What is the difference between Cash basis and Accrual basis accounting and which one is better?
Accrual basis of accounting is one of the underlying assumption for preparing financial statements under International Accounting Standards. IASB Framework clearly demanded the financial statements to be prepared on accrual basis instead of cash basis of accounting. Among other notable benefits of usig accrual basis of accounting over cash basis is that it helps record the […]
What is the difference between Purchase ledger and Purchase account?
Quite a basic question in fact. A lot of students realize about these concepts as soon as they start studying Auditing especially when they have to apply different audit procedures where these basic concepts play pivitol role and thus we cannot escape them. To begin with, we need to clear one misconception that LEDGER is […]
What is meant by Depreciation?
Depreciation simply means a steady decrease in the value of asset. Often it is studied in relation to the time period over which such decrease in the value has occurred. Therefore, often it is also defined as the value lost by the asset over its useful life i.e. the time period for which it was subjected […]
What are the limitations of Balance Sheet or Statement of Financial Position?
Statement of financial position or Balance sheet is the essential part of the complete set of financial statements. It is also one of the most sort after source of information for the users of financial statement for decision making purposes. It provides an insight into the financial status of the entity and can also provide […]
Can we capitalize Tax amounts?
According to IAS 16 the purchase price of the asset includes the amount of non-refundable taxes i.e. such taxes which cannot be claimed back are capitalized and are included in the cost of the asset at the time of purchase. For example, when the asset is purchased or imported then buyer/importer is required to pay […]
Why LIFO is not permissible under IFRS?
After the revision of IAS 2 Inventories in 2003, LIFO was explicitly prohibited to be used by the entities following International Accounting Standards to prepare and present financial statements. Before this revision LIFO was available as allowed alternative i.e. an option if company wishes to use the inventory valuation method other than the preferred method. […]
What is the difference between Faithful representation and Fair presentation?
IASB framework provides conceptual guidance regarding preparation and presentation of financial statements whereas IAS 1 sets out the principles and rules for preparation and presentation of financial statements. So the difference between these two documents must be clear as framework does not amount to standard and is separate from International Accounting Standards. The provisions stated […]
What is Grouping and Marshalling in financial statements?
While preparing financial statements, especially Statement of Financial Position (SoFP) also, known as balance sheet, two presentation concepts are applied which are termed as Grouping and Marshalling. Grouping means presenting similar items together as one figure i.e. by combining them at one place and presenting as a single item on the face of financial statement. […]
What are the fundamental principles for the preparation and presentation of financial statements?
Although the accounting treatments and provisions regarding presentations of different important transactions in the financial statements is dealt separate accounting standards. However, in the absence of any specific guidance, provisions of IASB Framework and IAS 1 provides overall guidance for preparation and presentation of financial statements. Before we discuss both documents lets clear out few […]
What is the difference between Authorised capital, Issued capital, Subscribed capital, Called-up capital and Paid-up capital?
Authorized capital: The amount of capital with which a company is registered with the registrar of companies (body responsible for registration of companies). It is the maximum amount of capital which a company can raise through shares i.e. shared capital can be maximum up to the authorized capital and not beyond. Due to this reason […]

