Basics of Accounting
Basics of Accounting
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Contents
Introduction to accounting ................................................................................................................................ 2
Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... 2
Meaning of accounting .................................................................................................................................. 2
Functions of accounting ................................................................................................................................. 2
Accounting Cycle ............................................................................................................................................ 3
Book-keeping, accounting and accountancy ................................................................................................. 4
Objectives of accounting................................................................................................................................ 5
Sub-disciplines within accounting.................................................................................................................. 6
Financial accounting .................................................................................................................................. 6
Cost accounting.......................................................................................................................................... 6
Management accounting ........................................................................................................................... 6
Accounting is an art as well as science .......................................................................................................... 6
Advantages of accounting.............................................................................................................................. 7
Disadvantages of accounting ......................................................................................................................... 7
Types of Accounting Information .................................................................................................................. 8
Basic accounting terms ...................................................................................................................................... 9
Accounting principles ....................................................................................................................................... 13
Bases of accounting ......................................................................................................................................... 16
Accounting equation ........................................................................................................................................ 17
Rules of debit and credit .................................................................................................................................. 19
Journal .............................................................................................................................................................. 22
Ledger .............................................................................................................................................................. 31
Subsidiary books .............................................................................................................................................. 35
Cash book ......................................................................................................................................................... 40
Trial balance and rectification of errors .......................................................................................................... 46
Financial statement of sole proprietorship ..................................................................................................... 58
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Introduction to accounting
Introduction
• The main objective of every business is to earn profit.
• At end of each year, every business wants to know how much profit they have earned or losses
occurred, how much stock they have in their warehouse, how much is business liabilities, how
much is owed to them and by whom, etc.
• So many other such questions which a businessman wants to know on a daily, monthly or annual
basis.
• In order to attain such information, it is essential to keep a complete and systematic record of each
and every business transaction entered into during the year.
Meaning of accounting
Accounting is the process of identifying, recording, classifying, summarising, interpreting and
communicating financial information of business to its users for judgement and decision making.
“Accounting is the art of recording, classifying and summarising in a significant manner and in terms of
money, transactions and events, which are, in part atleast, of a financial character, and interpreting the
result thereof.” — American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
Functions of accounting
1. Identifying: Identifying the business transactions of a financial character from the source
documents such as invoice, agreements, cash memos etc. and measure them in terms of
money.
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2. Recording: The next function of accounting is to keep a systematic record of all business
transactions, which are identified in chronological order of their occurrence in the journal or
subsidiary books.
3. Classifying: Classification of the recorded business transactions so as to group the transactions
of similar type at one place. i.e., in ledger accounts. In order to verify the arithmetical accuracy
of the accounts, trial balance is prepared.
4. Summarising: The classified information available from the trial balance is used to prepare
profit and loss account and balance sheet in a manner useful to the users of accounting
information.
5. Analysing: It establishes the relationship between the items of the profit and loss account and
the balance sheet. The purpose of analysing is to identify the financial strength and weakness
of the business. It provides the basis for interpretation.
6. Interpreting: It is concerned with explaining the meaning and significance of the relationship
so established by the analysis. Interpretation should be useful to the users, so as to enable
them to take correct decisions.
7. Communicating: The results obtained from the summarised, analysed and interpreted
information are communicated to the interested parties.
Accounting Cycle
The accounting cycle is the holistic process of recording and processing all financial transactions of a
company, from when the transaction occurs, to its representation on the financial statements, to closing
the accounts. One of the main duties of a bookkeeper is to keep track of the full accounting cycle from
start to finish. The cycle goes on continued till the business ends.
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Accounting - Accounting is considered as a system which collects and processes financial information
of a business. Accounting starts where bookkeeping ends. It includes summarising, analysing,
interpreting and communicating functions of accounting.
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Objectives of accounting
The following are the main objectives or utility of accounting:
1. Keep systematic record of business transaction- The main objective of accounting is to keep
complete record of business transactions according to specified rules. Complete record of business
transactions helps to avoid the possibility of omission and frauds. For this purpose, all the business
transactions are first of all recorded in journal or subsidiary books and then posted into ledger.
2. Calculate profit or loss – The second main objective of accounting is to ascertain the net profit
earned on loss suffered on account of business transactions during a particular period. For this
purpose trading and profit & loss account of the business is prepared at the end of each accounting
period.
3. To ascertain the financial position of the business - After preparing the profit & loss account a
statement called balance sheet is prepared which shows the assets and their values on one hand
and liabilities and capital on the other. A balance sheet is actually a screen picture of financial
position of the business.
4. To provide information to various parties- The objective of the accounting is to communicate the
accounting information to various interested parties like owners, creditors, banks, government etc.
