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KWAME NKRUMAH UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY SCHOOL OF BUSINESS ACCOUNTING (ACF 551) EXECUTIVE MBA FIRST YEAR 1ST SEMESTER 2012

1.0 COURSE OUTLINE This course introduces the basic concepts of accounting for decision-making. It is designed for managers and not for aspiring accountants. Managers need to interpret, not prepare accounts. It is designed to add tremendous value to the knowledge, skills and competencies of the professional manager not involved in accounting and finance by enhancing his or her understanding of the essential concepts, practices, uses and limitations of accounting information for financial decision making. The following topics will be treated: - Perspective on Accounting and the Accounting process - Financial Statement Analysis and other techniques used by investors, creditors and analysts in reaching informed decisions - The environment of managerial accounting and some managerial accounting techniques - Financing (Time Permitting)

2.0 COURSE OBJECTIVES AND LEARNINIG OUTCOMES The course is aimed at exposing students to: Know their way around published and internal accounting reports

Understand the meaning of accounting terms and parameters, Be able to call upon appropriate financial information for a variety of business decision contexts, Recognize the conventions under which accountants prepare data and the consequential limitation of the information they provide, and Be aware of the bigger, wider and deeper setting within which accounting data and financial imperatives are but a part. Equip students, in practical terms, with information appraisal techniques and cognition of its relevance for decision making and performance assessment. At the end of the course, students will be able to: Adequately interpret the meaning of published set of accounts, Critically question the parameters under which accounting information has been provided and recognize the implication of this process and its content, Call for accounting data appropriate in different decision making contexts, and Understand the relevance and limitations of accounting data in context.

3.0 COURSE TOPICS a) Perspectives on Accounting and the Accounting Process i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. vii. viii. Definition and Scope of Accounting Basic Principles and Concepts of accounting Branches of Accounting with emphasis on Financial and Management Accounting The emergence of Accounting Separation of ownership from control Theoretical perspectives Users of Accounting Information and their needs Characteristics of Accounting Information

ix. x. xi. xii. xiii. xiv. xv.

Books of Prime Entry The Accounting Equation The nature of cash The nature of profit The double entry system and the recording process The matching concept Complete set of Financial Statements

b) Financial Statement Analysis i. ii. iii. iv. Introductory principles of interpretation Approach to interpretation Illustrative interpretation Illustrative ratio analysis

c) The environment of managerial accounting and some managerial accounting techniques i) Introduction to costing principles and techniques ii) Cost-Profit-Volume (CVP) Analysis iii) Budgeting and Budgetary Control iv) Introduction to Variance Analysis v) Project evaluation Accounting and Working Capital Management Accounting and Shorter- Term Decision making d) Financing i. ii. Capital Structure of a corporation Internal Controls and cash management

4.0 COURSE METHODOLOGY While the course is taught using predominantly a classroom lecture/discussion format, group learning activities are strongly encouraged. Students are expected to ask for assistance through Office hours. Students are expected to take an active part in the learning process through participation in classroom/group discussion. Students will be expected to enhance the knowledge learned in the text by further reading, solving practical problems in forms of exercises and by analyzing actual corporate annual reports. Assignments, quizzes and the final exams relate the knowledge of accounting

principles and concepts to problem solving.

5.0 COURSE REQUIREMENTS Course Requirements for a grade include the following:

Individual Assignment Class attendance & Participation Group Term Project Final Examination Total

15% 5% 20% 60% 100%

Form of Final Examination The examination will be a three-hour paper consisting of seven (7) questions in two sections. Candidates are required to answer all the 2 questions in Section A and any 3 from section B.

6.0 LIST OF RECOMMENDED TEXT:

1. ICAG Study Text 2. Accounting Principles, 6th edition by Weygandt, Kieso, and Kimmel; Wiley & Sons, 2002. 3. Accounting for Managers, third edition, Glynn, Murphy, Perrin & Abraham (THOMSOM) 4. Financial Management, 10th edition by Brigham and Erhardt (South-Western Cengage Learning) 5. Business Accounting 11th edition by Frank wood and Alan Sangster, IFRS Edition; Prentice Hall, 2008 6. Management and Cost Accounting 4th Edition by Alnoor Bhimani, Charles T.

Horngren, Srikant M. Datar and George Foster; Prentice Hall, 2008 7. Introduction to management Accounting 14th Edition by Horngren, Sunden, Stratton, Bufgstahler and Schatzberg; Pearson Education ,2002 8. Fundamentals of financial management 12th Edition by James c. Van Horne and John M. Wachowicz JR.; Prentice Hall, 2005 9. Corporate finance and Principles and Practice 4th Edition by Denzil Watson and Anthony Head; Prentice Hall, 2007 10. Gyasi, K Accounting for the Graduate Non-Accounting Students 11. Dyson, J.R Accounting for Non-Accounting Students (5th Edition) 12. Meigs & Meigs Accounting, The basis for Business Decisions 13. The Companies Code, 1963 (Act 179) 14. Other contemporary journals, relevant articles, etc. to be prescribed on a topical basis.

INTRODUCTION TO ACCOUNTING INTRODUCTION Businesses exist to provide goods or services to customers in exchange for a financial reward. Public sector and non profit organizations also provide services although their funding comes not from customers but from government or charitable donations.

Although the course is primarily concerned with profit oriented organizations, most of the principles are equally applicable to the public and nonprofit organizations. Useful definitions of accounting contain in the accounting literature. A definition that is commonly quoted is that produced by the American Institute of Certified and Public Accountants (AICPA) in 1941. Accounting: Is the art of recording, classifying and summarizing, in a significant manner and in terms of money, transactions and events which are in parts at least, of a financial character, interpreting the results thereof. This definition implies accounting has a number of components- some technical (such as recording of data), some more analytical (such as interpreting the results) and some that beg further questions (such as in a significant manner: significant to whom and for what?). Let us consider another definition offered by AICPA:

Accounting: Is the collection, measurement, recording, classification and communication of economic data relating to an enterprise, for purposes of reporting, decision making and control. This give us the clue to the fact that accounting is closely related to other disciplines (we are recording economic data) and also gives us some clue as to the uses of accounting information, i.e. for reporting on what has happened and as an aid to decision making and control of the enterprise. Another part of the same document sees accounting as: Accounting: a discipline which provides financial and other information essential to the efficient conduct and evaluation of the activities of any organization. This suggests that the role of accounting information within an organization is at the very core of running a successful organization. Thus, as we have already noted, accounting can be as a manufactured activity which not only records and classified information but also provides an input to the decision-making processes of enterprises. The latter point is brought out more clearly in the later definition provided by the American Accounting Principles Board in 1970 (APE No. 4):

Accounting: Is a service activity. Its function is to provide quantitative information, primarily financial in nature, about economic entities that is intended to de useful in making economic decisions, in making reasoned choices among alternative courses of action.

