IMPORTANT CONCEPTS
AND
DEFINITIONS IN ACCOUNTANCY
Book keeping
Let us learn through an example
A customer buys some
groceries from a grocer. He receives a bill against that transaction. He keeps
this record for future reference.
The grocer also keeps the record of goods sold
and money received on that date.
Here, we can see that both the customer as well
as the shop keeper are keeping the record.
There are so many bills or invoices which are
received and paid every month, such as electricity bill, water bill, petrol
bill, property tax bill, salary slips, etc. which are filed and kept as a
record for further references.
Thus ‘keeping of record’ is called as ‘book
keeping’.
Let's take another example
- A business or a firm buys raw material, assets and incurs various
expenses. It also sells the finished goods. For all the transactions separate
bills or invoices are generated. These bills are kept as a record. Similarly
the amount paid or received is also recorded in some books. This way of keeping
a record is called as ‘book keeping’. The recording is done in a systematic
way.
Therefore we can conclude
as :
'Book-keeping is a
system of recording business transactions having money value, in the
books of accounts'.
According to R.N. Carter, "Book-keeping is
the science and art of correctly recording in the books of accounts, all those
business transactions that result in the transfer of money or money's worth.
Thus we can say that -
Book keeping is a systematic record.
It contains only monetary
transactions.
It has a system of recording
which means there is a scientific method.
It is recorded in a set of
books.
In book-keeping there are some rules and
principles to be followed which are universal, so it is called as a science.
Similarly there is an efficient
and attractive way of maintaining records, so it is also called as an
art.
Objectives of book keeping
are :
1. To know the profit or loss
of the business annually.
2. To know the financial
position of the business on a particular date.
3. To know the solvency of the
business to the creditors and money lenders of the business.
4. To act as a proof in the
court of law in case of dispute with third parties.
5. To help management in future
planning.
6. To know the liquidity of the
business.
Accounting :
Accounting is identifying,
measuring, recording, classifying, summarising, analysing, interpreting and
communicating the financial data of the business through financial statements
to it’s end users.
Accountancy :
It is the subject in which one
learns the procedure of accounting by applying some principles and rules of
accounts.
Account
An Account is summary of
business transaction relating to person, thing, goods, or services.
An account has two sides viz
debit side and credit side. The left hand side is called debit side and the
right hand side is called credit side.
An account refers to the
recording of assets, liabilities, incomes, gains, expenditures and losses.
Format of an account
ACCOUNT
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Date
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Particulars
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LF
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Amount
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Date
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Particulars
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LF
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Amount
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Goods
Any article produced or bought for selling purpose is called
goods.
An article or product in which the trader deals is called goods.
For example : A manufacturer buys raw materials and produces some
finished product to sell.
Here, both the raw material as well as the finished product are
called as goods.
Goods are divided into 4 types
1) Purchases - When raw materials are bought in a company
either in cash or on credit is called as 'Purchase'
2) Sales - When finished goods are sold by the
company either on cash or credit basis it is called as 'Sales'
3) Purchase Return - When raw material are returned to the
suppliers it is called as Purchase Return. The other word used for 'Purchase
Return' is 'Return Outward'
4) Sales Return - When finished goods are returned by the
customers it is called as Sales Return. The other word used for 'Sales Return'
is 'Return Inward'
Asset
Anything bought for the business but is not for sale, is called as
an asset. In other words asset is the property of the business.
For example : Machinery, Building, Cash, Furniture,
Stock of goods, etc.
'All goods are assets
but not all assets are goods.'
Income
Any amount received in cash or kind is called an
income. In other words, cost of anything when received is called an income.
For example : Sales of goods, Commission received,
Rent received, interest received, etc.
Gain / Profit
Suppose goods are bought at Rs.500 and sold for
Rs.700. Here the selling price is more than the buying price. It is said to be
profit.
'When the selling price is more than the cost of
any product or service, it is called as profit or gain.'
Expense
Payment made in cash or kind is called an
expense. In other words, cost of a thing when paid is called an expense.
For example : Salaries paid, Wages paid,
Travelling expenses paid, raw material purchased, coal & fuel, rent paid,
interest paid etc.
Loss
Suppose goods are bought at Rs.1,000 and sold
for Rs.900. Here the buying price is more than the selling price. It is said to
be loss.