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Cost accounting
Cost accounting assists in analysing the expenditure for ascertaining the cost of various products
manufactured or services rendered by the firm. It also helps in controlling the costs and providing
necessary costing information to management for decision-making.
Management accounting
Management accounting draws the relevant information mainly from financial accounting and cost
accounting which helps the management in budgeting, assessing profitability, taking pricing decisions,
capital expenditure decisions and so on.
Science is obtaining knowledge by a systematic pattern including observation, study, practice, experiments
and investigation. Like Science, Accounting requires gaining knowledge about the economic status of an
entity by systematic study. An accountant finalizes the economic results by identifying, analyzing,
classifying using the method of double entry book-keeping system.
So, Accounting is a science that comprises of rules, principles, concepts, conventions and standards in
science.
Art is the application of techniques and methods. Accounting is an art because it presents the financial
findings by following and implementing universally accepted principles (GAAP).
Art is the study of application of scientific method to practical use. Accounting is an art as the established
rules and principles of accounting are applied to bookkeeping process of an economic entity.
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Advantages of accounting
Disadvantages of accounting
• Accounting ignores the qualitative element: Since accounting is confined to monetary matters
only, qualitative elements like the quality of staff, industrial relations and public relations are
ignored.
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• Accounting may lead to window dressing: The term window dressing means manipulation of
accounts in a way so as to conceal vital facts and present the financial statements in a way to show
a better position than what it is actually.
• Accounting is based on historical costs: Accounting often uses historical costs to measure the
values. This fails to take into consideration factors such as inflation, price changes, etc. This skews
the relevance of such accounting records and information. This is one of the major limitations of
accounting.
• Accounting is not fully exact: Although most of the transactions are recorded on the basis of
evidence such as sale or purchase or receipt of cash, yet some estimates are also made for
ascertaining profit or loss. Examples of this are providing depreciation on the basis of the estimated
useful life of an asset, possible bad debts, the probable market price of the stock of goods, etc.
Information relating to profit or surplus: The income statement i.e., profit and loss account makes
available the accounting information about the profit earned or loss incurred as a result of business
operations or otherwise during an accounting period.
Information relating to financial position: The position statement, i.e., the balance sheet makes the
information available about the financial position of the entity.
In the case of not-for-profit organisation, the difference between assets and liabilities is termed as ‘General
Fund.’
Information about cash flow: Cash flow statement is a statement that shows flow, both inflow and
outflow, of cash during a specific period. It is of immense use as many decisions such as payment of
liabilities, payment of dividend and expansion of business etc., are based on the availability of cash.
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Drawings: any cash or value of goods withdrawn by the owner for personal use or any private payments
made out of business funds.
Classification of liabilities
Internal: which business entity has to pay to the proprietor or owners.
Case Study: Mr. X invests Rs.10000 in his business and takes a loan of Rs.25,000 from SBI Bank for a period
of 10 years. Then he buys goods worth Rs.2000 from Mr. Y on credit for 2 months.
A Business Transaction is an economic activity of the business that changes its financial position.
(The change should be capable of being expressed in terms of money)
Example:
Ram purchased goods worth Rs.2 lacs and sold them for Rs.2.5 lacs. Thus, he earned a profit of Rs.50
thousand.
Transactions - Economic activity of purchasing goods, selling goods.
Event - Profit of Rs 50,000 earned due to the transactions taking place.
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Assets: Assets are valuable resources owned by businesses that are acquired at a measurable money cost.
Example: Cash, Land, Furniture, etc.
Classification of assets
Fictitious assets are those assets which are neither tangible assets nor intangible assets but represent loss
or expenses yet to be written off.
Expenditure: any disbursement of cash or transfer of property or incurring liability for the purpose of
acquiring assets, goods or services.
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It provides benefit over several years. A small part It is consumed within an accounting year i.e.,
is charged to profit & loss account as depreciation provides benefit for a single year only. The entire
and the rest appears in the balance sheet. amount is charged to profit & loss account. It does
not appear in the balance sheet.
Expense: It is a value that has expired during the accounting period. An expense is charged to profit and
loss account.
Gain: It is a profit of irregular or non-recurrent nature. For example, profit on the sale of a fixed asset or
investment.
Loss: A loss is excess of expenses of a period over its related revenues which may arise from normal
business activities. It decreases the owner’s equity.
Case: Following transactions were reported during an accounting reported for Mr. B’ s business of
furniture.
Stock refers to the value of goods which are purchased for reselling and which are lying unsold at the end
of the accounting period.