KEY CONCEPT Accounting The important point made in these definitions is that Accounting is generally about quantitative information; The information in likely to be financial; It should be useful for making decisions.

Accounting provides an account an explanation or report in financial terms about the transactions of an organization. It enables managers to satisfy the stakeholders in the organization (owners, government, financiers, suppliers, customers, employees etc) that they have acted in the best interest of shareholders rather than themselves. This notion of accountability to others resulted from the stewardship function of managers that takes place through the process of accounting. Stewardship is an important concept because in all but very small businesses, the owners of businesses are not the same as managers. This separation of ownership from control makes accounting particularly influential due to the emphasis given to increasing shareholder wealth. Accountability results in the production of financial statements, primarily for those interested parties who are external to the business. This function is called financial accounting.

Purpose of an Accounting System Generally, to provide financial information through Internal routine reports to management for cost management, planning and control Internal non-routine reports to management for strategic and tactical decisions, e.g. investment in plant and equipment. External reports to various users, e.g. the governments, shareholders, lenders, etc. Management accounting is employed to achieve the first two purposes of an accounting system, i.e

 Internal routine reporting Internal non-routine reporting For the benefit of internal users

A Good Accounting System Helps the Business Person to;

Interpret Past Performance Measure Present Progress Plan for the Future Control Operations Makes Business Decisions Comply with Government Regulations

Separation of Ownership from control The Industrial revolution contributed to development in accounting Risk Capital could be sourced from wealthy investors and invested in industrial enterprises of which they had no practical knowledge. Experienced managers could be employed to run the business on their behalf. The ownership of business became separated from the financial control of that business. Owners therefore desired to monitor the performance of the managers they had engaged and regular accounting reports were demanded. To ensure the accuracy of the accounts, professional accountants were trained and reports were independently audited. Over time, standard formats for these accounting reports were introduced and standard principles and conventions adopted in compilation. The aim of these practices is to ensure the proper conduct of the affairs of the company by its Board of Directors remains true to this day. Financial propriety has been an issue of contemporary concern following scandals involving large European and American companies since the turn of the millennium. The financial reporting requirements of companies are therefore complemented by International Accounting Standards and corporate governance arrangements.

Branches of Accounting There are three main branches of accounting. These are: 1. Financial accounting: It is the application of accounting principles and conventions to

record, compile, analyse and interpret accounting information use by interested parties. It also involves forecasting for effective decision making, and also advise to management. Scope Measures business activities by capturing them in appropriate source documents Recording business activities in day books Posted business transactions to the ledgers and outstanding balances listed in a Trial Balance (Summary) Process summarized data into reports (Financial Statements) Interpret these reports to users to understand & make decisions.

Objectives of financial accounting

Accounting has many objectives, including letting people know: If a business is making a profit or loss; What a business is worth How much cash it has How wealthy a business is How much a business is owed How much a business owes to others.

2. Cost accounting. It is the application of accounting and costing principles, methods and
techniques in the ascertainment of cost, and the analysis of savings and or excesses as compared with previous experience or with standards.

3. Management Accounting:
Management accounting is the process of measuring and reporting information about economic activity within organizations, for use by managers in planning, performance evaluation, and operational control: Manager makes numerous decisions during the day to day operations of a business and in planning for the future. Managerial accounting provides much of the information used for these decisions.

Managerial accounting supports management of the management process. The management process has the following five basic phases as shown below; 1. Planning. 2. Directing. 3. Controlling. 4. Improving. 5. Decision making. Planning: Management uses Planning in developing companys objectives (goals) and translating these objectives into courses of action. For example, a company may set an objective to increase market share by 15% by introducing three new products. The action to achieve this objective might be as follows: 1. Increase in advertising budget. 2. Open a new sale territory 3. Increase the research and developing budget. Planning may be classified as follows: 1. Strategic planning, which is developing long-term actions to achieve the companys objectives. These long-term actions are called Strategies, which often involve periods of 5 to 10 years. 2. Operational Planning, which develops shot term actions for managing the day- to-day operation of the company. Directing: The process by which managers run day-to-day operations is called directing. An example of directing is a production supervisors efforts to keep the production line moving without interruption (downtime). A credit managers development of guidelines for assessing the ability of potential customers to pay their bills is also an example of directing. Controlling: Monitoring operating results and comparing actual results with the expected results is controlling. This feedback allows management to isolate areas for further investigation and possible remedial action. It may also lead to revising future plans. This philosophy of controlling by comparing actual and expected results is called management by exception. Improving: Feedback is also used by managers to support continuous process improvement. Continuous process improvement is the philosophy of continually improving employees, business processes, and products. The objective of continuous improvement is to eliminate the source of problems in a process. In this way, the right products (services) are delivered in the right quantities at the right time.

Decision Making: Inherent in each of the proceeding management processes is decision making. In managing a company, management must continually decide among alternative actions. For example, in directing operations, manager must decide on operating structure, training procedures, and staffing of day-today operations. Managerial accounting supports managers in all phases of the management process. For example, accounting reports comparing actual and expected operating results help managers plan and improve current operations. Such a report might compare the actual and expected costs defective materials. If the cost of defective material is unusually high, management might decide to change suppliers. Planning: For example, deciding what products to make, and where and when to make them. Determining the materials, labor, and other resources that are needed to achieve desired output. In non-profit organizations, deciding which programs to fund. Performance evaluation: Evaluating the profitability of individual products and product lines. Determining the relative contribution of different managers and different parts of the organization. In non-profit organizations, evaluating the effectiveness of managers, departments and programs. Operational control: For example, knowing how much work-in-process is on the factory floor, and at what stages of completion, to assist the line manager in identifying bottlenecks and maintaining a smooth flow of production.

