Accounting All-in-One For Dummies E-Book

Kenneth W. Boyd

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Seitenzahl: 1092

Beschreibung

A one-stop accounting reference Packed with vital information culled from the extensive ForDummies accounting, bookkeeping, and auditing libraries,Accounting All-in-One For Dummies is a powerful, one-stopreference. Accounting All-in-One For Dummies is a comprehensiveresource on a variety of accounting concepts. You'll get upto speed on: setting up your accounting system; recordingaccounting transactions; adjusting and closing entries; preparingincome statements and balance sheets; planning and budgeting foryour business; handling cash and making purchase decisions; andmore. * Ways to report on your financial statements * How to make savvy business decisions * Auditing and detecting financial fraud Accounting All-in-One For Dummies is a one-stop referencefor students studying the application of accounting theories and avaluable desk reference for accounting professionals in theworkforce.

Leseprobe

Accounting All-In-One For Dummies®

Published by:John Wiley & Sons, Inc.,111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com

Copyright © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2013954224

ISBN 978-1-118-75800-7 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-118-81365-2 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-81374-4 (ebk)

Manufactured in the United States of America

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Accounting All-In-One For Dummies®

Visit www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/accountingaio to view this book's cheat sheet.

Table of Contents

Introduction

About This Book

Foolish Assumptions

Icons Used in This Book

Beyond the Book

Where to Go from Here

Book I: Setting Up Your Accounting System

Chapter 1: Grasping Bookkeeping and Accounting Basics

Knowing What Bookkeeping and Accounting Are All About

Distinguishing between bookkeeping and accounting

Taking a panoramic view of bookkeeping and accounting

Wrapping Your Brain around the Accounting Cycle

Working the Fundamental Accounting Equation

Chapter 2: Outlining Your Financial Road Map with a Chart of Accounts

Getting to Know the Chart of Accounts

Connecting the chart of accounts to financial statements

Organizing the accounts

Balancing transactions

Setting Up Your Chart of Accounts

Mulling Over Debits versus Credits

Understanding Double-Entry Accounting

Revisiting the balance sheet equation

Recording journal entries

Figuring out a complex journal entry

Chapter 3: Using Journal Entries and Ledgers

Keeping a Journal

Using journals to record cash transactions

Recording accrual transactions

Exploring other journals

Checking out examples of common journal entries

Bringing It All Together in the Ledger

Realizing what a ledger is

Posting to the ledgers

Viewing an example of a general ledger

Recognizing the purpose of the trial balance

Putting Accounting Software to Work for You

Chapter 4: Choosing an Accounting Method

Distinguishing between Cash and Accrual Basis

The cash basis

The accrual basis

Sorting through Standards for Other Types of Accounting

Managerial accounting

Not-for-profit accounting

Governmental accounting

International accounting

Considering the Conceptual Framework of Financial Accounting

The objective of financial reporting

Characteristics of accounting information

Elements of the financial statements

Financial statement measurements

Book II: Recording Accounting Transactions

Chapter 1: Keeping the Books

Analyzing the Effect of Business Transactions

Revisiting the fundamental accounting equation

Getting familiar with accounts

Defining debits and credits

Knowing more about the transaction methodology

Managing Your Bookkeeping and Accounting System

Categorizing your financial information: The chart of accounts

Standardizing source document forms and processing procedures

Hiring competent personnel

Enforcing strong internal controls

Wrapping Up with End-of-Period Procedures

Tidying up the books

Leaving good audit trails

Staying alert for unusual events and developments

Designing truly useful reports for managers

Chapter 2: Tracking Purchases

Keeping Track of Inventory

Entering initial cost

Managing inventory and its value

Buying and Monitoring Supplies

Staying on Top of Your Bills

Segregating duties to prevent theft

Taking advantage of discounts

Chapter 3: Counting Your Sales

Collecting on Cash Sales

Discovering the value of sales receipts

Recording cash transactions in the books

Selling on Credit

Deciding whether to offer store credit

Recording store credit transactions in the books

Proving Out the Cash Register

Tracking Sales Discounts

Recording Sales Returns and Allowances