Inventory includes:
1. Inventory of raw material
2. Inventory of semi-finished goods
3. Inventory of finished goods
4. Inventory of stock
Bills receivable: An accounting term for bills of exchange drawn on debtors or received by way of
endorsement from them. The amount specified in such a bill is receivable at a future date.
Bills payable: an accounting term for bills of exchange accepted in favour of creditors. The amount
specified in such a bill is payable at a future date.
Debtors: Persons or firms to whom goods have been sold or services rendered on credit and payment has
not been received from them.
They owe some amount to the business.
Creditors: Persons or firms from whom goods have been purchased or services procured on credit and
payment has not been made to them. Some amount is still owing to them.
Bad debts: the amount that has become irrecoverable from a debtor. It is debited to P&L account as an
expense.
(i) Trade discount: at a fixed percentage on the list or catalogue price of the goods. Not recorded in the
books of accounts (deducted in the invoice from the gross value of goods)
(ii) Cash Discount: for making prompt payment. It is always recorded in the books of accounts.
Accounting principles
BASIC ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLES
Accounting Principles - Financial statements are the product of a process in which a large volume of data
about aspects of the economic activities of an enterprise are accumulated, analysed and reported. This
process should be carried out in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles. These principles
represent the most current consensus about how accounting information should be recorded, what
information should be disclosed, how it should be disclosed, and which financial statement should be
prepared. The general acceptance of an accounting principle usually depends on its usefulness,
objectiveness and feasibility.
Separate Business Entity Concept - In accounting we make a distinction between business and the owner.
All the books of accounts records day to day financial transactions from the view point of the business
rather than from that of the owner.
For instance, when a person invests Rs. 1 lakh into a business, it will be treated that the business has
borrowed that much money from the owner and it will be shown as a ‘capital’ in the books of accounts of
business.
Similarly, if the owner withdraws some amount from the business, then it is shown as drawings in the
books of accounts of business.
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Money Measurement Concept - In accounting, only those business transactions are recorded which can be
expressed in terms of money. In other words, a fact or transaction or happening which cannot be
expressed in terms of money is not recorded in the accounting books.
This concept imposes two limitations:
Dual Aspect Concept - Financial accounting records all the transactions and events involving financial
element. Each of such transactions requires two aspects to be recorded. The recognition of these two
aspects of every transaction is known as a dual aspect analysis. According to this concept every business
transaction has dual effect.
Going Concern Concept - The business entity is assumed to be a going concern, i.e., it will continue to
operate for an indefinite amount of time. This assumption is important because if the business entity were
to liquidate in the near future, it would have to restate its assets and liabilities in the accordance with the
actual amount that could be realised or payable as the case may be so as to reflect the true financial
position of the entity.
Accounting Period Concept - This concept requires that the life of the business should be divided into
appropriate segments for studying the financial results shown by the enterprise after each segment. A year
is the most common interval on account of prevailing practice, tradition and government requirements.
Some firms adopt financial year of the government, some other calendar year.
Historical Cost Concept - According to this concept an asset is ordinarily entered on the accounting records
at the price paid to acquire it.
The cost concept does not mean that all assets remain on the accounting records at their original cost for
all times to come. The asset may systematically be reduced in its value by charging ‘depreciation’.
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Matching Concept - This concept requires the revenue for a particular period to be matched with its
corresponding expenditure so as to show the true profit for the period.
This means that if you owned a store and spent money to purchase items for your inventory, you wouldn't
record that expense until you sold the items for revenue.
Accrual Concept - Accrual concept is the most fundamental principle of accounting which requires
recording revenues when they are earned and not when they are received in cash and recording expenses
when they are incurred and not when they are paid.
Materiality Convention – Materiality concept states that items of small significance need not be given
strict theoretically correct treatment.
Conservatism Convention - All anticipated expenses or losses will need to be accounted for but all
potential income or gains should not be recorded until actually earned/received.
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Consistency Convention - The convention of consistency requires that once a firm decided on certain
accounting policies and methods and has used these for some time, it should continue to follow the same
methods or procedures for all subsequent similar events and transactions unless it has a sound reason to
do otherwise.
Disclosure Convention: This principle state that the financial statement should be prepared in such a way
that it fairly discloses all the material information to the users, so as to help them in taking a rational
decision.
Bases of accounting
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Disadvantages
1. It does not give a true and fair view Disadvantages
of the profit or loss abd the financial
position of an enterprise 1. It is not as simple as cash basis
2. It does not follow the matching 2. A quick appraisal of the profit/loss
principle of accounting is not possible
Accounting equation
Prior to understanding an accounting equation, it is essential to know about a Balance Sheet (in a simple T
format)
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Meaning
Accounting Equation signifies that the assets of a business are always equal to the total of capital and
liabilities.