CHARACTERISTICS OR NATURE OF MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING

The main characteristics of management accounting are as follows: 1. Useful in decision-making. The essential aim of management accounting is to assist management in decision-making and control. It is concerned with all such information which can prove useful to management in decision-making. Financial and cost accounting information. Basic accounting useful for management accounting is derived from financial and cost accounting records. Internal use. Information provided by management accounting is exclusively for use by management for internal use. Such information is not to be given to parties external to the business like shareholders ,creditors, banks, etc.

2.

3.

4.

Purely optional. Management accounting is a purely voluntary technique and there is no statutory obligation. Its adoption by any firm depends upon its utility and desirability. Concerned with future. As management accounting is concerned with decision-making, it is related with future because decisions are taken for future course of action and not the past. Flexibility in presentation of information. Unlike financial accounting, in management accounting there are no prescribed formats for presentation of information to management. The form of presentation of information is left to the wisdom of the management accountant who decides which is the most useful format of providing the relevant information, depending upon the utility of each type of form and information.

5.

6.

THE BASIC EQUATION

Basically when a business is established, it is the proprietor who has to provide all the resources of the business. The resources of a business are called assets. If the proprietor provides all the resources the equation is CAPITAL = ASSETS However, the owner cannot provide all the resources of the business. Some of the resources may be provided by outsiders. The resources provided by outsiders are called liabilities. The outsiders may provide resources in the form of loans or overdrafts, or when they supply goods and services to the business on credit. If the owner provide part of the resources while outsiders provide the other part, then the equation becomes CAPITAL + LIABILITIES = ASSETS That is, the resources provided by the owner (capital) plus the resources provided by outsiders (Liabilities) equal the total resources of the business (Assets). This equation is called the Basic or Accounting Equation, and no matter the volume of transactions the equation always holds true. The equation can be rearranged so as to enable the calculation of missing figures: Assets = Capital + liabilities

Capital = Assets Liabilities Liabilities = Assets - Capital FINANCIAL STATEMENT 1. There are two main financial accounting statements. The Profit and Loss Account (Income Statement). This summarizes Income and expenditure over a period of time. If income exceeds expenditure there is a profit, if vice versa, there is a loss, Balance sheet: This is a list of balances arranged according to whether they are assets, capital or liability. A properly drawn up balance sheet should have five categories of entry: 1. Non- current assets 2. Current assets 3. Current liabilities 4. Capital

Non-current asset
These are assets that: Were acquired not for resale. Are to be used in the business for the purpose of earning income. Are expected to be of use to the business for a long time to run the business. Examples include: Land and buildings Fixtures and fittings Machinery Motor vehicle

Current Assets.
They are those assets acquired for resale or for conversion into cash. They are therefore not of a permanent nature and keep changing in form. circulating assets. These are listed in increasing order of liquidity starting with the assets furthest away from being turned into cash. For instance 1. Inventory 2. Amount receivable 3. Cash at bank 4. cash in hand They are therefore called floating or

Liability
There are two categories of liabilities: current liabilities and non-current liabilities. Current liabilities These are the liabilities which are repayable within the accounting period or within 12 calendar months from the last balance sheet date. Examples includes: Trade Creditors, Bank overdraft, and Accrued expenses. Non-current liabilities are items that have to be paid more than a year after the balance sheet date. Classes of Liabilities e.g. Debentures (an unsecured bond). A bond is a long term contract under which a borrower agrees to make payments of interest and principal, on specific dates, to the holders of the bond. NB: All Loans are non-current liabilities unless indicated by the term short-term loan.

CAPITAL AND REVENUE EXPENDITURE

It is important to your understanding of financial statements that you are familiar with the distinction between capital and revenue expenditure. Capital expenditure is incurred when business spends money either to: 1. Buy non-current assets, or 2. Add to the value of an existing non-current asset, or an improvement in their earning capacity. The following expenditures are classified as capital expenditure. 1. Acquisition cost of non-current assets 2. Transportation cost of non-current asset to the business 3. Legal costs of buying non- current assets. 4. Any other costs needed to get a non-current asset ready for use. Capital Expenditure is not charged as an expense in the profit and loss account, although a depreciation charge will usually be made to write off the capital expenditure gradually over time. Depreciation charges are expenses in the profit and loss account. a) Capital expenditure on non-current asset results in the appearance of a non-current asset in the balance sheet of the business. Note: Depreciation is the spreading out of the original cost over the estimated life of tangible non-current asset as to match the revenue generated in the accounting period to comply with the accrual concept. It is also explained as the declined in economic potential of limited life assets originating from wear and tear, natural deterioration through interaction of the elements, and technical obsolescence.

Revenue Expenditure is expenditure which is incurred for either of the following reasons:
a) For the purpose of trade of the business. This includes expenditure classified as selling and distribution expenses, administration expenses and finance charges.

b) To

maintain the existing earning capacity of fixed assets.

Revenue expenditure is charged to the profit and loss account of a period, provided that it relates to the trading activity and sales of that particular period. For example, if a business buys 10 bags of rice for 200 (20 each) and sells 8 of them during an accounting period. The full 200 is revenue expenditure but only 160 is a cost of goods sold during the period. The remaining 40 (cost of two units) will be included in the balance sheet as stock of goods held.

