EDU Articles
Popular articles
What are Some of the Applications of Blockchains?
The overarching theme of blockchains is that they can provide security and asset verification in a decentralized system, which is perhaps the best-known method for preventing fraud. Blockchains are a technological revolution that provides an opportunity to establish strong systems for digital identity. Here are some of the applications and uses for it: A user can authenticate a unique physical item by pairing them with a corresponding digital token. In that sense, these tokens serve to connect the physical and digital worlds. With a token assigned to each physical good, that can revolutionize supply chain management, managing intellectual property to prevent counterfeiting and fraud detection. Continue reading...
What is the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)?
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was originally created to encourage market competition and to protect consumers by breaking up monopolies and monitoring mergers and acquisition activity. It has now branched out into more areas in the pursuit of consumer protection and fair markets. The FTC is now comprised of three bureaus: Consumer Protection, Competition, and Economics. They protect consumers from fraudulent business activity and monopolistic business practices. Continue reading...
What are Accounting Records?
Accounting records are the supporting documents that verify the history of transactions, audits, and reports. Accounting documents are sometimes required to be kept on file for a certain number of years. They may be paper or electronic records. Records may include point-of-sale documents such as receipts and invoices, as well as inventory delivery and audit records, and the results of internal and third-party audits from various periods. Continue reading...
What is Account Reconcilement?
Account reconcilement is the act of comparing and affirming multiple records of the same financial information. To “reconcile the books” is to compare different records of the same accounts to ensure that they match up. One might reconcile all the different record-keeping for the same account, such as copies of checks and receipts, to be sure that they add up to the balance and ledger shown on a bank account statement. It could be that the recipient of a check has not yet cashed it, and it is important to keep all records “synced” with one another. 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 present value?
The price in today's dollars for an asset which will appreciate or depreciate to an amount which may be known at a specific date in the future. One simple example of Present Value is the amount that needs to be invested in order to grow to a specific amount later, if the rate of return and length of time are known. So if someone wanted to have $50,000 to buy a boat in 5 years, and they could get 5% on a guaranteed investment, they would need a lump sum investment of about $39,000 to get them there. Continue reading...
What is Net Present Value?
Net Present Value (NPV) is the difference between present value of net inflows versus the present value of outflows (expenses). The net present value is a good analyst tool for measuring the profitability of a company’s project or new undertaking, like expansion into a new market. It measures the anticipated cash inflows (revenues) from the undertaking versus the anticipated costs of the new project (also in present value terms). Continue reading...
What is Revenue?
Revenue is a word describing any cash flowing into a business as a result of goods and services rendered. It is sometimes call gross income, and is a representation of income before all expenses. It is notable, though, that revenue only includes receivables in the current period. The Accounts Receivable on the company’ s books may include the entire cost of the goods or services rendered during that period, but the Revenue should generally only reflect the amount that is paid to the company in the current year. Continue reading...
What is Accrued Revenue?
Revenue that has not yet been received for goods or services already rendered may be documented as Accrued Revenue. Accrual accounting allows a business to put the payments due to it for good and services already rendered into the Assets column of its books. If no invoice or payment plan is established, it sits in the Accrued Revenue line; if so, the item goes into Accounts Receivable. Accrual accounting is different than cash accounting in this regard: cash accounting will only make an entry on the books when cash or goods are exchanged. Accrual accounting is actually mandatory for publicly traded companies with revenues over $5 million who are based in the US, per SEC regulations. Continue reading...
What are Accounting Earnings?
Earnings that are reported in a given year may differ for the same company if different accounting methods were used. Earnings are the revenues of the company minus the cost of good sold, expenses, and investment losses. If that seems like something that’s pretty cut-and-dried, and will look the same no matter who is doing the accounting… well, that’s not entirely correct. Earnings can be made to look different if different non-GAAP or pro-forma methods are used. If non-recurring expenses are ignored or amortized in a pro-forma accounting method, then earnings will not match up to the GAAP-based books. Continue reading...
Which is Better for Me – a Roth or Regular 401(k)?
