Study guides, Class notes & Summaries

Accounting Principles II: Budgets Complete Study Guide Introduction to Budgets Budgets are part of a company's long‐range planning system. While some portions of a long‐range plan are concerned with the organization in five to ten years, the budget is the short‐range portion of the plan. Most budgets are prepared for a twelve‐month period, sometimes on a rolling basis. A rolling budget is updated quarterly (or as often as management requires the data) by dropping the three months...

Accounting Principles II: Cost-Volume-Profit Relationships Complete Study Guide Cost Behavior The way a specific cost reacts to changes in activity levels is called cost behavior. Costs may stay the same or may change proportionately in response to a change in activity. Knowing how a cost reacts to a change in the level of activity makes it easier to create a budget, prepare a forecast, determine how much profit a new product will generate, and determine which of two alternatives should b...

Accounting Principles II: Activity-Based Costing Complete Study Guide Activity-Based Costing Activities Traditionally, in a job order cost system and process cost system, overhead is allocated to a job or function based on direct labor hours, machine hours, or direct labor dollars. However, in some companies, new technologies have changed the manufacturing environment such that the number of hours worked or dollars earned by employees are no longer good indicators of how much overhead will ...

Accounting Principles II: Traditional Cost Systems Concepts Complete Study Guide Job Order Cost System The two basic types of manufacturing processes are the job order approach, where each order is customized, and mass production, where the product is always the same. To accompany these procedures are the two traditional types of cost accounting systems: job order cost system and process cost system. The information captured by these cost accounting systems aids managers in determining tota...

Accounting Principles II: Managerial and Cost Accounting Concepts Complete Study Guide Managerial versus Financial Accounting Financial statements are used by both external users and internal management and provide general information about the entire company. For example, the balance sheet reports total inventories and the income statement reports cost of goods sold, but the costs of individual products are not disclosed to the public. Internal management needs detailed information to make d...

Accounting Principles II: Financial Statement Analysis Complete Study Guide Need for Financial Statement Analysis Financial statement analysis is used to identify the trends and relationships between financial statement items. Both internal management and external users (such as analysts, creditors, and investors) of the financial statements need to evaluate a company's profitability, liquidity, and solvency. The most common methods used for financial statement analysis are trend analysis,...

Accounting Principles II: Statement of Cash Flows Complete Study Guide Statement Sections Cash management is an important function for every business. Knowing what cash is expected to be received and what cash is required for payments is critical information in determining whether a company has excess cash for investment or will need additional cash to meet operating needs such as paying its employees or its suppliers. The financial statement that reports activity in cash and cash equival...

Accounting Principles II: Investments Complete Study Guide Introduction to Investments Companies may have cash balances that exceed their current operating needs. If the extra cash is not needed for a short period of time, the company may invest the excess cash to generate interest or dividend revenue. A company may also have a strategic purpose for accumulating cash, such as acquiring stock in another corporation. The investment of cash in each of these circumstances results in an investme...

Accounting Principles II: Corporations Complete Study Guide Characteristics of a Corporation A corporation is a legal entity, meaning it is a separate entity from its owners who are called stockholders. A corporation is treated as a “person” with most of the rights and obligations of a real person. A corporation is not allowed to hold public office or vote, but it does pay income taxes. It may be established as a profit making or nonprofit organization and may be publicly or privately h...

Accounting Principles II: Partnerships Complete Study Guide Characteristics of a Partnership A partnership is an unincorporated association of two or more individuals to carry on a business for profit. Many small businesses, including retail, service, and professional practitioners, are organized as partnerships. A partnership agreement may be oral or written. However, to avoid misunderstandings, the partnership agreement should be in writing. The agreement should identify the partners; t...