A business transaction will result in the change in either of the total assets, liabilities or capital of the firm
and even after the change the assets will be again equal to the total of capital and liabilities.
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Natural persons
Classification of accounts
Representative
persons
Tangible
Real
Impersonal
Intangible
accounts
Nominal
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Note: When any word (as a prefix or suffix) is added to a Nominal A/c, it becomes a Personal A/C
Example:
Interest A/C: Nominal A/c
Interest Outstanding A/C: Personal A/c
Journal
Meaning
The books in which transactions are recorded for the first time from a source document are called ‘Book of
Original Entry’.
Journal is one of the basic books of original entry in which transactions are originally recorded in a
chronological order according to the principles of double entry system.
Date
This column is used to write the date of the business transaction. Different date formats are used in
different countries. Different formats of date are: 15.03.2001, 03.15.2011, 15 March 2021 etc.
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The world "Dr." is used at the end of the name of account debited. It is not necessary to place the word
"Cr." after the name of the credited account, because if one account is Dr. It follows that the other account
must be Cr.
Amount
The debit amount is written in the first "amount" column against the name of account debited and the
credit amount in the second "amount" column against the name of account credited.
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Compound entry - The entry in which more than one account is debited or more than one account is
credited, is known as compound entry. Three or more accounts are connected with a compound entry.
Here two accounts have been debited and the entry involves three accounts. Hence, it is a compound
entry.
We are concerned with the books of business, not with the private books of proprietor. Transactions
between the business and its proprietor are recorded in the following two accounts:
Capital Account
The money with which proprietor starts his business is called capital. When proprietor brings capital in the
business, it is recorded in capital A/C. Capital account is in fact the personal account of the proprietor. So,
it is a personal account. The proprietor has given the benefit to the business through introduction of
capital. So, proprietor's account A/C, i.e., capital account will be credited. From the viewpoint of
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bookkeeping the introduction of capital to the business by proprietor means that the proprietor lends the
money to his business and the business becomes indebted to him. The proprietor is regarded as a special
or internal creditor to the business.
Drawings
If the proprietor draws any money or takes goods from his business for his personal use, it will be recorded
in drawings A/C. Drawings A/C is the personal account of the proprietor, so it is classified as the personal
account. Proprietor receives benefit when he withdraws money or goods from business. So, the
proprietor's account i.e., drawing is debited.
Example:
Trade Discount
This discount is allowed by wholesaler or manufacturer to the retailer at a fixed percentage on the listed
price of goods. It is allowed when goods are manufactured in bulk. No separate entry is passed for the
trade discount, as it is deducted from the invoice of the goods.
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Bad Debts
When the goods are sold on credit to a customer, and if the amount becomes irrecoverable, the amount is
called as bad debts. For recording it, bad debts is debited and customer account is credited.
Outstanding Expenses
Sometimes, there are some expenses which are yet to be paid at the end of the accounting period, they
are called as Outstanding Expenses
Prepaid Expenses
These are those expenses which are related to the next accounting year but paid in advance during the
current year.
Depreciation
It is the gradual decrease in the value of an asset due to wear and tear and passage of time.
Accrued Income
The income which has been earned but not yet received is called accrued income.
Accrued income/c Dr.
To income A/c
Opening Entry
Business firms close their books of accounts at the end of each year and start a new set of books in the
beginning of each new year. The first entry in journal is to record the closing balances of individual assets
and liabilities of the previous year. These balances become the opening balances of the new year. The
entry passed to record the closing balances of the previous year is called the opening entry.
While passing the opening entry all the assets are debited and capital and liabilities are credited. If capital
is not given, total liabilities are deducted from total assets.
Example of Journal
Journalise the following transactions: 2020
Feb. 3 X commenced business with a capital of Rs.15,000
05 Purchased good Rs.6,000
07 Purchased goods on credit from S & Co. Rs.3,000
10 Purchased furniture Rs.2,400
11 Sold goods Rs.3,900
15 Sold goods on credit to D Rs.2,250
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Solution:
Journal
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Ledger
The journal provides a complete listing of the daily transactions of a business, but it does not provide
information about a specific account in one place. For example, to know how much cash balance we have,
the accounting clerk would have to check all the journal entries in which cash is involved which is very
difficult. To avoid this difficulty, the debit and credit of journalized transactions are transferred to ledger
accounts. Thus, all the changes for a single account are located in one place - in a ledger account. This
makes it easy to determine the current balance of any account.
Posting Procedure:
Transferring information i.e., entries from journal to ledger accounts is called posting. The procedure of
posting from journal to ledger is as follows:
1. Locate the ledger account from the first debit in the journal entry.
2. Record the date in the date column on the debit side of the account. The date is the date of transaction
rather than the date of the posting.
