EDU Articles
Popular articles
What is Acquisition Accounting?
Also known as Business Combination Accounting, there are specific guidelines and bits of information that must be documented on the books during an acquisition. Acquisition Accounting is a standardized way to account for the assets and liabilities of companies who are part of a merger or acquisition. International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) stipulate that even in a merger where a new company is formed, one company must play the role of acquirer and the other of acquiree, but that rule really only applies outside of the US. Continue reading...
What is IRS Publication 463 on Travel, Entertainment, Gift, and Car Expenses?
IRS Link to Publication — Found Here Publication 463 discusses common business-related deductions such as travel, entertainment, gift, and vehicle expenses. The guide is meant to explain which expenses are deductible, how to report them, how to prove them, and what to do if you get reimbursed. Business expenses are commonly paid for out-of-pocket by employees and business owners, and many of them are unsure exactly which expenses are tax-deductible. Continue reading...
What is Cash and Cash Equivalents?
Cash and cash equivalents are negotiable instruments which have a stable value and are highly liquid. Cash and Cash Equivalents is a phrase used often in the financial world. Generally money market accounts are the most used cash equivalent. They are invested in currency, and their goal is to preserve the value of the the investor’s dollars. Money market accounts are basically completely liquid, and investors can even write checks and make ATM withdrawals from their money market accounts. Continue reading...
What Does M&A Mean?
M&A stands for Mergers and Acquisitions, and refers to the consolidation of companies or assets for strategic purposes. It does not necessarily have to imply that one company wholly takes over another — there are a number of different transactions that can fall under the M&A umbrella, which can include purchase of key assets or management acquisitions. In nearly all cases, however, there are two companies involved - the buyer of capital and the seller. Continue reading...
What is a Balance Sheet?
A company's balance sheet gives a picture of how all the assets, liabilities, and equities of the company "balance out." The basic accounting equation is Total Assets = Total Liabilities + Equity, and a Balance Sheet is going to detail these parts to show how everything adds up at the time of the report. With things equal on both sides of the equation, the company's books are balanced, the same way someone might go back through the carbon copies of checks they've written and "balance the checkbook" to make sure all checks written have been accounted for. Continue reading...
What is an Earnings Recast?
An earnings recast is a revision of previous earnings reports, in which a company has made different choices with their accounting methodology that they feel are a better representation of their accounts. A common time to do this is after a company has divested itself of a subsidiary, when it will publish recast financial statements from the preceding years that show the company’s performance without the subsidiary being included. Continue reading...
What is a Home Office Expense?
IRS Link to Form — Found Here The home office expense deduction allows people who work from home to take a tax deduction reflecting the loss of square footage in their home for the purpose of doing business there. The space must be used exclusively for doing business on a regular basis and it must be the principal place of business, not just a place to work outside of the actual office. Many people fail to file for the home office expense deduction because they believe it will be more trouble than its worth or that it may even trigger an IRS audit of their reporting. Continue reading...
Are Social Security Benefits Taxed?
Many people do not realize that their Social Security Benefits may be taxed. If you have a taxable income in retirement above a certain threshold, up to 85% of your social security benefits can be taxed. The calculation for the threshold income actually includes half of your social security benefits. Whether or not you trigger taxation on your benefits will depend on your “combined” income, which is a sum of your adjusted gross income (taxable income, which can include taxable sources such as qualified retirement plans), your nontaxable interest (from Muni bonds in particular, Roth IRAs are excludable), and half of your household Social Security benefits. Continue reading...
Where do I find a good CPA?
A good CPA can be a valuable ally. You should find one who works with clients similar to you and who is easy to talk to. Taxes and accounting are a part of nearly every financial instrument and consideration that people will be confronted with in their life. It can be very beneficial to work with a CPA who can advise you properly on the issues that affect you. It can also be detrimental to place too much trust in a CPA who isn’t really an expert in the areas he claims to be. Continue reading...
What is Common Stock?
A common stock is the one you’re most familiar with - having a share of ownership in a company. Owning common stock in a company is a vote of confidence that an investor thinks the company will perform well, and grow. Owning common stock also entitles an investor to equity ownership in a corporation, voting rights, and shared participation in a company’s success through dividends and/or capital appreciation. Continue reading...
What is Convertible Preferred Stock?
A convertible preferred stock is one that gives the owner the option to convert shares to common stock, usually by a predetermined date. The shareholder usually has control over when to convert the shares, but in some cases there are provisions that allow the company to force conversion. An investor may choose to do this conversion if they believe the company has high upside potential, and they want common stock exposure which would allow them to participate more in market gains. Continue reading...
