Because there are two or more accounts affected by every transaction carried out by a company, the accounting system is referred to as double-entry accounting. An error in transaction analysis could result in incorrect financial statements. Assets entail probable future economic benefits to the owner. Anushka will record revenue (income) of $400 for the sale made.

The remainder is the shareholders’ equity, which would be returned to them. In other words, the total amount of all assets will always equal the sum of liabilities and shareholders’ equity. The shareholders’ equity number is a company’s total assets minus its total liabilities. Assets represent the valuable resources controlled by a company, while liabilities represent its obligations. Both liabilities and shareholders’ equity represent how the assets of a company are financed. If it’s financed through debt, it’ll show as a liability, but if it’s financed through issuing equity shares to investors, it’ll show in shareholders’ equity.

4: The Basic Accounting Equation

The inventory (asset) will decrease by $250 and a cost of sale (expense) will be recorded. (Note that, as above, the adjustment to the inventory and cost of sales figures may be made at the year-end through an adjustment to the closing stock but has been illustrated below for completeness). The inventory (asset) of the business will increase by the $2,500 cost of the inventory and a trade payable (liability) will be recorded to represent the amount now owed to the supplier. As we’ve learned previously, the accounting equation is a mathematical expression that shows the relationship among the different elements of accounting, i.e. assets, liabilities, and capital (or “equity”).

Required Explain how each of the above transactions impact the accounting equation and illustrate the cumulative effect that they have. In the case of a limited liability company, capital would be referred to as ‘Equity’. However, due to the fact that accounting is kept on a historical basis, the equity is typically not the net worth of the organization. Often, a company may depreciate capital assets in 5–7 years, meaning that the assets will show on the books as less than their “real” value, or what they would be worth on the secondary market.

Sample Business Transactions

These transactions are particularly difficult to spot if the amount recorded is considered immaterial, in which case auditors are unlikely to spot the transgressions. A reversing journal entry is one that is either reversed manually in the following reporting period, or which is automatically reversed by the accounting software in the following reporting period. In a smaller accounting environment, the bookkeeper may record journal entries. In a larger company, a general ledger accountant is typically responsible for recording journal entries, thereby providing some control over the manner in which journal entries are recorded. Cash (asset) will reduce by $10 due to Anushka using the cash belonging to the business to pay for her own personal expense.

Only after debts are settled are shareholders entitled to any of the company’s assets to attempt to recover their investment. There are two special types of accounting journal entries, which are the reversing entry and the recurring entry. There must be a minimum of two line items in a journal entry, though there is no upper limit to the number of line items that can be included. A two-line journal entry is known as a simple journal entry, while one containing more line items is called a compound journal entry. Metro Courier, Inc., was organized as a corporation on January 1, the company issued shares (10,000 shares at $3 each) of common stock for $30,000 cash to Ron Chaney, his wife, and their son.