CAPITAL INCOME AND REVENUE INCOME

Capital income is the proceeds from the sale of non-trading assets (i.e. proceeds from the sale of non-current assets, including non-current asset investments). The profits (or losses) from the sale of non-current assets are included in the profit and loss account of a business, for the accounting period in which the sale takes place. Revenue income is income derived from the following sources: a) The sale of trading assets, b) Interest and dividends received from investments held by the business. CAPITAL TRANSACTIONS The categorization of capital and revenue items given above does not mention raising additional capital from the owners(s) of the business, or raising and repaying loans. These are transactions which either: (a) Add to the cash assets of the business, thereby creating a corresponding liability (capital or loan), or (b) When a loan is repaid, it reduces the liabilities (loan) and the assets (cash) of the business. None of these transactions would be reported through the profit and loss account. Why is the distinction between Capital and Revenue items important? Revenue expenditure results from the purchase of goods and services that will either: (a) Be used fully in the accounting period in which they are purchased and so be a cost or expense in the trading, profit and loss account or

(b) Result in a current asset at the end of the accounting period because the goods or services have not yet been consumed. The current asset would be shown in the balance sheet and is not yet a cost or expense in the trading, profit and loss account. Since revenue items and capital items are accounted for in different ways, the correct and consistent calculation of profit for any accounting period depends on the correct and consistent classification of items as revenue or capital. NON FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.

Directors report is required by company law to be included within the corporate

reports. Content of Directors report includes: 1. Principal activities - together with any changes in those activities during the financial year. 2. Business review a fair review of the activities of the company during the year and the financial position at the end of it. 3. Post balance Sheet events important events affecting the company or group which have occurred since the end of the year. 4. Future developments: indicating of likely future developments in the business. Accounting Period Is the time covered by financial statements, which can be for any length but is usually annual, quarterly or monthly.

USERS OF ACCOUNTING INFORMATION

The following are important users of the accounting information: 1. Owners: have the primary interest in the financial information. They have entrusted their financial resources to the firm and, therefore, would like to know periodically its performance. Managers are the custodians of their investments and, therefore, they must submit periodical financial reports to the owners. 2. Managers are responsible for the overall performance of the firm. They make several decisions and therefore need information. Accounting provides relevant information in which managers have a direct interest.

3. Creditors supply financial resources to the firm. They are interested in the continuing profitable performance of the firm so that they may regularly receive interest and repayment of principal. They need accounting information to evaluate the firms

performance and to determine the degree of risk to which they are exposed. 4. Potential investors, get an idea about the firms financial strength and performance from its financial reports. They are generally interested in the earnings, dividend growth of the firm. 5. Employees and trade Unions also make use of financial information. They use it to bargain on matters relating to salary determination, bonus, fringe benefits, or working conditions. 6. Customers might be interested in the financial information because a careful study of the financial statements may provide information about the prices being charged by the firm. 7. Government also has an interest in financial statement for regulating purposes. The tax
department of the government has an interest in determining the taxable income of the firm.

DESIRABLE QUALITIES OF ACCOUNTING INFORMATION.

1. Relevance: The information should be relevant to the needs of the users, so that it helps them to evaluate the financial performance of the business and to draw conclusions from it. 2. Reliability: The information should be of a standard that can be relied upon by external users, so that it is free from error and can be depended upon by users in their decisions. 3. Comparability: Accounts should be comparable with other similar enterprise, and from one period to the next. 4. The information should be in a form which is understandable by user groups. 5. Completeness: Accounting statements should show all aspects of the business. 6. Neutrality: Accounting statements should be free from systematic or deliberate bias towards the needs of one user, they should be objective. 7. Timeliness: Accounting statements should be published as soon possible after the year end.

GENERALLY ACCEPTED PRINCIPLES OF ACCOUNTING

Accounting principles are the rules and conventions that guide the action of the accountancy profession. (a) Fundamental accounting principles are defined as the broad basic assumptions which underline the periodic financial accounts of business enterprises. The principal among them are: 1. Going Concern concept. 2. Accruals Concept 3. Consistency Concept and 4. The Prudence Concept. The use of these concepts is not necessarily self evident from an examination of accounts, but they have such general acceptability that they call for no explanation in published accounts and their observance is presumed unless stated otherwise. (b) Accounting bases are the methods which have been developed for expressing or applying concept to financial transactions and items. (c) Accounting policies are the specific accounting bases selected and consistently followed by a business enterprise as being, in the opinion of management, appropriate to its circumstances and best suited to present fairly its results and financial position.

BUSINESS ENTITY CONCEPT

The business is seen as a separate entity quite distinct from the owner(s) this is to ensure that the accounting records are restricted to only those activities concerning the business, and does not extent to the private transaction of the owner. Going Concern/Continuity Concept Accounting records are constructed on the basis that the enterprise will continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future and that there is no intention to put the company into

liquidation or to make drastic cutbacks to the scale of operations .The main significance of the concept is that the assets of the business should be stated at cost and not their break-up value, which is the amount that they would sell for if they were sold off piecemeal and the business were thus broken up. Accruals/Matching Concept This requires that revenue earned, and associated costs incurred are matched with one another and dealt with in the profit and loss account of the period to which they relate. Prudence/Conservatism This convention simply states do not anticipate profit. Revenue and profits are not anticipated, but are recognized by inclusion in the profit and loss account only when realized in the form of either cash or of other assets, the ultimate cash realization of which can be assessed with reasonable certainty; provision is made for all known liabilities (expenses and losses) whether the amount of theses is known with certainty or is a best estimate in the light of the information available.

Consistency
The application of accounting standard and principles should be consistent from one year to the next.

This requires similar treatment over time. The convention requires that accounting treatment of like items must be consistently applied from period to period. The concepts are so broad that every business should, within limits, select the methods which give the most equitable results of the activities of the business. Inconsistency defeats comparability, constantly changing the method will lead to distortions in the profit calculated from the accounting records. Again comparisons between one period and another will be vitiated and false conclusions drawn. However, the concept does not require businesses to be dogmatic by sticking to only one method. Where circumstances have changed such that the continued use of the method will

prevent the accounts form showing a true and fair view of the position and results, the method must be changed. When a change is effected, the effect, if material should be disclosed in the accounts.
Historical cost concept

Accounting record transactions at their original cost not at market (realizable) value or at current (replacement) cost. The historical cost may be unrelated to market or replacement value. Under this principle, the Statement of financial position (Balance Sheet) does not attempt to represent the value of the business and the owners capital is merely a calculated figure rather than a valuation of the business. The Statement of financial position (Balance Sheet) excludes assets that have not been purchased by businesses but have been built up over time, such as customer goodwill, brand names etc. Monetary measurement Under this principle accounting records transactions and reports information in financial terms. This provides a limited though important perspective on business performance. The criticism of accounting numbers is that they are lagging indicators of performance. Non-financial measures of performance like customer satisfaction, product/service quality, innovation and employee morale, which have a major impact on business performance are ignored.
Accounting period It is the span for which financial statement is prepared. Financial statement can be prepared on monthly, quarterly, half yearly or annually. This time frame is referred to accounting period.

