موقع خاص The accrual method of accounting reports revenues on the income statement when they are earned even if the customer will pay 30 days later. At the time that the revenues are earned the company will credit a revenue account and will debit the asset account Accounts Receivable. (When the customer pays 30 days after the revenues were earned, the company will debit Cash and will credit Accounts Receivable.)
The accrual method of accounting also requires that expenses and losses be reported on the income statement when they occur even if payment will take place 30 days later. For example, if a company has a KWD 15,000 repair done on December 15 and the vendor allows for payment on January 15, the company will report a repair expense and a liability of KWD 15,000 as of December 15. (On January 15 the company will credit Cash and will debit the liability account.)
The accrual method of accounting, which is also known as the accrual basis of accounting, is required for large companies. (The cash method of accounting may be used by individuals and some small companies.) The accrual method and the associated adjusting entries will result in a more complete and accurate reporting of a company's assets, liabilities, equity, and earnings during each accounting period.
Under the accrual basis of accounting, revenues are reported on the income statement when they are earned. (Under the cash basis of accounting, revenues are reported on the income statement when the cash is received.) Under the accrual basis of accounting, expenses are matched with the related revenues and/or are reported when the expense occurs, not when the cash is paid. The result of accrual accounting is an income statement that better measures the profitability of a company during a specific time period.
For example, if I begin an accounting service in December and provide KWD 10,000 of accounting services in December, but don't receive any of the money from the clients until January, there will be a difference in the income statements for December and January under the accrual and cash bases of accounting. Under the accrual basis, my income statements will show KWD 10,000 of revenues in December and none of those services will be reported as revenues in January. Under the cash basis, my December income statement will show no revenues. Instead, the December services will be reported as January revenues under the cash method.
There will be a difference on the balance sheet, too. Under the accrual basis, the December balance sheet will report accounts receivable of KWD 10,000 and the estimated true profit will be added to owner’s equity or retained earnings. Under the cash basis, the KWD 10,000 of accounts receivable will not be reported as an asset, and the true profit will not be included in owner's equity or retained earnings.
To illustrate a difference in expenses, we will assume that the heat and light expense that I used in my accounting service is metered by the utility on the last day of the month. The utilities that I used in December will appear on a bill that I receive in January and will pay on February 1. Under the accrual basis of accounting, the utilities that I used in December will be estimated and will be reported as an expense and a liability on the December financial statements. Under the cash basis of accounting, the utilities used in December will be recorded as an expense on February 1, when the utility bills are paid.
For financial statements prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, the accrual method is required because of the matching principle.