3. Record the name of the opposite account (account credited in entry) in the particular (also known as
reference column, description column etc.) column.
4. Record the page number of the journal in the journal reference (J.R) column from where the entry is
being posted.
5. Record the amount of the debit in the "amount column"
6. Locate the ledger account for the first credit in the journal and follow the same procedure.
Balancing An Account:
The difference between the two sides of an account is its balance. The balance is written on the lesser side
to make the two sides equal. The process of equalizing the two sides of an account is known as balancing.
The rules for balancing an account are stated as below:
1. Add up the amount columns of both the sides of an account and write the totals in a separate slip of
paper.
2. Find out the difference of the two totals.
3. Write down the difference on the lesser side of the account.
4. Now total up both the sides and write the totals and draw double lines under them.
5. Again write the difference on the opposite side below the double line.
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If the debit side of an account is heavier, its balance is known as debit balance. and if the credit side of an
account is heavier its balance is known as credit balance. If the two sides are equal, that account will show
zero balance. The rules for determining the balance is as follows:
It may be noted that at the time of balancing an account debit balance is placed on the credit side and
credit balance on debit site. This balance is known as closing balance. What is closing balance in this year,
is the opening balance of the next year.
Example:
Enter the following transactions in journal and post them into ledger:
2018
Jan. 1 Mr. Javed started business with cash Rs.100,000
2 He purchased furniture for Rs.20,000
3 He purchased goods for Rs.60,000
5 He sold goods for cash Rs.80,000
6 He paid salaries Rs.10,000
Solution:
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CLOSING OF ACCOUNTS
1. Personal Accounts
If a personal account shows a debit balance, it indicates the amount owing from him.
On the contrary, if a personal account shows a credit balance, it indicates the amount owing to him.
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2. Real Accounts
Method of closing the Cash A/c and the accounts of all other assets is the same as that of personal
accounts. When balanced, these will always show debit balances.
3. Nominal Accounts
These accounts do not require balancing. As the main purpose of opening such accounts is to ascertain the
net profit or loss of the firm, all such accounts are transferred to the trading and profit and loss account of
the firm at the end of the financial period.
Subsidiary books
If the size of business is small, then it is possible to enter every transaction in Journal only, but if the size of
business is large, it is no longer possible to enter every transaction in one book only. Therefore, Journal is
divided into sub-parts, known as Special Journals.
Therefore, following subsidiary books are prepared:
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Purchase book
All credit purchases of goods are recorded in the purchases journal whereas cash purchases are recorded
in the cash book. Other purchases such as purchases of office equipment, furniture, building, are recoded
in the journal proper if purchased on credit or in the cash book if purchased for cash. The source
documents for recording entries in the book are invoices or bills received by the firm from the supplies of
the goods.
The monthly total of the purchases book is posted to the debit of purchases account in the ledger.
Individual supplier’s accounts may be posted daily.
Pawan Electronics
Dr. Cr.
Date Particulars J.F. Amount Date Particulars J.F. Amount
2017
Aug 10 Purchases 31,050
Aug 29 Purchases 38,700
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Northern Electronics
Dr. Cr.
Date Particulars J.F. Amount Date Particulars J.F. Amount
2017
Aug 18 Purchases 3,06,250
Purchases Account
Dr. Cr.
Date Particulars J.F. Amount Date Particulars J.F. Amount
2017
Aug 31 Sundries as per 6,12,000
Purchases Journal
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Sales book
All credit sales of merchandise are recorded in the sales journal. Cash sales are recorded in the cash book.
The format of the sales journal is similar to that of the purchases journal explained earlier. The source
document for recording entries in the sales journal are sales invoice or bill issued by the firm to the
customers.
Sales Account
Dr. Cr.
Date Particulars J.F. Amount Date Particulars J.F. Amount
2017
Apr 30 Sundries as per 1,10,850
sales book
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Journal proper
Entries recorded in journal proper are:
Opening Entry: In order to open new set of books in the beginning of new accounting year and record
therein opening balances of assets, liabilities and capital, the opening entry is made in the journal.
Adjustment Entries: In order to update ledger account on accrual basis, such entries are made at the end
of the accounting period. Such as Rent outstanding, Prepaid insurance, Depreciation and Commission
received in advance.
Rectification entries: To rectify errors in recording transactions in the books of original entry and their
posting to ledger accounts this journal is used.
Transfer entries: Drawing account is transferred to capital account at the end of the accounting year.
