Accounts Officer

Premium on bonds payable (or bond premium) occurs when bonds payable are issued for an amount greater than their face or maturity amount. This is caused by the bonds having a stated interest rate that is higher than the market interest rate for similar bonds.

In accounting, an ordinary annuity refers to a series of identical cash amounts with each amount occurring at the end of equal time intervals.

An ordinary annuity is also known as an annuity in arrears.

Philosophy didn't prepare me for a career in accounting at all. But it did force me to become philosophical about my prospects. After two years of trying to figure out what to do with my life, I visited Chicago one weekend, and was absolutely spell bound by the gorgeous architecture all around me.

I came home, applied to architecture schools all over the country, and was accepted by one of the best. I've never looked back. This is definitely the career that I was meant to be in.

A company's revenues are amounts it has earned as the result of business activities such as selling merchandise or performing services. Under the accrual method of accounting, revenues are reported on the income statement in the period in which they are earned even when a dependable customer is allowed to pay 60 days later. In this example, when the revenues are earned the company will credit a revenues account and will debit the asset account Accounts Receivable.

After I recuperated from the shock both times, it made me feel stronger. It's true that I was fired twice, but I managed to bounce back both times and land jobs that gave me more responsibility, paid me more money, and were at better firms.

The morale here is very high. I've been exposed to the "seamy underbelly" of this business, but I'm still passionate about working in it.

The recorded costs of the tangible non-current assets used in the business minus the related accumulated depreciation.

The recorded amount of accounts receivable minus the allowance for doubtful accounts.

The amount to be received in the ordinary course of business minus the costs of completion and disposal.

The combination of the cash inflows and the cash outflows from a company's operations (activities outside of its investing and financing activities).

Assets are sometimes defined as resources or things of value that are owned by a company. Some examples of assets which are obvious and will be reported on a company's balance sheet include: cash, accounts receivable, inventory, investments, land, buildings, and equipment.

Revenues and gains minus expenses and losses.

An accounting loss on the sale of a business segment minus the income taxes that were saved (avoided, sheltered) because the loss was also deductible on the company's income tax return.

An accounting period is a period of time such as the 12 months of January 1 through December 31, or the month of June, or the three months of July 1 through September 30. It is the period for which financial statements are prepared. For example, the income statement and the cash flow statement report the amounts occurring during the accounting period, and the balance sheet reports the amounts of assets and liabilties as of the final moment of the accounting period.

These include the cost of goods sold, SG&A expenses, and interest expense.

Gross profit is net sales minus the cost of goods sold. (Some people use the term gross margin and gross profit interchangeably. Others use gross margin to mean the gross profit ratio or the gross profit as a percentage of net sales.)

Gross profit is presented on a multiple-step income statement prior to deducting selling, general and administrative expenses and prior to non-operating revenues, non-operating expenses, gains and losses.

These are the amounts earned through the sale of goods and the providing of services.

Sales refers to the revenues earned when a company sells its goods, products, merchandise, etc. (If a company sells one of its non-current assets that was used in its business, the amount received is not recorded in its Sales account.)

The amounts recorded at the time of the sales transaction is also known as gross sales since there may be subsequent subtractions for sales returns, sales allowances, and early payment discounts. (Gross sales minus these subtractions results in the amount of net sales.)

A fiscal year usually refers to an accounting year that does not end on December 31. (The accounting year of January 1 through December 31 is usually referred to as a calendar year.) Some examples of the fiscal years used by U.S. corporations include:

★ The 12 months of February 1 through January 31

★ The 12 months of October 1 through September 30

★ The 12 months of June 1 through May 31

★ The 52 weeks (four 13-week quarters) ending on the Saturday closest to January 31 (This will require an occasional fiscal year of 53 weeks since 52 weeks X 7 days = 364 days vs. 365 days per year.)

A noncurrent asset is an asset that is not likely to turn to unrestricted cash within one year of the balance sheet date. (This assumes that the company has an operating cycle of less than one year.)

A non-current asset is also referred to as a long-term asset.

Non-current assets are reported under the following balance sheet headings:

★ Investments (long-term)

★ Property, plant and equipment

★ Intangible assets

★ Other assets

This statement reports the major causes for the change in cash and cash equivalents during the accounting period. The cash flows are presented as operating, investing, or financing activities.