AHSEC - Class 11: Theory Base of Accounting for Upcoming Exam | Class 11 Accountancy Notes

[Class 11 Accountancy Notes, AHSEC, CBSE, Chapter Wise Notes, Theory Base of Accounting]

Class 11 Accountancy Notes
AHSEC Class 11 Notes
Unit – 2: Theory Base of Accounting

Q.1. What is Generally Accepted Accounting Principles? Mention its features.      2010, 2016

Ans: Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP): Generally Accepted Accounting Principles are the rules and concepts which have been accepted by accounting community for sound accounting practice. Their usefulness depends on ‘general acceptability’ rather than ‘individual acceptability’ of accounting concepts.  They (GAAP) have been formalised on the basis of usage, reason and experience.  

Simply, Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) comprises a set of rules, concept and Conventions used in preparing financial accounting reports.

Essential features of Accounting Principles

(i)      Man made: Accounting principles are manmade. They are not tested in a laboratory.

(ii)    Objectivity: It means accounting principles must be based on facts and free from personal bias or judgment of the individuals who prepares the statements.

(iii)   Usefulness/relevance: Accounting principles must be relevant and useful to the person who is using financial statements.

(iv)  Feasibility: The accounting principles should be practicable or feasible.

(v)    Axiom: It denotes a statement of truth which cannot be questioned by anyone.

Q.2. What is accounting concepts and conventions? Mention the various types of concepts and conventions adopted by business concern.                           Very Very Important

Ans: Accounting concepts: The term ‘concept’ is used to denote accounting postulates, i.e., basic assumptions or conditions upon which the accounting structure is based. The following are the common accounting concepts adopted by many business concerns.

                           i.      Business Entity Concept                                        2016

                         ii.      Money Measurement Concept                         2015, 2018, 2019

                        iii.      Going Concern Concept                                        2015, 2018

                       iv.      Dual Aspect Concept                                              2017

                         v.      Periodicity Concept

                       vi.      Historical Cost Concept

                      vii.      Matching Concept

                    viii.      Realisation Concept

                       ix.      Accrual Concept

i) Business Entity Concept: Business entity concept implies that the business unit is separate and distinct from the persons who provide the required capital to it. This concept can be expressed through an accounting equation, viz., Assets = Liabilities + Capital. The equation clearly shows that the business itself owns the assets and in turn owes to various claimants.

ii) Money Measurement Concept: According to this concept, only those events and transactions are recorded in accounts which can be expressed in terms of money. Facts, events and transactions which cannot be expressed in monetary terms are not recorded in accounting. Hence, the accounting does not give a complete picture of all the transactions of a business unit. 2006

iii) Going Concern Concept: Under this concept, the transactions are recorded assuming that the business will exist for a longer period of time. Keeping this in view, the suppliers and other companies enter into business transactions with the business unit. This assumption supports the concept of valuing the assets at historical cost or replacement cost.      

iv) Dual Aspect Concept: According to this basic concept of accounting, every transaction has a two-fold aspect, Viz., 1.giving certain benefits and 2. Receiving certain benefits. The basic principle of double entry system is that every debit has a corresponding and equal amount of credit. This is the underlying assumption of this concept. The accounting equation viz., Assets = Capital + Liabilities or Capital = Assets – Liabilities, will further clarify this concept, i.e., at any point of time the total assets of the business unit are equal to its total liabilities.

V) Periodicity Concept: Under this concept, the life of the business is segmented into different periods and accordingly the result of each period is ascertained. Though the business is assumed to be continuing in future, the measurement of income and studying the financial position of the business for a shorter and definite period will help in taking corrective steps at the appropriate time. Each segmented period is called “accounting period” and the same is normally a year.

vi) Historical Cost Concept: According to this concept, the transactions are recorded in the books of account with the respective amounts involved. For example, if an asset is purchases, it is entered in the accounting record at the price paid to acquire the same and that cost is considered to be the base for all future accounting.

vii) Matching Concept: The essence of the matching concept lies in the view that all costs which are associated to a particular period should be compared with the revenues associated to the same period to obtain the net income of the business.

viii) Realisation Concept: This concept assumes or recognizes revenue when a sale is made. Sale is considered to be complete when the ownership and property are transferred from the seller to the buyer and the consideration is paid in full.

ix) Accrual Concept: According to this concept the revenue is recognized on its realization and not on its actual receipt. Similarly the costs are recognized when they are incurred and not when payment is made. This assumption makes it necessary to give certain adjustments in the preparation of income statement regarding revenues and costs.