Book keeping Theory of double entry Double entry requires every transaction to be recorded in the books so as to show its effect on both the receiver and the giver. The account receiving monetary value is debited whilst the account giving monetary value is credited. The double entry system of accounting is characterized by the following features: Each business transaction requires two entries to be made. Each transaction requires

One debit entry One credit entry *The Golden Rule of double entry state that every Debit entry must have its corresponding credit entry.

CLASSIFICATION OF ACCOUNTS
For the purpose of double entry book-keeping, there should be classification of accounts. Basically, there are two classes of accounts, Personal and Impersonal accounts. 1. Personal accounts: These are accounts opened to record transactions with persons, firms and companies. They are the account of Debtors and Creditors. 2. Impersonal Accounts: They are the accounts of non-persons. They are used to record all transactions involving assets, expenses and losses, Income and gains.

Ledger
Ledger is a principal book of account into which all transactions are recorded. The simplest form of ledger account is the one with two sides. Called T account. The right-hand side of the account is called credit side and the left-hand is called Debit. This is the layout of a page of an account:

Title of the account is written here

Dr. Cr

The Debit side records the values received, while the credit side records the values given.

DOUBLE ENTRY FOR CAPITAL, ASSETS AND LIABILITIES

1. When the proprietor introduces cash as capital, he becomes a giver and his account capital is credited and cash account debited 2. When proprietor introduces any other asset as capital, that particular asset account is debited and capital account credited. NOTE: The asset could be Motor Van, Building, Furniture and Fitting etc. 3. When the proprietor takes drawings i.e. goods, cash etc., drawings account is debited and the particular item taken is credited. 4. Assets. When assets are purchased: Dr. Particular asset account Cr. Cash or Bank if paid by cash or bank or Cr. Particular creditors account. 5. Liabilities: when creditors are paid. Dr. Particular creditors account Cr. Cash or Bank as appropriate

Double entry for revenue and expenses:

a. When goods are sold on credit. Dr. Particular debtors account Cr. sales account. b. When goods are sold for cash Dr. Cash account and Cr. Sales account.

c. When goods are returned Dr. returns inwards account Cr. particular debtors account d. When rent is received by cash or cheque Dr. Cash or bank Cr. Rent account. e. When any other income is received by cash or cheque Dr. Cash or Bank account Cr. that income account Expenses a. When stocks or goods are purchased by cash or cheque. Dr. Purchases Cr. cash or Bank b. When stocks or goods are purchased on credit. Dr. Purchases account Cr. particular creditors account c. When stocks or purchases are returned Dr. Particular creditors account Cr. Return outwards account d. When any other expenses are paid by cash or cheque Dr. Particular expenses account Cr. Cash or Bank account. CASH DISCOUNT ALLOWED A Cash discount allowed is a discount allowed to a customer if he pays by a certain date.

The customer satisfies his liability in full and therefore his account must be cleared. This is done by crediting him or her with the amount of the discount, and debiting a discount allowed account. The discount allowed is an expense of the business that will appear in the Profit and loss account.

CASH DISCOUNT RECEIVED A Cash discount received is a discount received from a supplier if the business pays its invoices by a certain date. In order to clear the creditors account it must be debited with the amount of the discount. The discount is credited to discount received account. This appears as income in the Profit and loss account for the period. Depreciation Property, Plant & Equipment [(PPE) o r (Fixed assets)] is capitalized in the Statement of financial position so that the purchase of PPE does not affect profit. However, depreciation is an expense that spreads the cost of the asset over its useful life. The following example illustrates the matching principle in relation to depreciation. An asset costs 100, 000. It is expected to have a life of four years and have a resale value of 20,000 at the end of that time. The depreciation charge is: Asset cost - resale value Expected life = 100,000 20,000 = 20,000 p.a. 4

It is important to recognize that the cash outflow of 100,000 occurs when the asset is bought. The depreciation charge of 20,000 per annum is a non-cash expense each year. However, the value of the asset in the Statement of Financial Position reduces each year as a result of the depreciation charge, as follows:

Original Asset cost End of year 1 End of year 2 End of year 3 End of year 4 100,000 100,000 100,000 100,000

Provision for depreciation 20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000

Net value in Balance Sheet 80,000 60,000 40,000 20,000

If the asset is then sold, any profit or loss on sale is treated as a separate item in the Income statement (Profit and Loss account). Alternatively, the asset can be depreciated to a nil value in the Statement of financial position even though it is still in use. Depreciation for intangible assets, such as goodwill or leasehold property improvements, is called amortization, which has the same meaning and is calculated in the same way as depreciation. In reporting profits, some companies show the profit, before depreciation (or amortization) is deducted, because it can be a substantial cost, but one that does not result in any cash flow. Double entry for depreciation/amortization. Debit profit and loss account. Credit provision for depreciation account No double entry in balance sheets The following items are not accounts and are therefore not part of the double entry system: Income statement: this is a list of revenues and expenditures arranged so as to produce figures for gross profit and net profit for a specific period of time.

OPENING BALANCES FOR ASSETS, LIABILITIES AND CAPITAL Usually, the opening balances for assets and liabilities are given, with transactions for a period to be recorded in the Ledgers.

