Financial management is a risky business - predictions of future performance are prone to the effects of an ever-changing economic environment. Discounting predicted cash flows is one method a financial manager can use to account for the risks associated with forecasting performance.

“Closing the books” is an important process in the life cycle of any company. It is necessary for both reporting and tax purposes and helps management assess the health and well-being of the business. In this article, we will look at why the process is necessary and discuss the role played by the Income Summary account at the end of a fiscal year.

Par value and no par value stocks exist and accounting for them may be different. In this article, we will review par value of stock, watered stock and sample journal entries to account for issuing stocks.

Fraud related to pocketing cash is not uncommon. One of the ways to steal cash used by fraud perpetrators is lapping schemes. In this article, we review how lapping schemes work and how they can be limited or prevented in your company.

Companies often provide warranties to their customers. There may be standard warranties and extended warranties. Standard warranties are provided when a product is sold and may cover periods from a few months to multiple years. Extended warranties usually require a separate payment and cover periods in addition or after standard warranties. Companies need to account for standard and extended warranties appropriately. We will discuss such accounting in this article.

Most businesses have bank accounts. A number of situations can take place in relation to such accounts. For example, a company may have written checks in excess of a bank balance. Or a company may have a zero balance account and any checks that clear the company’s bank account are financed by a revolving line of credit. How should these transactions be recorded on the balance sheet? What about the statement of cash flows? In this article you will find answers to these questions.

Organizations purchase insurance to obtain protection from unforeseen events and to “share” the cost of potential losses with other entities. Insurance can cover business, auto, health and workers’ compensation losses, among others. In this article, we will look at situations when insurance companies quote an annual premium for coverage and how this is accounted for.

Numerous suppliers (e.g., in the automotive industry) work with their customers to design and develop products or molds, dies, and other tools to manufacture such products. These costs may be called preproduction costs related to long-term supply arrangements. Under these arrangements, customers sometimes reimburse suppliers for the incurred costs. In this article, we will discuss accounting for such costs.

External financing often represents a significant or important part of a company’s capital structure. Companies obtain such financing to fund working capital, acquire a business, etc. The process of obtaining a loan or issuing debt securities involves costs. In this article, we will look at accounting requirements for debt issuance costs under US GAAP and an example of accounting for such costs using the effective interest rate method and the straight-line method.

In this article we will discuss special journals and provide an example of a purchases special journal.