Expenses accounts and revenue accounts which are not balanced at the time of balancing are opened to
record specific transactions. Accounts relating to operation of business such as Sales, Purchases, Opening
Stock, Income, Gains and Expenses, etc., and drawing are closed at the end of the year and their
Total/balances are transferred to Trading and Profit and Loss account by recording the journal entries.
These are also called closing entries.
Other entries: In addition to the above-mentioned entries, recording of the following transaction is done in
the journal proper:
• Purchase/sale of items on credit other than goods.
• Goods withdrawn by the owner for personal use.
• Goods distributed as samples for sales promotion.
• Endorsement and dishonour of bills of exchange.
• Transaction in respect of consignment and joint venture, etc.
• Loss of goods by fire/theft/spoilage.
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Cash book
It plays a dual role. It is both a book of original entry as well as a book of final entry. All cash transactions
are primarily recorded in it as soon as they take place; so, it is a journal (a book of original entry/subsidiary
book). On the other hand, the cash aspect of all cash transactions is finally recorded in the Cash Book (no
posting in Ledger); so, a Cash Book is also a Ledger (a book of final entry/Principal Book).
Cash Book
Dr. Cr.
Date Receipts L.F. Amount Date Payments L.F. Amount
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3. Ledger Folio (L.F.): It records the page number in the ledger where the amount has been posted in the
account.
4. Amount: The amounts received are written on the debit side and the amounts paid are written on the
credit side.
Example
Enter the following transactions in the cash book of Mr. Jamil:
2018. Rs.
Jan. 1 Mr. Jamil started business with cash 2,00,000
Jan. 3 Bought goods for cash 1,40,000
Jan. 5 Paid for stationary 2,000
Jan. 7 Sold goods for cash 80,000
Jan. 10 Paid for trade expenses 2,000
Jan. 11 Sold goods for cash 20,000
Jan. 14 Received cash from Mr. Asif 10,000
Jan. 15 Paid cash to Mr. Qadir 20,000
Jan. 18 Withdrew cash for personal use 6,000
Jan. 22 Bought goods for cash 40,000
Jan. 25 Sold goods for cash 90,000
Jan. 27 Paid for electricity bill 4,000
Jan. 31 Paid salary 10,000
Jan. 31 Paid rent 3,000
Solution:
Single Column Cash Book of Mr. Jamil
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Contra Entry
In any account we can only have one half of a double entry. An account cannot be debited and credited at
the same time. For example, when we sell goods for cash, cash received will be recorded on the debit side
of Cash Book and the goods sold will be posted on the credit side of Sales Account.
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But in Double Column Cash Book, we have two accounts, Cash A/c and the Bank A/c, so it is possible to
have both a debit entry and a credit entry at the same time. For example, cash of Rs.5,000 is deposited into
the bank. In this transaction both Bank A/c and Cash A/c are involved and they will be recorded on both
sides of Double Column Cash Book i.e., on the debit side in bank column and on the credit side in cash
column.
Thus, a transaction in which Cash A/c and Bank A/c are involved, is recorded on both the sides of Double
Column Cash Book, it is called "contra entry".
In recording such a transaction, the letter "C", is written in 'L.F.' column because both aspects of the
transactions are recorded and there is no need to post them into the ledger.
Example
Enter the following transactions in a double column cash book/two column cash book.
2018 Rs.
March 1 Cash in hand 80,000
March 1 Bank Balance 120,000
March 3 Received a cheque from Osman 24,000
March 4 Deposited Osman's cheque with bank --
March 8 Withdrawn from bank for business use 20,000
March 10 Goods sold for cash 30,000
March 15 Goods bought for cash 80,000
March 18 Goods sold for cash 60,000
March 20 Paid Rahim by cheque 26,000
March 30 Deposited into bank 16,000
March 31 Paid salary in cash 10,000
March 31 Paid rent by cheque 6,000
Solution:
pg. 43
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Discount: The amount of discount allowed is recorded on debit side and the amount of discount received is
recorded on credit side in discount column. The totals of debit column and credit column are posted to
discount allowed account and discount received account respectively.
pg. 44
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Note: All other columns are similar to the double column cash book.
Petty Cash
It is another Cash Book which is maintained, generally, in large business concerns to reduce the burden of
'Main Cash Book', in which numerous transactions involving petty (small) amounts are recorded. For this
purpose, a Petty Cashier is appointed by the Chief Cashier. The Chief Cashier advances a sum of money to
the Petty Cashier to enable him to meet petty expenses for a fixed period. The Petty Cashier will record
this amount on the Debit Side of the Petty Cash Book while the Chief Cashier will record the same amount
on the Credit Side of the Main Cash Book.
The balance of the Petty Cash Book will be shown on the asset side of balance sheet as "Cash in hand" at
the end of the year.