What are Accounting Controls?
Internal control systems and procedures can ensure the accuracy and reliability of financial accounts at a business. Accounting controls are meant to ensure that the numbers being put onto the books are accurate. Internal controls are the practices that employees are trained to do, and may be audited on, which general involve some oversight or double-checking to filter out mistakes. This not only prevents mistakes, but also malfeasance, embezzlement and fraud. Accounting done wrong can result in criminal penalties, bankruptcy, and tax problems. Continue reading...
What is Chapter 10?
Chapter 10 is a bankruptcy filing available to smaller corporations where they agree to have their management replaced to oversee a restructuring, and they also agree to have their debts repaid within three years. If a company does not have more than $2.5 million in debt, they may be able to file Chapter 10 bankruptcy. The company and its attorney will put together a plan for reorganization and explain how the plan will ensure that the company meet its obligations in the future. Continue reading...
What is a Stock?
Buying a stock means taking an ownership position in a publicly traded company. Once you purchase a stock, you become a shareholder. A company has two ways of acquiring capital needed for growth: borrowing it (often in the form of issuing bonds), or selling shares of their company's equity, which is known as stock. In other words, when you buy shares of a company’s stock, you are buying a claim to the company's profit margin, because you are technically a part-owner in the company. Those who hold shares of Common Stock, the most typical form of stock, have voting rights in the election of the company’s board members. Continue reading...
What is Minority Interest?
Minority interest is a portion of a company’s stock that is not owned by the parent company, and refers to a type of ownership that generally cannot exert influence over a company’s business decisions. If an outside investor or another company has a less than 50% stake in a company via shares, then they are said to have a minority interest. From an accounting standpoint, only the dividends of a minority interest are counted on a company’s books. If they exert influence over the decision-making, then a percentage of the income may also need to be included. Continue reading...
What is a Form 2106: Employee Business Expense?
IRS Link to Form — Found Here Form 2106 is the long-form way to request deductions for unreimbursed business expenses incurred by an employee in the course of work. This can include professional affiliation dues, continuing education, insurances, vehicle mileage and depreciation, and other possible deductions. Often, employees are not reimbursed for every out-of-pocket expense they incur in the course of their work. This might include wear and tear on a vehicle, professional dues, travel expenses, business meals, and many more items. For any amount to go towards a tax deduction, the itemized unreimbursed expenses must be over 2% of adjusted gross income. Continue reading...
What is Cash-Flow Financing?
Cash flow financing is an alternative method of securing a loan, in which cash flows are the collateral, not assets. In cash flow financing, also known as cash flow loans, a lending institution will base their decisions regarding the size of the loan and the loan repayment schedule on future expected cash flows of the company. The cash flows serve as collateral instead of assets, as in an asset-backed loan. Continue reading...
What is IRS Publication 544 on Sales and Other Dispositions of Assets?
IRS Link to Publication — Found Here This guide is a reference for the tax implications of sales, transfers, barters, exchanges, forfeits, repossession, condemnation and abandonment of property. Where gains or losses are manifested, the guide helps to differentiate between capital gains and ordinary gains, as well as how to figure and report the gains or losses. Often when people sell or dispose of property in various manners there is a question of what the tax implications are, how much of the transaction is taxable, and whether any amount of it can be applied toward tax deductions. This guide, Publication 544, will outline all of the necessary filing forms and reporting practices for almost any kind of sale or disposition of property. Continue reading...
What is an Account Executive?
An account executive is an individual who has executive responsibility of the maintenance of client account. In certain businesses, some client accounts have a high degree of importance and priority with regards to sales and operations, perhaps because they generate significant revenue for the company. Examples of such businesses might be advertising, office products, and investment services. The title of account executive is especially fitting if there is a staff which supports the lead account executive in maintenance of the client relationship and account service, but a staff is not required to hold this title. In other businesses this position might be called an account manager. Continue reading...
What is an Account Balance?
An account balance is the amount either credited to or owed on a ledger assigned to a particular entity or line-item. The balance of an account is the net debit or credit assigned to it after all transactions have been documented for a current period. Transactions might be deposits, withdrawals, interest credited, fees, or other activity. The account in question could be a personal savings or checking account, or a ledger account at a business or institution, or another form of account, such as the macroeconomic concept of current national account. Accounts are said to be “in the red” when there is a net debit (negative) amount, and “in the black” when there is a net positive balance (net credit). Continue reading...