Cash-basis Versus Accrual-basis Accounting
A basis of accounting is the time various financial transactions are recorded. The cash basis (EU VAT vocabulary ''cash accounting'') and the accrual basis are the two primary methods of tracking income and expenses in accounting. Both can be used in a range of situations, from the accounts of a whole country or a large corporation to those of a small business or an individual. In many cases, regulatory bodies require individuals, businesses or corporations to use one method or the other. When this is not the case, the choice of which to use is an important decision, as both methods have advantages and disadvantages. Accrual basis The accrual method records income items when they are ''earned'' and records deductions when expenses are ''incurred''.Treas. Reg., 26 C.F.R. § 1.446-1(c)(1)(ii) For a business invoicing for an item sold, or work done, the corresponding amount will appear in the books even though no payment has yet been received, and debts owed by the business sho ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cash Method Of Accounting
The cash method of accounting, also known as cash-basis accounting, cash receipts and disbursements method of accounting or cash accounting (the EU VAT directive vocabulary Article 226) records revenue when cash is received, and expenses when they are paid in cash. As a basis of accounting, this is in contrast to the alternative accrual method which records income items when they are ''earned'' and records deductions when expenses are ''incurred'' regardless of the flow of cash. Cash method of accounting in the United States (GAAP) Use in contract accounting The cash method of accounting has historically been one of the four methods of recognizing revenues and profits on contracts, the other ones being the accrual method, the completed-contract method and the percentage-of-completion methods. Since the approval by Congress of the Tax Reform Act of 1986, the cash method could not longer be used for C corporations, partnerships in which one or more partners are C Corporations, t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Matching Principle
In accrual accounting, the matching principle instructs that an expense should be reported in the same period in which the corresponding revenue is earned, and is associated with accrual accounting and the revenue recognition principle states that revenues should be recorded during the period in which they are earned, regardless of when the transfer of cash occurs. By recognizing costs in the period they are incurred, a business can see how much money was spent to generate revenue, reducing "noise" from timing mismatch between when costs are incurred and when revenue is realized. Conversely, cash basis accounting calls for the recognition of an expense when the cash is paid, regardless of when the expense was actually incurred.Accounting Principles by Wild, Shaw, Chiappetta If no cause-and-effect relationship exists (''e.g.,'' a sale is impossible), costs are recognized as expenses in the accounting period they expired: ''i.e.,'' when have been used up or consumed (''e.g.,'' of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Corporate Taxation In Canada
A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and recognized as such in law for certain purposes. Early incorporated entities were established by charter (i.e. by an ''ad hoc'' act granted by a monarch or passed by a parliament or legislature). Most jurisdictions now allow the creation of new corporations through registration. Corporations come in many different types but are usually divided by the law of the jurisdiction where they are chartered based on two aspects: by whether they can issue stock, or by whether they are formed to make a profit. Depending on the number of owners, a corporation can be classified as ''aggregate'' (the subject of this article) or '' sole'' (a legal entity consisting of a single incorporated office occupied by a single natural person). One of the most attrac ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Corporate Taxation In The United States
A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and recognized as such in law for certain purposes. Early incorporated entities were established by charter (i.e. by an ''ad hoc'' act granted by a monarch or passed by a parliament or legislature). Most jurisdictions now allow the creation of new corporations through registration. Corporations come in many different types but are usually divided by the law of the jurisdiction where they are chartered based on two aspects: by whether they can issue stock, or by whether they are formed to make a profit. Depending on the number of owners, a corporation can be classified as ''aggregate'' (the subject of this article) or '' sole'' (a legal entity consisting of a single incorporated office occupied by a single natural person). One of the most att ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Personal Taxes
Personal may refer to: Aspects of persons' respective individualities * Privacy * Personality * Personal, personal advertisement, variety of classified advertisement used to find romance or friendship Companies * Personal, Inc., a Washington, D.C.-based tech startup * The Personal, a Canadian-based group car insurance and home insurance company * Telecom Personal, a mobile phone company in Argentina and Paraguay Music * ''Personal'' (album), the debut album by R&B group Men of Vizion * ''Personal'', the first album from singer-songwriter Quique González, and the title song * "Personal" (Aya Ueto song), a 2003 song by Aya Ueto from ''Message'' * "Personal" (Hrvy song), a song from ''Talk to Ya'' * "Personal" (The Vamps song), a song from ''Night & Day'' *"Personal", a song by Kehlani from ''SweetSexySavage'' Books * ''Personal'' (novel), a 2014 novel by Lee Child See also * The Personals (other) * Person * Personality psychology * Personalization * Human sca ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tax Accounting
