Bond 

A bond is a debt instrument which represents a loan to the issuer.  Bonds generally pay periodic interest payments to the bond holder.   Bonds are […]

A bond indenture is a contract between a bond issuer and a bondholder. The bond indenture specifies the terms of the bond, such as the […]

Cost of goods sold (COGS) is the direct cost of selling an item. For a retail business, cost of goods sold represents the inventory acquisition […]

A common size statement presents financial statement items as a percentage of a total.  Common size statements are commonly used for the income statement and […]

Bad debt expense is an expense account which represents accounts receivable the firm expects to go uncollected.  An accounts receivable is created when a firm […]

Allowance for doubtful accounts is a contra account that adjusts accounts receivable for the expected amount of uncollectible accounts.   The allowance for doubtful accounts contra […]

An expense is a cost associated with the generation of revenue.   Some expenses, such as depreciation, represent  the reduction in the value of an asset. […]

Revenue is payment or the promise of future payment for the rendering of goods or services.  If the company uses cash-basis accounting, the company will […]

Dividends are distributions of cash, stock, or property made to a corporation’s shareholders.  When a company generates an operating surplus, the company must determine how […]

The direct method cash flow statement presents operating cash flows from the “top down”, according to the sources and uses of cash. In contrast, the […]