The first thing is to calculate the opening capital by applying the accounting equation Capital = Assets Liabilities Since all assets generally have debit balances (with the exception of Bank which may have a credit balance signifying an overdraft), and all Liabilities and Capital have credit balances, the opening balances of the assets should be debited to the relevant asset accounts while the liabilities are credited to the relevant liabilities accounts. The transactions are then recorded in the usual way. Balancing the ledger accounts Before a trial balance can be drawn up, the ledger accounts must be balanced. Where there are several entries in a ledger account the computation of the balance of the ledger account to go onto the trial balance can be shown in the ledger account by carrying down and bringing down a balance. The procedure is as follows: Step 1. Step 2. Add up the total debits and credits in the account and make a note of the totals. Insert the higher total at the bottom of both the debits and credits, leaving one line for the inclusion of a balance c/d (carried down). The totals should be at level with each other and underlined. Insert on the side which has the lower arithmetical total, the narrative balance c/d and an amount which bring arithmetical total to the total that has been inserted under step 2. above. Step 4. The same figure is shown on the other side of the ledger account but underneath the totals. This is the balance b/d (brought down) The balance c/d is known as the closing balance (at the end of the period just completed). The balance b/d is known as opening balance (at the beginning of the period just about to begin). Note that where there is only one entry in an account there is no need to carry out the balancing procedure as this one entry is the balance c/d and the balance b/d)

Step 3.

THE NATURE AND PURPOSE OF A TRIAL BALANCE

A trial balance is a memorandum listing of all the ledger account balances. In an accounting context memorandum means that the listing is not part of the double entry. The format is shown below. The name of the organization is written on top. Trial balance for the year ended 31st Dec.2011 DR DRAWING UP THE TRIAL BALANCE Once the ledger accounts have all been balanced the trial balance can be drawn up. This is done by listing each of the ledger account names in the businesss books showing against each name the balance on that account and whether that balance is a debit or credit balance brought down. Note that it is the balance brought down which determines whether the account is a debit or credit balance. Application of Double Entry Rule In book-keeping legibility of figures is very essential figures must be written boldly. CR

EXAMPLE The financial position of Hope Enterprise on January 1st 2011 was as follows: Cash in hand 42; Bank 350; Premises 5,800; Fixtures 1,200; Stock 950; Debtor, L. Cross 72; Creditor, B. Blankson 94 The following transactions were undertaken during January 2010: Jan 2. 4. 5. 6. Purchased goods for resale from F. Small 172 Sold goods to M. Mullen 197 Received rent from a subtenant by cheque 24 Returned goods to F. Small 21

7. M. Mullen returned goods 16 8. L. Cross paid 60 on account by cheque 9. Cash Sales 19, Paid wages from cash 25 12. Cash Sales 36 14. Sold goods to C. Crisp 101 15. Purchases goods form F. Hill 197 16. Paid commission by cheque 10. Paid wages 25 cash 18. Write-off the balance of L. Crosss account as irrecoverable 19. Purchases goods form F. Smith 85. Paid carriage inwards 24. Paid carriage outwards by cheque 12 25. She took 60 from bank and 15 goods at cost price for her own use 27. Paid advertising by cheque 14 28. C. Crisp paid his account by cheque 30 Paid salaries by cheque 60 From the above information, open the various ledgers, find the capital, post the transactions to the Ledgers and extract a trial balance as at 31 st January, 2010. To illustrate the rules of double entry Sarfo enterprise commenced business on 1 July 2011. The following transactions took place during the month of July. 1 July. Sarfo commences in business introducing 40,000 Cash 2 July Buys a motor Car for 16,000 Cash 3 July Buys stock for 8,000 Cash 4 July Sells all the goods bought on 3 July for 12,000 each 5 July Buys stock for 16,000 on Credit 6 July Sells half of the goods bought on 5 July on credit for 10,000 7 July Pays 8000 to his trade creditors 8 July Receives 4000 from a debtor 9 July Sarfo draws 3,000 in Cash 10 July Pays rent 1,600 in Cash

11 July Receives a loan of 24,000 repayable in two years 12 July Pays cash of 1,200 for insurance. Write up the ledger accounts for the month of July 2011.
Example George makes up his accounts to 31 December each year. His balance sheet at 31 December 2008 showed the following position: Balance sheet at 31 December 2008 Fixed assets: Land and Building 17,600 Current assets: Stock 5,343 Debtors 4,504 Cash 2,801 12,648 Less: current liabilities Creditors 5,430 7,218 Net current assets 24,818

Less: Long-term liability: Loan account

8,000 16,818

Capital account: Balance at 1 January 2008 Net profits for 2008 Less Drawings Retained profit for 2008 Balance at 31 December 4,708 4,620 88 16,818 16,730

Notes: 1. Debtors consist of: Eric Frank Gina Hope

2,600 987 536 381 4,504

2. Creditors consist of: Monica Nicholas Osei 2,840 1,990 600 5,430 The following transactions took place during January 20X9. 3 January 5 January 8 January Gina settled her accounts in full. Paid 847 to Nicholas. Frank returned as faulty, goods with an invoice value of 264 and paid off the balance owing on his account Sold goods to Gina, invoice value 706 Purchased goods from Paul, invoice value 746 Eric Paid his account subject to a discount of 2% for prompt payment Paid Osei subject to 1.5% discount for early settlement. Bought goods from Osei with invoice value 203 Returned goods to Paul, invoice value 76

12 January 18 January 19 January 24 January 28 January 31 January

The stock remaining at 31 January totalled 6,100. you are required to prepare: 1. Ledger accounts relating to all the above matters (other than closing stock); 2. A trial balance at 31 January 2009.

SUBSIDIARY BOOKS
Subsidiary Books may be defined as books into which transactions are first recorded before being posted to the Ledgers. They are some form of collection books for the various transactions undertaken by a business. Subsidiary Books are variously called Day Books, Books of Prime Entry, and Books of Original Entry. The number and type of subsidiary books kept depends upon the nature and size of the business. But generally books kept include Sales and purchases day books, Returns Books, Journal, cash books, and bills book. 1. PURCHASES DAY BOOK: This is the day book use to record all goods bought on credit from supplies before entries can be made in the Ledgers. The Purchases Day Book is compiled from documents such as Invoices, Supplementary Invoices and Debit Notes received from suppliers. 2. INVOICE: It is document containing a description of the goods sold, quantity and prices, deductions for discount, date of transaction and terms of payment, sent by a supplier to customer. Basically, invoices are Sales Invoices; but the name given to it depends upon the holder of the document. The seller refers to it as sales Invoice while the Buyer calls it Purchases Invoice. All invoices received are numbered serially and entered individually in the Purchases Day Book. Periodically the total of purchases day book is ascertained and posted to the debit of Purchases Account in the General Ledger. The double entry is completed by crediting the suppliers accounts with the individual purchases made. The sum of the individual entries in the suppliers accounts in the Purchases Ledger must equal the total purchases posted to the Purchases Account. The posting of periodic totals to the Purchases Account reduces the number of entries in the account. The Purchases Day Book may be designed as below:

