Taking a Closer Look at Trial Balances
A trial balance is an accounting tool that helps businesses determine if the double entry accounting system has any mathematical errors. Once the trial balance is worked through, and the total debits and total credits equal each other, we know there are no mathematical errors – but that doesn’t mean it is error free. It […]
Contingent Liability Defined
As the name implies, a contingent liability for a business does not always happen and depends on how the future unfolds. When it comes to a business analyzing a contingent liability, it focuses on the probability of the business realizing it, the time frame within which the liability might occur, and the accuracy of the […]
Optimizing Your Business’ Performance with Capacity Management
When it comes to business operations and measuring performance, the optimal production scale a company can sustain is an important metric to measure. If a business’ capacity can’t be realized and sustained – or the bottlenecks can’t be identified and addressed in a timely manner – a business will likely stagnate and fail. Understanding more […]
Defining Materiality in Accounting
In the world of accounting and auditing, there is a concept called materiality. The term materiality essentially means an amount that if erroneously omitted or included impacts the financials of a company to the point where they don’t tell the truth. One very basic example would be if a $1 million revenue small business made a mistake recording their accounts […]
How the 2022 Consolidated Appropriations Act Impacted Accounting in 2023
According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ report “Advancing Rural Health Equity,” the 2022 Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) maintained telehealth options due to the Covid-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) order for 151 more days beyond the original expiration of the Covid-19 PHE. Medicare recipients will benefit from the extension of telehealth services. This […]
Understanding Operating and Capital Leases
The first thing to define is what a lease itself is. It’s an agreement or contract where one party, the lessor, allows another individual or business, the lessee, to use their asset in return for payments or different assets. The next step is to define the following types of leases. The two types covered in […]
Understanding Mark-to-Market
The term mark-to-market is an important phrase in corporate finance that has many nuances and industry-specific uses. Mark-to-market is a corporate finance term that provides businesses with a way to evaluate a holding’s fair value for both assets and liabilities. Since values can change over time, this gives a rational assessment of a business’ present […]
Evaluating Net Operating Loss Considerations
When it comes to determining if a business is eligible to claim a net operating loss (NOL), it depends on the financial situation. If a business’ taxable income is less than its allowable deductions in a set tax period, usually a year, then the business can utilize the NOL deduction on future tax obligations. Since […]
How to Account for Capital Assets
When it comes to accounting for capital assets, specifically depreciating capital assets, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) provides guidance to state and local governments for accounting processes. The GASB is responsible for the generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) for the private sector (corporate and business accounting), and it works to promote clear, consistent, transparent, […]
Purchase Acquisition Accounting
Purchase acquisition accounting is the commonly accepted method to document the acquisition of another business on the balance sheet of the acquiring company. The business’ assets that are being acquired are documented on the acquiring firm’s books at fair market value. The fair market value – defined as what assets would go for on the […]