Monitoring Accounts Receivable

Accepting Your Losses

Chapter 4: Processing Employee Payroll and Benefits

Staffing Your Business

Completing government forms

Picking pay periods

Determining wage and salary types

Collecting Employee Taxes

Sorting out Social Security tax

Making sense of Medicare tax

Figuring out federal withholding tax

Settling up state and local withholding taxes

Determining Net Pay

Surveying Your Benefits Options

Tax-exempt benefits

Taxable benefits

Dealing with cafeteria plans

Preparing Payroll and Posting It in the Books

Calculating payroll for hourly employees

Doling out funds to salaried employees

Totaling up for commission checks

Putting it together to prepare payroll

Depositing Employee Taxes

Chapter 5: Computing and Reporting Payroll Taxes

Paying Employer Taxes on Social Security and Medicare

Filing Form 941

Knowing how often to file

Completing Unemployment Reports and Paying Unemployment Taxes

How states calculate the FUTA tax rate

Calculating FUTA tax

Filing and paying unemployment taxes to state governments

Carrying Workers’ Compensation Insurance

Maintaining Employee Records

Book III: Adjusting and Closing Entries

Chapter 1: Depreciating Your Assets

Defining Depreciation

Knowing what you can and can't depreciate

Figuring out the useful life of a fixed asset

Delving into cost basis

Evaluating Your Depreciation Options

Walking through the straight-line method

Accelerating by using declining balance

Calculating sum-of-the-years’-digits

Using the units-of-production method

Seeing how the methods compare

Figuring partial year depreciation

Tackling Taxes and Depreciation

Section 179

MACRS

Chapter 2: Paying and Collecting Interest

Deciphering Types of Interest

Simple interest

Compound interest

Handling Interest Income

Delving into Loans and Interest Expenses

Short-term debt

Long-term debt

Chapter 3: Proving Out the Cash

Why Prove Out the Cash?

Making Sure Ending Cash Is Right

Closing the Cash Journals

Finalizing cash receipts

Finalizing cash outlays

Using a Temporary Posting Journal

Chapter 4: Reconciling Accounts and Closing Journal Entries

Reconciling Bank Accounts

Tracking down reconciling items

Using a computerized system

Posting Adjustments and Corrections

Prepping to Close: Checking for Accuracy and Tallying Things Up

Paying attention to initial transaction details

Summarizing journal entries

Analyzing summary results

Planning for cash flow

Posting to the General Ledger

Checking Out Computerized Journal Records

Chapter 5: Checking Your Accuracy

Working with a Trial Balance

Conducting your trial balance

Dealing with trial balance errors

Testing Your Balance by Using Computerized Accounting Systems

Developing a Financial Statement Worksheet

Replacing Worksheets with Computerized Reports

Chapter 6: Adjusting the Books

Adjusting All the Right Areas

Depreciating assets

Allocating prepaid expenses

Counting inventory

Allowing for bad debts

Recognizing unpaid salaries and wages

Testing an Adjusted Trial Balance

Book IV: Preparing Income Statements and Balance Sheets

Chapter 1: Brushing Up on Accounting Standards

Exploring the Origins of Accounting Standards

Recognizing the Role of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)

Tying together regulators for audits of publicly traded companies

ASB audit and attestation standards

AICPA Code of Professional Conduct

Checking Out the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

Getting to Know the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB)

Understanding generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP)

Looking online for FASB standards

Pick a standard: Domestic or international

Chapter 2: Preparing an Income Statement and Considering Profit

Understanding the Nature of Profit

Choosing the Income Statement Format

Deciding What to Disclose in the Income Statement

Considering expense disclosure

Presenting the right amount of expense information

Examining How Sales and Expenses Change Assets and Liabilities

Sizing up a business's financial condition

Noting how accounting transactions affect the income statement and balance sheet

Considering the Diverse Financial Effects of Making a Profit

Introducing T-accounts

Combining activity into one journal entry

Explaining additional transactions related to profit

Reporting Extraordinary Gains and Losses

Segregating the income statement

Considering business disruptions

Questioning whether activity is truly unusual

Correcting Common Misconceptions about Profit

Clearing up profit misconceptions

Comparing to industry standards

Waving the red flag when you see revenue and credit sales increase

Chapter 3: Assessing the Balance Sheet’s Asset Section

Homing in on Historic Cost

Discovering What Makes an Asset Current