DATE Jan 5 11 23 30 31

INVOICE NO. 00051 00052 00053 00054

PURCHASES DAY BOOK PARTICULARS John owusu Alex Klinogo Gloria Sarfo Abigail Adjei Transfer to Purchases A/C

FOLIO PL1 PL3 PL5 PL7 GL1

AMOUNT 5,000 4,800 1,850 3,500 15,150

SALES DAY BOOK DATE PARTICULARS FOLIO SL1 180.00 18.00 162.00 DETAILS AMOUNT

Jan 21 Bismark Boakye 3 bags sugar @ 60 per bag Less Trade Discount of 10%

26 Eric Peprah 10 bags sugar @ 70 per bag 5 cartons milk @ 50 per carton 40 pkts OmO @ 15 per pkt 10 crates Eggs @ 15 each

SL2 700.00 200.00 600.00 4,500.00 6,000.00

Less Trade Discount, 20% 31 Transfer to Sales A/C GL9

1,200.00

4,800.00 4,962.00

BANK CASH BOOK The method now generally adopted by businesses is to bank all cash and cheques received each day as received, and to make all payments by cheque except in the case of small amounts which are passed on to the petty cash book. CASH BOOK
DATE PARTICULARS FOLIO DIC AMOUNT RECEIVED DAILY TOTAL BAKED 856.55 DATE PARTICULAR L/F DIC DETAILS CHQUES

Jan 1 1 1 2 2

Balance K. Busia & Co Issah Mogtari Dominic K. Okrah Peter Hyde Samuel Ofori Kwadwo Asante John Owusu Yaw Gyan

b/f 5.00 12.50 6.00 12.00 6.30 25.00 2.50 69.50 195.00 237.50 234.00 468.00 243.70 475.00 97.50

Jan1 2 2

666.50 6 7 7

Obeng Bros. Agyen & Co. ltd Wages Salaries

12.50 1488.70 550.00

237.50 500.00 2,038.70

711.70 1000.00 572.50 3809.25 751.05

Rent Petty Cash Balance

c/d

180.00 100.00 751.05

12.50

3,807.25

Balance

b/d

PETTY CASH BOOK AND THE IMPREST SYSTEM The Petty Cash Book is a subsidiary book used to record petty cash disbursements. The main cash book is therefore free from unnecessary details. The person who maintains the Petty Cash is called Petty Cashier.

IMPREST SYSTEM The operation of Petty cash is usually through a system called Imprest System. Under this system, the petty cashier is given a fixed amount, called float or imprest, by the main cashier from which the petty cashier makes petty cash disbursements. Before a payment is made, there should be evidenced by a supporting document called Petty Cash Voucher. At the end of a given period, the petty cashier is reimbursed with an amount equal to the total

disbursements made by him with a cheque from the main cashier to bring the amount of cash back to the float. At any point in time, the Cash in hand plus the total disbursements must equal the float. Eg. Week 1. Float Less Disbursements Cash in Hand Add Reinbursements Float Less Disbursements Cash in Hand Add Reinbursement Float 200 180 20 180 200 160 40 160 200 etc.

Week 2.

Week 3.

This method may involve the employment of a Petty Cash Book which is memorandum in nature, a Petty Cash Account being maintained in the General Ledger. ANALYTICAL PETTY CASH BOOK A better method for recording petty cash transactions is the use of a Petty Cash Book with analysis columns to group certain items under broad headings. As mentioned earlier, every payment by the petty cashier must be evidenced by a Petty Voucher which may be designed as follows:

PETTY CASH VOUCHER No. 10 Travelling Expenses Visit to KNUST Kumasi on 2nd Sept, 2010: Bus Fare 300 Taxi Fare 120 Meals 50 Incidentals 20 490 Authorized by: Received by: Position.. Signature.

3rd Sep.2010

PETTY CASH BOOK

RECEIPTS CASH BOOK FOLIO 3 DATE PARTICULARS VOUCHER NO. TOTAL PAYMENT OFFICE EXP TRAVEL EXP Sitting Allow. LEDGER FOLIO LEDGER A/C

500.00

Mar 1 3 3 5 7 9 9 9 11 11 20 20 20 22 24 26 26 30

Bank Petrol Hotel Exp. Stationery. George Sarfo Petrol Postages Stationery Petrol P. Small Envelopes Petrol Board meetin. Petrol J. Sam Petrol Food Office C Hotel Exp.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

30 20 60 40 20 30 20 10 60 20 20 20 40 10 30 30 10

30 20 60 PL1 20 30 20 10 PL2 20 20 20 40 PL3 30 30 10 10 60 40

470

31 31

Bank Balance

470 c/d 500

160

180

20

110

970

b/d

Apr 1

Balance

970

500

JOURNAL
The Journal is made up of two cash columns, Debit and Credit Columns which are side by side. It is ruled like the other subsidiary books, but the columns have different purposes. Before an entry is made in the Journal, the transaction is analysed to show the account to be debited and the one to be credited. A transaction is recorded by entering the account to be debited first; then the account to be credited is in-set.

NARRATION: An advantage of the Journal over the other subsidiary books is that it tries to
explain the entries made in the book; it explains why an account has been debited and the

other credited. The explanation of the entries made in the Journal is called Narration. A Journal entry is not complete without a narration. A very common form of Journal is as follows: JOURNAL DATE PARTICULARS Jan 1 Motor Vans A/C General Motors Ltd Being the purchase of a motor van on credit FOLIO GL2 PL4 DEBIT 500 CREDIT 500

JOURNAL DATE Jan 1 PARTICULARS Motor Vans A/C General Motor Ltd FOLIO GL2 PL4 DEBIT CREDIT 500 500 NARRATION Being the purchase of a Motor credit

CLASSES OF JOURNAL ENTRIES There are two main classes of journal entries. These are the Simple Journal Entries and the Composite or Compound Journal Entries.