Some 401(k)s give participants the ability to make after-tax contributions, which raises the question of which fits better into a person’s retirement plan. One advantage to Roth 401(k)s is that they do not have income limits which may have barred certain high earners from contributing to a Roth IRA in the past. Down the road in retirement, it may be advantageous for someone with significant savings to be able to take some withdrawals that do not increase his or her income tax bracket. Continue reading...
What is Future Value?
Future Value is the hypothetical value of an investment at a specific date in the future. The future value (FV) of an investment or business is a calculation used in several types of planning and accounting. In a Time Value of Money (TVM) calculation, the Future Value is often the starting point, and the interest rate that will be earned in the meantime is called Discount Rate, and is discounted by the number of years of periods back to the present time. This allows investors to see the Present Value (PV), which is a lesser, discounted amount from the future value, and gives us the premise for the Time Value of Money, which is that “a dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow.” Continue reading...
What is the gordon growth model?
The Gordon Growth Model is also known as the dividend discount model (DDM). It is a model for pricing a stock that was developed by professor Myron J. Gordon in the 1960s. The model uses a stock’s present value relative to the present value of its future dividends to provide an intrinsic value for the stock. The model is a shaky one at best, especially given that companies these days often change the course of dividend payments, and many (particularly in the tech world) don’t pay any dividends at all. Continue reading...
How do Advisors Charge and How Much Should I Pay?
It depends. There are three commonly used fee structures: fee-only, fee-based, and commission-based, Advisors can be compensated in three ways: It’s impossible to say exactly how much you will end up paying for an advisor – it really depends on the type of advisor you decide to hire, the amount of trading or planning you will be using them for, and the size of your portfolio. In some transactions with commission-based planners, you may not see any out-of-pocket cost; their commissions are built into the products in such a way that it may not appear that there is any direct cost for their services. Continue reading...
What is Discounted Cash Flow?
Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) uses an estimated future cash flow amount and a Discount Rate to determine the Present Value (PV). An investor or business executive might project an estimated future cash flow for a business based on recent growth rates, industry information, futurism, estimated inflation, etc. The most common future cash flow to use is free cash flow, which takes out capital expenditures. Continue reading...
What Is Fraud?
Fraud is a deceitful act with the explicit purpose of gaining an unlawful advantage or depriving a victim of their rights. It's a term that permeates various facets of our society, and within the realm of finance, fraud takes on many forms. In this article, we'll explore the concept of fraud, its types, and the significant consequences it can unleash. Continue reading...
Who is an Account Manager?
Account managers are the point of contact and liaison between a business and its clients. An account manager is assigned to specific accounts to maintain the customer relationship, provide service, and to ensure that the customer remains client. It is easier and more cost-effective to preserve a long-term relationship with a client and to get their repeat business than to find new clients. This is especially true when the client is a business entity and their business constitutes a significant portion of overall Revenue. Continue reading...
What is Return on Sales?
Also called net operating margin, return on sales can indicate how well a company makes use of its sales revenue. By dividing Operating Profit by Net Sales, we can arrive at the Return on Sales. Essentially what we’ve done is broken down profits on a per sales basis. We can see what percentage of sales ends up as profit, or, on the other side of the coin, how much profit is generated per unit of sales. This can be useful for a comparison of companies of different sizes, because it excludes their assets, capital structures, taxes, and interest. Continue reading...
What is Cash Flow?
Cash flow is the liquid flow of cash and cash equivalents into and out of a business. Cash flow is an accounting metric that keeps track of the liquid assets going into and out of a business, project, or fund. Cash flow does not include accounts receivable, necessarily, because those funds may not be in-hand at the present time. The cash conversion cycle (CCC) and some valuation calculations will use cash flow numbers. Accounts may demonstrate positive or negative cash flow, which is either adding to or decreasing total assets. Continue reading...
What is a Sole Proprietorship?
Sole proprietorships are businesses owned by a single person. The owner assumes all legal and financial responsibility for the company. Most sole proprietors will file an LLC with their state, to shield their personal assets from business risks to the extent that they can, as well as to be recognized by the state as a business for other purposes. LLC stands for limited liability company, and it serves as a pass-through entity for the owner. Continue reading...