'When the cost is more than the selling price of
any product or service, it is called as a loss.
Types of Expenditure
a) Capital Expenditure
Capital Expenditure is the expenditure made for
buying a fixed asset. Or in other words when any asset is bought to increase
the productivity or the income of the business, it is called capital
expenditure. In simple words, all the fixed assets are capital expenditures.
For example : When any furniture,
machinery, building, etc. is bought in the business it becomes capital
expenditure.
b) Revenue Expenditure
Revenue Expenditure is the expenditure which is
made daily, weekly, fortnightly, monthly or yearly. Revenue expenses are of
recurring nature. These expenditures are not for buying an asset.
They are made to satisfy the daily needs of the organisations.
For example : Purchase of goods, wages,
salaries, postage and telegram, printing and stationery, etc.
c) Deferred Revenue Expenditure
Deferred Revenue Expenditure is an expenditure
which is made once for all in the business, but is used for the life time of
the business. It is not like fixed asset. So as to levy the expenditure for
life time of the asset or for a longer period, it is partially written of every
year.
For example : Preliminary expenses, formation
expenses, research and development expenses, discount on issue of shares,
debentures, etc.
Transaction :
An exchange of goods and services
against goods and services or against money is called a transaction.
In other words exchange of money or money's
worth is called a transaction.
Transactions are of three types :
a) Cash Transaction : In this type of
transaction cash is received paid immediately during the transaction.
For example : If we go to a grocer and buy a
chocolate, we pay him cash immediately. Such a transaction is called as a cash
transaction.
b) Credit Transaction : When cash is not
received or paid instantly during the transaction, it is said to be credit
transaction. In such transactions, cash remains accrued.
For example : We go to grocer and buy some
groceries and do not pay him cash immediately and tell him that we will pay the
amount next month. This becomes a credit transaction.
c) Barter Transaction : When goods and
services are exchanged for goods and services, then such transaction is called
a barter transaction.
For example : A second hand car is exchanged for
a new bike becomes a barter transaction.
Capital
An amount invested by the owner of the business
in the business is called as capital. The investment may be in cash or in the
form of asset.
Suppose a businessman starts the business with
cash Rs.1,00,000, brings in the business machinery worth Rs.20,000 and
Furniture Rs.5,000 and has a building of Rs.2,00,000. So the total of all these
amounts will be the capital. This means that his capital is Rs.3,25,000.
To find out the capital a simple formula is
applied :
Capital = Assets minus Liabilities.
Drawings
An amount or goods withdrawn by the owner of the
business for his personal use is called as drawings. Drawings is always
deducted from capital.
For example : If a businessman uses goods
from the business of Rs.10,000 for his household and withdraws cash Rs.5,000
for private purpose. So the total of all these amounts will be drawings.
This means that his drawings is Rs.15,000.
Liability
Any amount owed to others is called a liability.
In other words we can say that, the amount due to others is a liability.
For example : Capital, Bank Loan, Creditors,
Bills Payable, Outstanding Expenses, etc.
Reserve
The amount kept aside from the profit of the
business, to meet the business needs when the funds are not available is called
as a 'Reserve'.
In other words we can say that when unexpected
losses occur, the amount used to mitigate those losses is called as a 'Reserve'
For example : Reserve Fund, General Reserve,
Depreciation Fund, Building Fund, etc.
Discount
The reduction in the selling price of goods to
increase the sale of goods is called as 'discount'.
Discount is given on marked price of the goods
by the retailer to the customer.
There are two types of discount
Trade Discount
A Ltd. buys the goods on credit from B Ltd. of
Rs.1,00,000. B Ltd. offers A Ltd., a discount of 20% if the goods are
bought in bulk quantity. This type of discount is called trade discount.
When a discount is given by a manufacturer
to the distributor or from a wholesaler to the retailer is
called as 'trade discount'.
This discount is not shown in the books of
accounts.
Cash Discount
A customer buys the goods on credit from the
supplier of Rs.10,000. If the supplier needs money instantly, he offers the
customer a discount of Rs.500. Thus the customer will pay only Rs.9,500 to
settle his account. This type of discount is called cash discount.
When a discount is given to the
debtor/customer to receive immediate cash from him is called as 'cash
discount'.
This discount is shown in the books of accounts.
This discount is mainly given by the retailer to the end customer.