Example
From the following particulars prepare a Petty Cash Book under Imprest System.
2018
Jan. 1. Received from the Chief Cashier as imprest cash Rs.400.
Jan. 2. Paid Taxi hire Rs.20.
Jan. 3. Paid postage Rs.28 and stationery Rs.60.
Jan. 4. Purchased stationery Rs.48.
Jan. 5. Paid telegram charges Rs.28 and bus fare Rs.4.
Jan. 6. Bought postage stamps Rs.96.
Jan. 7. Paid Rs.72 for repairs of typewriter.
Solution:
Petty cash book
pg. 45
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pg. 46
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If the trial balance agrees we may reasonably assume that the books are correct. On the other hand, if it
does not agree, it indicates that the books are not correct - there are mistakes somewhere. There are
however, a few types of errors which the trial balance cannot detect. In other words, the trial balance will
agree in spite of the existence of those errors.
pg. 47
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Example
Enter the following transactions in journal and post them into the ledger and also prepare a trial balance.
2018
Jan. 1 Mr. X started business with cash Rs.80,000 and furniture Rs.20,000.
Jan. 2 Purchased goods on credit worth Rs.30,000 from Y.
Jan. 3 Sold goods for cash Rs.16,000.
Jan. 4 Sold goods on credit to S for Rs.10,000
Jan. 8 Cash received from S Rs.9,800 in full settlement of his account.
Solution:
Journal
pg. 48
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Ledger
Cash Account
Furniture Account
Capital Account
pg. 49
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pg. 50
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Types of errors
Errors of omission
pg. 51
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The errors of omission may be committed at the time of recording the transaction in the books of original
entry or while posting to the ledger. These can be of two types:
(i) error of complete omission
(ii) error of partial omission
When a transaction is completely omitted from recording in the books of original record, it is an error of
complete omission. For example, credit sales to Mohan Rs. 10,000, not entered in the sales book. When
the recording of transaction is partly omitted from the books, it is an error of partial omission. If in the
above example, credit sales had been duly recorded in the sales book but the posting from sales book to
Mohan’s account has not been made, it would be an error of partial omission.
Errors of commission
These are the errors which are committed due to wrong posting of transactions, wrong totalling or wrong
balancing of the accounts, wrong casting of the subsidiary books, or wrong recording of amount in the
books of original entry, etc.
For example: Raj Hans Traders paid Rs.25,000 to Preetpal Traders (a supplier of goods). This transaction
was correctly recorded in the cashbook. But while posting to the ledger, Preetpal’s account was debited
with Rs.2,500 only. This constitutes an error of commission.
Such an error by definition is of clerical nature and most of the errors of commission affect in the trial
balance.
Errors of principle
Accounting entries are recorded as per the generally accepted accounting principles. If any of these
principles are violated or ignored, errors resulting from such violation are known as errors of principle.
An error of principle may occur due to incorrect classification of expenditure or receipt between capital
and revenue.
Examples:
• Amount spent on additions to the buildings should be treated as capital expenditure and must be
debited to the asset account. Instead, if this amount is debited to maintenance and repairs account,
it has been treated as a revenue expense. This is an error of principle.
• If a credit purchase of machinery is recorded in purchases book instead of journal proper or rent
paid to the landlord is recorded in the cash book as payment to landlord, these errors of principle.
These errors do not affect the trial balance.
Compensating errors
When two or more errors are committed in such a way that the net effect of these errors on the debits and
credits of accounts is nil, such errors are called compensating errors.
Example: Shyam’s account was debited with Rs.100 instead of Rs.1000 while Ram’s account was debited
with Rs.1000 instead of Rs.100. Thus, Shyam’s account which was debited by Rs.900 less was compensated
by another error in Ram’s account, whose account was debited excess of Rs.900.
pg. 52
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From another point of view, errors may be divided into two categories:
Errors affecting Trial Balance
1. Posting only one aspect of the journal entry in the ledger
2. Posting a journal entry on the wrong side of an account
3. Wrong totalling of the subsidiary books
4. Posting the correct amount in one account and wrong amount in another account
5. Wrong totalling or balancing of the ledger account
6. Omission in writing the balance of an account in the trial balance
7. Writing balance in the wrong column of trial balance
8. Totalling the trial balance wrongly
2. Compensating Errors
Effect of one error is neutralized by the effect of some other error.
3. Errors of Principle
Some fundamental principle of accounting is violated while recording a transaction.
Suppose on the purchase of a typewriter, office expenses account is debited, the trial balance will still
agree
pg. 53
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Rectification of errors
From the point of view of rectification, the errors may be classified into the following two categories:
(a) errors which do not affect the trial balance.
