Paper Example Masters 1,244 words

Financial activity: concepts and applications

Last reviewed: May 29, 2012 ~7 min read
Abstract

Sales and revenues are difficult to predict in budgets because market conditions impact them. Actions, such as, adjusting the budget, giving credit customers discounts to pay bills early, adjusting retail prices, and searching for alternative suppliers can help bring budgets in line. Making sure policies are followed can also help.

Financial Analysis

Compilation Report

I (We) have compiled an accompanying Statement of Financial Performance and Statement of Financial Position as of (at) June 30, XXXX, in accordance with the Statements of Standards (Putra, 2012) and Review Services issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. A compilation is limited to presenting in the form of financial statement information that is the representation of management (owners). I (We) have not audited or reviewed the accompanying financial statements and, accordingly, do not express an opinion or other form of assurance on them (Putra, 2009).

The sale of the appliance is recorded by transaction date in the general ledger, cash receipts journal, sales journal, and have a dated cash register receipt and sales receipt. The general ledger has a debit of cash for $800 and a credit to sales for $800. Transactions are recorded by the Accounts Receivable Clerk and verified and checked for accuracy by an Accountant. The payment to the sales employee has a bank cancelled check and is recorded on the employee earnings card, the payroll journal, cash payment journal, and the general ledger has a debit to payroll expense for $400 and a credit to cash for $400. The transaction is recorded by the Accounts Payable Clerk and verified for accuracy by an Accountant. The depreciation expense is figured by an Accountant, recorded in the general ledger with a debit to Equipment for $200 and a credit to Accumulated Depreciation for $200. The transaction is verified by the CPA. The purchase of the second hand plant is recorded by the Accounts Payable Clerk in the general journal, accounts payable journal, and the general asset journal. The general ledger is debited to Plant & Equipment for $6,000 and credited to Accounts Payable for $6,000. The transaction is verified for accuracy by an Accountant. The purchase of appliance spare parts is general ledger with a debit to Stock for $500 and a credit to Accounts Payable for $500. The transaction is verified by an Accountant for accuracy. All transactions of the corresponding entries are recorded in the General Ledger and the individual account ledgers.

5.1 Sales Policy Jan 1, XXXX

All sales should have a corresponding numbered cash register receipt and sales invoice that states the customer name, date, terms (cash, credit, etc.), product description, amounts, etc. Sales should be recorded by the Accounts Receivable Clerk in the Sales Journal, as well as, other appropriate journals. Transactions should be verified and checked for accuracy by the Accountant. Each transaction should have initials of the Accounts Receivable Clerk and the Accountant.

Transaction Analysis

Ledger/Account

Type

Change

Amount

Source doc

Journal

Sales

Revenue

increase $800

Sales Rec

Sales

Payroll

Expense

increase $400

Check

Payroll

Chart of Accounts

1-000 Assets 4-000 Revenue

1-100 Current Assets 4-100 Sales

1-101 Cash at Bank 4-101 Sales Returns

1-102 Cash on Hand

1-103 Accounts Receivable 5-000 Expenses

1-104 Stock on Hand 5-100 Cost of Goods Sold

1-200 Non-Current Assets 5-101 Purchases

1-201 Motor Vehicles 5-102 Purchase Returns

1-202 Fixtures & Fittings 5-200 General Expenses

1-203 Plant & Equipment 5-201 Advertising & Promotions

5-202 Bank Merchant Fees

2-000 Liabilities 5-203 Bank Other Fees

2-100 Current Liabilities 5-204 Cleaning

2-101 Accounts Payable 5-205 Depreciation

2-102 Employee Entitlements 5-206 Lease Equipment

2-103 Net CST Liability 5-207 Light & Power

2-200 Non-Current Liabilities 5-208 Loan Interest

2-201 Bank Loan 5-209 MV costs

5-210 Non-deductible expense

3-000 Equity 5-211 Printing & Stationary

3-100 C. Kert 5-212 Rent

3-101 L. Kert 5-213 Security

5-214 Staff Costs

5-215 Subscriptions

5-216 Telephone & Postage

5-217 Travel

To be responsible for cash received from sales, good internal control procedures would include verifying sales receipts to cash register totals and the balance of cash in the register against the register totals. To hold employees responsible it is important to keep track of who operated a register and when. Designating employees to certain registers and keeping logs helps to determine who was responsible and when. "For instance, managers may implement a policy of segregation of duties in the accounting department and require that separate individuals oversee accounts receivable and accounts payable transactions" (Codija, n.d.). The same thing can be implemented in the sales department.

Variances

Budget

Actual

Variance

Significant

Sales

500,000

501,325

1,325

0.30F%

no

Cost of Sales

308,000

328,619

-20,619

6.69U%

yes

Gross Profit

192,000

172,706

-19,294

10.05U

yes

Expenses

119,000

109,360

-9,640

8.10F

no

Net Profit

73,000

63,348

-9,652

13.22U

yes

Opening Stock

72,000

72,000

0

0

Purchases

325,000

333,919

8,919

2.74U

no

Closing Stock

89,000

77,300

-11,700

13.15U

yes

Cost of Sales

308,000

328,619

20,619

6.69U

yes

"Making a clear distinction between controllables and uncontrollables in the budget is critical to administrators" (Penner, 2004). Cost of sales could be from trends in the market that have caused purchases to be higher and could be uncontrollable, which would affect the gross profit and the net profit. Reviewing the purchases journal for discrepancies could uncover some transaction recording errors that would affect the cost of sales. If discrepancies are present in the Stock Control Journal, it would affect the cost of sales. There could be discrepancies in the ending stock count that would also throw the figures off. If the purchases were not checked in according to policy, there could have been stock shortages caused by charges when the product was not delivered. Making sure that purchases are checked when they are delivered is important to ensure that product is delivered that is charged for. Making sure that sales of stock are handled according to policy ensures that sales are recorded properly.

Performance Ratios

Actual

Benchmark

Working Capital

3.39:1.00

3.35:1.00

Stock Turnover

4.4 times

4.2 times

Average Accounts Receivable Turnover

22 days

16 days

Gross Profit

34%

40%

Net Profit

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PaperDue. (2012). Financial activity: concepts and applications. PaperDue. https://paperdue.com/essay/financial-activity-111260

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