Accounting Conventions: Accounting conventions are common practices, which are followed in recording and presenting accounting information of a business. They are followed like customs in a society. The following conventions are to be followed to have a clear and meaningful information and data in accounting:

i) Consistency: The convention of consistency implies that the same accounting procedures should be used for similar items over periods. It is essential for clear and correct understanding and interpretation of the financial statements. It is also important for inter-period comparison.                                2006

ii) Full Disclosure: According to this principle, all accounting statements should be honestly prepared and all information of material interest to proprietors, creditors, investors, etc. should be disclosed in the accounting statements. Moreover, books of accounts should be prepared in such a way that they become reliable, informative and transparent.

iii) Conservatism or Prudence: This convention follows the policy of caution or playing safe. It takes into account” all possible losses but not the possible profits or gains”. The implication of this principle is to give a pessimistic view of the financial position of the business.             2006, 2010, 2016

iv) Materiality: Materiality deals with the relative importance of accounting information. In order to make financial statements more meaningful and to economize costs, accountants should incorporate in the financial statements only that information which is material and useful to users. They should ignore insignificant details.

Q.3. What is Accounting Standard? Mention its objectives.         2007, 2009, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019

Ans: ACCOUNTING STANDARDS: Accounting Standards are the policy documents or written statements issued, from time to time, by an apex expert accounting body in relation to various aspects of measurement, treatment and disclosure of accounting transactions for ensuring uniformity in accounting practices and reporting. These standards are prepared by Accounting Standard Board (ASB).

Objectives or Purposes of Accounting Standards:

a.      To provide information to the users as to the basis on which the accounts have been prepared and the financial statements have been presented.

b.      To harmonize the diverse accounting policies & practices which are in use the preparation & presentation of financial statements.

c.       To make the financial statements more meaningful and comparable and to make people place more reliance on financial statements prepared in conformity with the accounting standards.

d.      To guide the judgment of professional accountants in dealing with those items, which are to be followed consistently from year to year.

e.       To provide   a  set  of  standard  accounting  policies, valuation  norms  and  disclosure  requirements.

Q.4. Write a brief note on benefits and Limitations of Accounting Standard.                      2007

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Ans: By setting the accounting standards, the accountant has following benefits:

a.       Standards  reduce  to a reasonable  extent or  eliminate  altogether  confusing   variations   in   the  accounting  treatments  used  to prepare  financial  statements.

b.      There are certain areas where important information is not statutorily required to be disclosed. standards may call for disclosure beyond that required by law.

c.       The  application   of  accounting standards  would ,to  a  limited  extent, facilitate  comparison  of  financial  statements  of  companies  situated in  different parts  of  the  world  and also of  different   companies  situated  in  the  same  country.

However, there are some limitations   of setting of accounting standards:

                (i)Alternative solution to certain   accounting problems may   each have   arguments to recommend them. Therefore, the choice between   different alternative   accounting   treatments may   become difficult.

                (ii)there may  be  a   trend  towards  rigidity  and  away  from  flexibility in   applying  the  accounting  standards.

                (iii)Accounting standards cannot override the statute. The  standards  are  required   to be  framed  within  the  ambit  of  prevailing  statutes.

Q. 5. Give the list of accounting standards followed in our country.

Ans: LIST OF ACCOUNTING STANDARDS                  

AS 1

Disclosure of Accounting Policies

AS 2

Valuation of Inventories

AS 3

Cash Flow Statement

AS 4

Contingencies & Events occurring after Balance Sheet date

AS 5

Net profit or Loss for the Period, Prior period items & changes in accounting policies

