Chapter 2! Have a nice study!

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