What is Research and Development (R&D)? Research and Development (R&D) is a process by which a company obtains new knowledge and uses it to improve existing products and introduce new ones to its operations. R&D is a systematic investigation with the objective of introducing innovations to the company’s current product offerings. It achieves this by…
What are Variable Costs? Variable costs are expenses that vary in proportion to the volume of goods or services that a business produces. In other words, they are costs that vary depending on the volume of activity. The costs increase as the volume of activities increases and decrease as the volume of activities decreases. Examples…
What are Credit Sales? Credit sales refer to a sale in which the amount owed will be paid at a later date. In other words, credit sales are purchases made by customers who do not render payment in full, in cash, at the time of purchase. To learn more, check out CFI’s Credit Analyst Certification program….
What is a Working Capital Cycle? The working capital cycle for a business is the length of time it takes to convert the total net working capital (current assets less current liabilities) into cash. Businesses typically try to manage this cycle by selling inventory quickly, collecting revenue from customers quickly, and paying bills slowly to…
What is “Below the Line”? Below the Line refers to items in a profit and loss statement that are income or expense items that are not normally incurred in a company’s day-to-day operations. It includes exceptional and extraordinary items that relate to another accounting period or do not apply to the current accounting period. Categorizing…
What are Product Costs? Product costs are costs that are incurred to create a product that is intended for sale to customers. Product costs include direct material (DM), direct labor (DL), and manufacturing overhead (MOH). Understanding the Costs in Product Costs Product costs are the costs directly incurred from the manufacturing process. The three basic…
What is Stock Based Compensation? Stock Based Compensation (also called Share-Based Compensation or Equity Compensation) is a way of paying employees, executives, and directors of a company with equity in the business. It is typically used to motivate employees beyond their regular cash-based compensation (salary and bonus) and to align their interests with those of…
What is Accrued Income? Accrued income is income that a company will recognize and record in its journal entries when it has been earned – but before cash payment has been received. There are times when a company will record a sales revenue even though they have not received cash from the customer for the…
What is the Legal Liability of Financial Auditors? Concerns about the legal liability of auditors continue to grow every day. Financial auditors are highly important people because, ultimately, they are responsible for enhancing the reliability of financial statements for external users. Like other professionals, they can face civil and criminal liabilities in the performance of…
What is the Sales and Collection Cycle? The Sales and Collection Cycle, also known as the Revenue, Receivables, and Receipts (RRR) Cycle, is composed of various classes of transactions. The sales class and receipts class of transactions are the typical journal entries that debit accounts receivable and credit sales revenue, and debit cash and credit accounts…
