What are ‘provisions’? How are they created? Give accounting treatment in case of provision for doubtful Debts.
According to the Companies Act the term ‘Provision’ refers to any of the following amounts :-
(a) The amount written off or retained by way of providing for depreciation renewals or diminution in value of assets; or
(b) The amount retained by way of providing for any known liability of which the amount cannot be determined with substantial accuracy.
E.g. A trader who sells on credit basis knows that some of the debtors of the current period would default and would not pay or would pay only partially. It is necessary to take into account such an expected loss while calculating true and fair profit/loss according to the principle of Prudence or Conservatism.
Therefore, the trader creates a provision for doubtful debts to take care of expected loss at the time of realization from debtors. In a similar way, provision for repairs and renewals may also be created to provide for expected repair and renewal of the fixed assets.
Examples of provisions are:-
(i) Provision for depreciation
(ii) Provision for bad and doubtful debts
(iii) Provision for taxation
(iv) Provision for discount on debtors
(v) Provision for repairs and renewals
Accounting Treatment for Doubtful Debts : First of all the amount of expected bad debts is ascertained which is posted in the debit side of P&L Account as new provision for doubtful debts is greater than new one, it will be shown in the credit side of P&L account and if the new provision is greater than the old one, the balance amount will be shown in the debit side of the P&L account. After that the amount of new provision will be deducted from the debtors figure in the assets side of the balance sheet.
State whether the following statements are true or false:
State briefly the need for providing depreciation.
Give four examples each of ‘revenue reserve’ and ‘capital reserves’.
Explain the concept of depreciation. What is the need for charging depreciation and what are the causes of depreciation?
Give four examples each of ‘provision’ and ‘reserves’.
Name and explain different types of reserves in detail.
What are the effects of depreciation on profit and loss account and balance sheet?
State with reasons whether the following statements are True or False ;
(i) Making excessive provision for doubtful debits builds up the secret reserve in the business.
(ii) Capital reserves are normally created out of free or distributable profits.
(iii) Dividend equalisation reserve is an example of general reserve.
(iv) General reserve can be used only for some specific purposes.
(v) ‘Provision’ is a charge against profit.
(vi) Reserves are created to meet future expenses or losses the amount of which is not certain.
(vii) Creation of reserve reduces taxable profits of the business.
Discuss in detail the straight line method and written down value method of depreciation. Distinguish between the two and also give situations where they are useful.
Basaria Confectioner bought a cold storage plant on July 01, 2014 for ₹ 1,00,000. Compare the amount of depreciation charged for first three years using:
Name any two types of commonly used negotiable instruments.
Why is it necessary to record the adjusting entries in the preparation of final accounts?
State the meaning of incomplete records?
Briefly state how the cash book is both journal and a ledger.
State the meaning of a trial balance?
State the four basic requirements of a database applications.
Define accounting.
State the different elements of a computer system.
Why is it necessary for accountants to assume that business entity will remain a going concern?
State the need for the preparation of bank reconciliation statement?
What is the basic accounting equation?
Which stakeholder group... would be most interested in
_____________________________ (a) the VAT and other tax liabilities of the firm
_____________________________ (b) the potential for pay awards and bouns deals
_____________________________ (c) the ethical or environmental activities of the firm
_____________________________ (d) whether the firm has a long-term future
_____________________________ (e) profitability and share performance
_____________________________ (f) the ability of the firm to carry on providing a
service or producing a product.
You are a senior accountant of Ramona Enterprises Limited. What three steps would you take to make your company’s financial statements understandable and decision useful?
1. ——————————————————————————————
2. ——————————————————————————————
3. ——————————————————————————————
[Hint : Refer to qualitative characteristics of accounting information]
State the limitations of trial balance?
Name any two types of commonly used negotiable instruments.
When should revenue be recognised? Are there exceptions to the general rule?
Complete the following sentences with appropriate words:
(a) Information in financial reports is based on .....................
(b) Internal users are the ..................... of the business entity.
(c) A ..................... would most likely use an entities financial report to determine whether or not the business entity is eligible for a loan.
(d) The Internet has assisted in decreasing the ..................... in issuing financial reports to users.
(e) ..................... users are groups outside the business entity, who uses the information to make decisions about the business entity.
(f) Information is said to be relevent if it is ......................
(g) The process of accounting starts with ............ and ends with ............
(h) Accounting measures the business transactions in terms of ............ units.
(i) Identified and measured economic events should be recording in ............ order.
Enumerate main objectives of accounting.
‘An organisation is a collection of interdependent decision-making units that exists to pursue organisational objectives’. In the light of this statement, explain the relationship between information and decisions. Also explain the role of the Transaction Processing System in facilitating the decision-making process in business organisations.
Why is it necessary to create a provision for doubtful debts at the time of preparation of final accounts?