U.S. tax accounting refers to accounting for tax purposes in the United States. Unlike most countries, the United States has a comprehensive set of accounting principles for tax purposes, prescribed by tax law, which are separate and distinct from Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. Basic rules The Internal Revenue Code governs the application of tax accounting.Section 446sets the basic rules for tax accounting. Tax accounting undeemphasizes consistency for a tax accounting method with references to the applied financial accounting to determine the proper method. The taxpayer must choose a tax accounting method using the taxpayer's financial accounting method as a reference point. Types of tax accounting methods Proper accounting methods are described iwhich permits cash, accrual, and other methods approved by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) including combinations. After choosing a tax accounting method, undesection 446(b)the IRS has wide discretion to re-compute th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Revenue Recognition
The revenue recognition principle is a cornerstone of accrual accounting together with the matching principle. They both determine the accounting period in which revenues and expenses are recognized. According to the principle, revenues are recognized when they are realized or realizable, and are earned (usually when goods are transferred or services rendered), no matter when cash is received. In cash accounting—in contrast—revenues are recognized when cash is received no matter when goods or services are sold. Cash can be received in an earlier or later period than obligations are met (when goods or services are delivered) and related revenues are recognized that results in the following two types of accounts: * Accrued revenue: Revenue is recognized before cash is received. * Deferred revenue: Revenue is recognized when cash is received. Revenue realized during an accounting period is included in the income. International Financial Reporting Standards criteria The IFR ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Deferral
A deferral, in '' accrual accounting'', is any account where the income or expense is not recognised until a future date (accounting period), e.g. annuities, charges, taxes, income, etc. The deferred item may be carried, dependent on type of deferral, as either an asset or liability. See also accrual. Deferrals are the consequence of the revenue recognition principle which dictates that revenues be recognized in the period in which they occur, and the matching principle which dictates expenses to be recognized in the period in which they are incurred. Deferrals are the result of cash flows occurring before they are allowed to be recognized under accrual accounting. As a result, adjusting entries are required to reconcile a flow of cash (or rarely other non-cash items) with events that have not occurred yet as either liabilities or assets. Because of the similarity between deferrals and their corresponding accruals, they are commonly conflated. * Deferred expense: cash has l ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Accrual Basis
Accrual (''accumulation'') of something is, in finance, the adding together of interest or different investments over a period of time. Accruals in accounting For example, a company delivers a product to a customer who will pay for it 30 days later in the next fiscal year, which starts a week after the delivery. The company recognizes the proceeds as a revenue in its current income statement still for the fiscal year of the delivery, even though it will not get paid until the following accounting period. The proceeds are also an accrued income (asset) on the balance sheet for the delivery fiscal year, but not for the next fiscal year when cash is received. Similarly, the salesperson who sold the product earned a commission at the moment of sale (or delivery). The company will recognize the commission as an expense in its current income statement, even though the salesperson will actually get paid at the end of the following week in the next accounting period. The commission is a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Claim Of Right Doctrine
In the tax law of the United States the claim of right doctrine causes a taxpayer to recognize income if they receive the income even though they do not have a fixed right to the income. For the income to qualify as being received there must be a receipt of cash or property that ordinarily constitutes income rather than loans or gifts or deposits that are returnable, the taxpayer needs unlimited control on the use or disposition of the funds, and the taxpayer must hold and treat the income as its own. This law is largely created by the courts, but some aspects have been codified into the Internal Revenue Code. History The claim of right doctrine, as it dictates whether the "right" to the income subject to a contingency that may take the income away is taxable in the US, originated in the '' North American Oil Consolidated v. Burnet'' decision. This court decision said that a taxpayer's income subject to a contingency that may take away the income but a taxpayer who receives it ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Adjusting Entries
In accounting/accountancy, adjusting entries are journal entries usually made at the end of an accounting period to allocate income and expenditure to the period in which they actually occurred. The revenue recognition principle is the basis of making adjusting entries that pertain to unearned and accrued revenues under accrual-basis accounting. They are sometimes called Balance Day adjustments because they are made on balance day. Based on the matching principle of accrual accounting, revenues and associated costs are recognized in the same accounting period. However the actual cash may be received or paid at a different time. Types of adjusting entries Most adjusting entries could be classified this way: Prepayments Adjusting entries for prepayments are necessary to account for cash that has been received prior to delivery of goods or completion of services. When this cash is paid, it is first recorded in a prepaid expense asset account; the account is to be expensed ei ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |