Hiring the right accountant When I meet a business owner operating at a successful $10 million in revenue, they often mention, “My CPA”… I immediately know that CEO/Entrepreneur is referring to their Tax CPA. That is because one thing that all Entrepreneurs have in common is that they must file a tax return. So, from
See also:Quick Ratio AnalysisPrice to Book Value AnalysisPrice Earnings Growth Ratio AnalysisTime Interest Earned Ratio Analysis Use of Financial Ratios Financial Ratios are used to measure financial performance against standards. Analysts compare financial ratios to industry averages (benchmarking), industry standards or rules of thumbs and against internal trends (trends analysis). The most useful comparison when
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The Difference in CPAs Looking back at my career I don’t know how many times I have introduced myself to someone and they ask, “Are you a CPA?” and I say yes. Then they tell me “you must be very busy with tax season” and I look at them with a bit of awe and
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Going concern is an accounting term for a company that has the resources needed to continue operating indefinitely until it provides evidence to the contrary. This term also refers to a company's ability to make enough money to stay afloat or to avoid bankruptcy. If a business is not a going concern, it means it's gone bankrupt and its assets were liquidated. As an example, many dot-coms are no longer going concern companies after the tech bust in the late 1990s.
- Going concern is an accounting term for a company that is financially stable enough to meet its obligations and continue its business for the foreseeable future.
- Certain expenses and assets may be deferred in financial reports if a company is assumed to be a going concern.
- If a company is no longer a going concern, it must start reporting certain information on its financial statements.
- Negative trends that lead to no longer being a going concern include denial of credit, continued losses, and lawsuits.
Accountants use going concern principles to decide what types of reporting should appear on financial statements. Companies that are a going concern may defer reporting long-term assets at current value or liquidating value, but rather at cost. A company remains a going concern when the sale of assets does not impair its ability to continue operation, such as the closure of a small branch office that reassigns the employees to other departments within the company.
Accountants who view a company as a going concern generally believe a firm uses its assets wisely and does not have to liquidate anything. Accountants may also employ going concern principles to determine how a company should proceed with any sales of assets, reduction of expenses, or shifts to other products.
Going concern is not included in the generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) but is included in the generally accepted auditing standards (GAAS).
Certain red flags may appear on financial statements of publicly traded companies that may indicate a business will not be a going concern in the future. Listing of long-term assets normally does not appear in a company's quarterly statements or as a line item on balance sheets. Listing the value of long-term assets may indicate a company plans to sell these assets.
A firm's inability to meet its obligations without substantial restructuring or selling of assets may also indicate it is not a going concern. If a company acquires assets during a time of restructuring, it may plan to resell them later.
Accounting standards try to determine what a company should disclose on its financial statements if there are doubts about its ability to continue as a going concern. In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board determined financial statements should reveal the conditions that support an entity's substantial doubt that it can continue as a going concern. Statements should also show management's interpretation of the conditions and management's future plans.
In general, an auditor examines a company's financial statements to see if it can continue as a going concern for one year following the time of an audit. Conditions that lead to substantial doubt about a going concern include negative trends in operating results, continuous losses from one period to the next, loan defaults, lawsuits against a company, and denial of credit by suppliers.
July 10, 2022 July 10, 2022/ Steven Bragg
The business entity concept states that the transactions associated with a business must be separately recorded from those of its owners or other businesses. Doing so requires the use of separate accounting records for the organization that completely exclude the assets and liabilities of any other entity or the owner. Without this concept, the records of multiple entities would be intermingled, making it quite difficult to discern the financial or taxable results of a single business. Here are several examples of the business entity concept:
A business issues a $1,000 distribution to its sole shareholder. This is a reduction in equity in the records of the business, and $1,000 of taxable income to the shareholder.
The owner of a company personally acquires an office building, and rents space in it to his company at $5,000 per month. This rent expenditure is a valid expense to the company, and is taxable income to the owner.
The owner of a business loans $100,000 to his company. This is recorded by the company as a liability, and by the owner as a loan receivable.
There are many types of business entities, such as sole proprietorships, partnerships, corporations, and government entities.
Reasons for the Business Entity Concept
There are a number of reasons for the business entity concept, including the need to separately track taxes, financial performance, and financial position for each entity. It is also useful for when an organization is liquidated, to determine the amounts of payouts to the various owners. Further, the business entity concept is needed from a liability perspective, to ascertain the assets available in the event of a legal judgment against a business entity. And finally, it is not possible to audit the records of a business if the records have been combined with those of other entities and/or individuals.
July 10, 2022/ Steven Bragg/