AS 6

Depreciation Accounting

AS 7

Accounting for Construction Contracts

AS 8

Accounting for Research & Development

AS 9

Revenue Recognition

AS 10

Accounting for Fixed Assets

AS11

Accounting for effects in changes in Foreign Exchange Rates

AS 12

Accounting for Government Grants

AS 13

Accounting for Investments

AS 14

Accounting for Amalgamations

AS 15

Accounting for Retirement benefits in the Financial Statements of employers

AS 16

Borrowing Cost

AS 17

Segment Reporting

AS 18

Related Party Disclosure

AS 19

Leases

AS 20

Earnings Per Share

AS 21

Consolidated Financial Statements

AS 22

Accounting for taxes on income

AS 23

Accounting for Investments in Associates in consolidated financial statements

AS 24

Discontinuing Operations

AS 25

Interim Financial Reporting

AS 26

Intangible Assets

AS 27

Financial Reporting of Interests in Joint Ventures

AS 28

Impairment of Assets

AS 29

Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent assets

AS 30

Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement

AS 31

Financial Instruments: Presentation

AS 32

Financial Instruments: Disclosures

Q.6. Mention double entry system and single entry system of accounting.                          1998, 2002, 2005

Ans: Business transactions are recorded in two different ways.

                1. Single Entry    2. Double Entry

                1. Single Entry: It is incomplete system of recording business transactions. The business organization maintains only cash book and personal accounts of debtors and creditors. So the complete recording of transactions cannot be made and trail balance cannot be prepared.

                2. Double Entry: Double Entry is an accounting system that records the effects of transactions and other events in at least two accounts with equal debits and credits. Under this system all accounts i.e., Personal, real and nominal accounts are maintained. It is a complete system of recording business transactions.

Q.7. Mention various steps involved in double entry system.                    1998

Ans: Steps involved in Double entry system

a.       Preparation of Journal: Journal is called the book of original entry. It records the effect of all transactions for the first time. Here the job of recording takes place.

b.      Preparation of Ledger: Ledger is the collection of all accounts used by a business. Here the grouping of accounts is performed. Journal is posted to ledger.

c.       Trial Balance preparation: Summarizing. It is a summary of ledge balances prepared in the form of a list.

d.      Preparation of Final Account: At the end of the accounting period to know the achievements of the organization and its financial state of affairs, the final accounts are prepared.

Q.8. Mention various advantages and disadvantages of double entry system.                   1998, 02, 03, 05, 06

Ans: Advantages of Double Entry System

a)      Scientific system: This system is the only scientific system of recording business transactions. It helps to attain the objectives of accounting.

b)      Complete record of transactions: This system maintains a complete record of all business transactions.

c)       A check on the accuracy of accounts: By the use of this system the accuracy of accounting book can be established through Trail balance.

d)      Ascertainment of profit or loss by the preparation of Profit and Loss Account.

e)      Knowledge of the financial position of the business through the preparation of balance sheet.

Disadvantages of Double Entry System

a)      It requires expert knowledge: Book-keeping requires specialized knowledge, so it cannot be prepared by a layman.

b)      It is a very lengthy process: As it record transactions in two stage viz. journalizing and ledger posting, it requires a larger number of books.

c)       It is expensive: It is expensive because an expert is to be employed for this Purpose. It, therefore, involves additional expense.

d)      Errors of omission: If a transaction is omitted to be recorded in the books of accounts, it cannot be detected by double entry system because they do not affect a trial balance.

Q.9. What are three bases of accounting? Explain them briefly.

Ans: BASES OF ACCOUNTING: There are three bases of accounting in common usage which are:

1. Cash basis

2. Accrual or Mercantile basis

3. Mixed or Hybrid basis.

Accounting on ‘Cash basis’: Under cash basis of accounting, entries are recorded only when cash is received or paid. No entry is passed when a payment or receipt becomes due. Government system of accounting is mostly on cash basis.

Accrual Basis of Accounting or Mercantile System: Under accrual basis of accounting, accounting entries are made on the basis of amounts having become due for payment or receipt. Incomes are credited to the period in which they are earned whether cash is received or not. Similarly, expenses and losses are detailed to the period in which, they are incurred, whether cash is paid or not. The profit or loss of any accounting period is the difference between incomes earned and expenses incurred, irrespective of cash payment or receipt.

Mixed or Hybrid Basis of Accounting: When certain items of revenue or expenditure are recorded in the books of account on cash basis and certain items on mercantile basis, the basis of accounting so employed is called ‘hybrid basis of accounting’.

Q.10. What are general considerations in selection of accounting policies?

Ans: Considerations in the Selection of Accounting Policies:

a. Prudence.

b. Substance over Form.

c. Materiality.

Q.11. Mention three assumptions of accounting.             2010

Ans: The following have been generally accepted as fundamental accounting assumptions:

a.      Going Concern Concept.

b.      Accrual Concept.

c.       Consistency Concept.