(b) errors which affect the trial balance.
Rectification of errors which do not affect the trial balance (Two sided errors)
These errors are committed in two or more accounts. Such errors are also known as two sided errors. They
can be rectified by recording a journal entry giving the correct debit and credit to the concerned accounts.
pg. 54
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Examples of such errors are – complete omission to record an entry in the books of original entry; wrong
recording of transactions in the book of accounts; complete omission of posting to the wrong account on
the correct side, and errors of principle.
Such errors are rectified by passing a rectifying entry.
The procedure for rectification for such errors is explained with the help of following examples:
(a) Credit sales to Mohan Rs. 10,000 were not recorded in the sales book. This is an error of complete
omission. Its affect is that Mohan’s account has not been debited and Sales account has not been credited.
Accordingly, recording usual entry for credit sales will rectify the error.
(b) Credit sales to Mohan Rs. 10,000 were recorded as Rs. 1,000 in the sales book. This is an error of
commission.
(c) Credit sales to Mohan Rs.10,000 were recorded as Rs. 12,000. This is an error of commission.
(d) Credit sales to Mohan Rs.10,000 was correctly recorded in the sales book but was posted to Ram’s
account.
pg. 55
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(e) Rent paid Rs.2,000 was wrongly shown as payment to landlord in the cash book
Shyam’s Account
Dr. Cr.
Date Particulars J.F. Amount Date Particulars J.F. Amount
Difference in 190
amount posted
short on ……
pg. 56
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The purchases book was undercast by Rs.1,000. The effect of this entry is on purchases account (debit side)
where the total of purchases book is posted
Purchases Account
Dr. Cr.
Date Particulars J.F. Amount Date Particulars J.F. Amount
Suspense account
Sometimes, in spite of best efforts some errors are not located and due to which Trial Balance does not
tally. In such a situation, to avoid delay in preparing the Final Accounts, the difference in the Trial Balance
is placed to a newly opened account known as ‘Suspense Account’ and the Trial Balance tallies.
Later, when errors are detected, rectification entries are passed. When all the errors are rectified, the
account will close.
But if suspense account shows balance, it will be shown on the Asset side of the Balance sheet if it has
debit balance and if it has credit balance, then it is shown on Liabilities side.
Examples
1) Credit sales to Mohan Rs.10,000 were not posted to his account. This is an error of partial omission
committed while posting entries of the sales book.
Trading Account
It is prepared for calculating the gross profit or gross loss arising out of the trading activities of a business.
All expenses which relate to either purchase of raw material or manufacturing of goods are recorded in the
Trading account. All such expenses are called ‘Direct Expenses’.
All Distribution, office, selling, administrative and miscellaneous expenses like, interest on loan, interest on
capital etc. are included in Profit and Loss Account.
A Profit & Loss A/c is an account into which all gains and losses are collected, in order to ascertain the
excess of gains over the losses or vice-versa.
Name of Business
Profit and Loss Account for the year ended .....
pg. 59
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To advertisement XXX
To bad-debts XXX
To commission XXX
To depreciation XXX
Balance sheet
A Balance Sheet is a statement at a particular date showing on one side the trader’s property and
possessions and on the other hand the liabilities.
Balance sheet contains all the Assets and Liabilities to show the exact financial position of the business. It is
known as Balance Sheet because it shows the balances of ledger accounts which are left open after
transferring all the nominal accounts to Trading & Profit & loss Account. Balances of all the Real and
Personal Accounts are grouped together and shown in Balance Sheet as Assets and Liabilities.
Under this method, the assets and liabilities are shown in balance sheet in the order of their permanence.
In other words, the more permanent the assets and liabilities, the earlier they are shown.
pg. 61
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Classification of Assets
1. Non-current Assets: Acquired for continuous use and last for many years.
Example: Furniture, Motor Vehicles etc.
2. Current Assets: Either in the form of cash or can be easily converted into cash within 1 year of the date
of Balance Sheet.
Example: Accrued Income, Closing stock etc.
Classification of Liabilities
1. Non-Current/ Long-term Liabilities
Liabilities which are to be paid after 1 year or more.
Example: Debentures, Public Deposits, etc.
3. Contingent Liabilities
They are liabilities which will become payable only on the happening of some specific event, otherwise not.
Examples:
a. Liabilities for bill discounted
b. Liabilities in respect of a suit pending in a court of law
c. Liability in respect of a guarantee given for another person.
***Contingent liabilities are not shown in the Balance Sheet but as a footnote below the Balance Sheet.
pg. 63
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pg. 64
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pg. 65
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pg. 66
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pg. 67