1. SIMPLE JOURNAL ENTRIES: This method is used to record those transactions that involve only two accounts, one account being debited and the other being credited. An example of a Simple Journal Entry is the above showing the purchase of a motor van on credit. 2. COMPOSITE JOURNAL ENTRIES: This method is used to record those transactions that affect several accounts. The Composite Journal Entry is made to combine the various

entries required by the transaction so as to simplify the entries. The transaction may involve: a) Debiting one account and crediting two or more others; or b) Debiting two or more accounts and crediting one other account; or c) Debiting two or more accounts and crediting two or more others. Before the various entries for a transaction can be combined into a composite journal entry, the necessary conditions are that a. There must be a common account or accounts; and b. The common account(s) must take either all the debit entries or all the credit entries. A composite journal entry should never be made in order to combine two entries which are not related, or which did not occur on the same date; or which do not have a common account which takes both debit entries or both credit entries. In all cases the sum of the debits must equal the sum of the credits. For example if a motor van is purchased for 1000, and 400 is paid immediately by chque, the following will be the entries required: i) ii) DR Motor Van A/C 400, CR Bank 400, being the part payment. DR Motor Van A/C 600, CR Supplier 600, being the balance outstanding.

In journalizing the above transaction, these two separate entries can be combined because there is a common account, Motor Van Account, which takes the two debits. The Journal will appear as:

JOURNAL

Motor Van A/C Bank Supplier Being a motor van purchased, 400 being paid immediately by cheque

1000 400 600

The main purpose of the Journal is to provide a convenient record of the details of those transactions which cannot be recorded in any other subsidiary book in date order. USES OF THE JOURNAL Transactions recorded in The Journal are many and varied. We shall have a look at some of these transaction. 1. Purchase and sale of Fixed Assets on Credit: Where goods are purchased for resale, they are recorded in the Purchases Day Book. The sales of goods are also recorded in the Sales Day Book. Where fixed assets are bought or sold on credit, entries should first be made in the Journal before posted to the Ledger. EXAMPLE: Bought fixtures and fittings from Fitters Ltd. 2000 on credit. JOURNAL Fixtures and Fittings Fitters Ltd. Being the purchase of fixtures and fittings on credit for use in Dept. 2000 2000

2. OPENING AND CLOSING JOURNAL ENTRIES: Opening journal entries are used where a business is opening the accounts for the first time, either on the acquisition of a business, or the conversion from single entry to double entry books. All the Assets and Liabilities are first passed through the journal before being posted to the new ledger.

Example: The following is the financial position of Wood on 1 st January, 1986; Land and Buildings 4,000; Plant and Equipment 2,500; Motor Vehicles 3,000; Stock 2,800; Debtors A. Blow 100, P. Panther 400; Loan A. Rich 1,000; Creditor A. Suppliers 200. Prepare the opening journal entries: SOLUTION WOOD JOURNAL 1986 Jan 1 Land & Buildings Plant & Equipment Motor Vehicles Stock Debtors A. Blow P. Panther Loan Creditor A. Suppler Capital Ken Wood 4,000 2,500 3,000 2,800 100 400

12,800 Being the Assets, Liabilities and Capital to open the books 3. Transfers between account:

1,000 200 11600 12,800

Where the same person has two accounts, one in the Sales Ledger as a customer, and another in the Purchases Ledger as a Supplier, it is usual to transfer the smaller amount to set off against the bigger amount in the other Ledger. This is called a contra entries. The transfer can only be done through the Journal. Note: Show by means of journal entry. (All transactions are to be journalized).

Example: The balances on the accounts of James, a supplier, are as follows: in the Purchases Ledger 1,000 (CR) in the Sales Ledger 300 (DR). On 31st December, 2008 it was decided to transfer

the balance in the Sales Ledger to set off against the balance due to him, the difference being paid by cheque. Show the entries for the transfer. JOURNAL FOLIO 1980 Dec. 31 Jamesl James Being transfer of amount in sales Ledger as set off 300 PL3 SL7 300

SALES LEDGER James Dec 1 Balance b/d 300 Dec. 1 J. Snowball 300

PURCHASES LEDGER James Dec 1 J. Snowball Bank 300 700 1,000 Dec. 1 Balance b/f 1,000 1,000

4. BAD DEBTS Where a debt is irrecoverable and is written off as a bad debt, entries must first be made in the Journal in respect of the debt written off as bad before being posted to the Ledger. Example:

On 1st January, 1980 A. Brown was owing 500. He was declared bankrupt and dividend of 40 pesewas in the cedi was recovered from his estate. Show the entries in the journal and the ledger on January 31. JOURNAL Bad Debts A/C A. Brown Being debt written off as bad on bankruptcy of debtor 300 300

A. BROWN 1 Jan. Balance 500 500 NOTE: Whenever a question requires the relevant journal entries, or the journal entries necessary to record only those items that can appropriately be entered in the Journal must be journalized. On the other hand, where required to show by means of journal entries, all entries must be made through the Journal. Other uses of the Journal include Correction of Errors, Dishonored Cheques, Bad Debts recovered, depreciation, Transfer of drawings to Capital Account, Adjustments, etc. Jan. 31 Bank (Dividend) Bad Debts 200 300 500

ADVANTAGES OF USING THE JOURNAL 1. It provides a convenient record of a transaction which cannot be recorded in any other subsidiary book .

2. It states which accounts are affected by the transaction and gives the debit and credit entries to be made in the ledger. The risk of omitting the transaction altogether, or of making one entry only is reduced. 3. The journal explains why one account is debited and the other credited. Errors, irregularities and fraud are more easily effected with direct Ledger entries which give no explanations. The journal acts as an explanation of the entries and details the necessary supporting evidence. It eliminates the need to rely on the book-keepers memory. Some transactions are complicated in nature and may be difficult, if not impossible, to understand without the Journal. Three accounting treatments are important for managers to understand and each is treated in turn: Accounting for value added tax. Accounting for goodwill Accounting for leases.