Section 1: Depreciation for book v. tax purposes. Two ways to compute depreciation. Recording depreciation if the financial statements must undergo a compilation or review.

Section 2: Depreciation under GAAP (for book purposes). Determining the cost of an individual asset v. group of assets v. contributed assets under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). Determining the asset’s estimated life, residual value and book value. Journal entries for a manufacturing v. nonmanufacturing company. How depreciation appears on the financial statements.

Section 3: The straight-line method. How to compute, allocate and book straight-line depreciation. How to set up and maintain the depreciation schedule using this method.

Section 4: The units of production method. How to compute, allocate and book units of production depreciation. How to set up and maintain the depreciation schedule using this method.

Section 5: The declining balance method. How to compute, allocate and book declining balance depreciation. How to set up and maintain the depreciation schedule using this method.

Section 6: The sum-of-the-years’-digits method. How to compute, allocate and book sum-of-the-years’-digits depreciation. How to set up and maintain the depreciation schedule using this method.

Section 7: Depreciation for tax purposes. How to depreciate equipment and buildings under MACRS. How to apply the half-year convention . . . mid-quarter convention . . . mid-month convention. How to use IRS tables. Applying the Section 179 deduction. How to set up and maintain the tax depreciation schedule.

Section 8: Depreciating vehicles for tax purposes. Annual IRS limits for cars. How IRS limits apply to unmodified SUVs, pickups and vans weighing up to 6,000 lbs. Sec. 179 and depreciation if these vehicles are modified or weigh over 6,000 lbs. How to handle employee personal use of company vehicles in a sole proprietorship, S corp, C corp or partnership. How to set up and maintain the tax depreciation schedule.

Publisher: AIPB

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Section 1: Who is an employee? How to classify—and pay—employees, independent contractors, leased employees, temporary help, agency referrals.

Section 2: Federal v. state laws. How to know if your employer or employees are covered by key federal laws. Minimum wage rules. The enterprise test.

Section 3: Paying employees. Who is paid overtime; computations. Paying for nonproductive time (showering, changing, etc.). When you can dock employee pay.

Section 4: Required payroll data. Information, data and forms for each employee. How long to keep each kind of information.

Section 5: Form W-4 and state withholding forms. How it must be completed. When you must reject a W-4. Rules on withholding a flat dollar percentage or dollar amount of tax.

Section 6: Withholding and depositing taxes. How to withhold FICA and federal income tax. The monthly, semiweekly and Wednesday-Friday rules. The “lookback period.” Form 941-X.

Section 7: Filing federal reporting forms. Computing Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA). Who must file a 940, W-2, W-3, 941 and Schedule B, and 945. Backup-tax rules.

Section 8: When wages are taxable. When wages are earned v. when they are paid. Handling wages paid in January for December work.

Section 9: Other federal and state requirements. Handling the 1099, 1099-MISC, 1099-DIV, 1099-INT, 1099-R, 1096. State unemployment insurance (SUI). Each state’s due dates for filing the state W-2 and distributing copies to employees.

Section 10: Journal entries. How to record salary, deductions and employer/employee payroll expense, payment of taxes, premiums, pension contributions and more.

Glossary of key terms.

Appendix of sample payroll forms with instructions: W-4, 940, 940-Sched. A, 941, 941-Sched. B, 941-X, 944, 945, 945-A, W-2, W-3, W-2c and W-3c, I-9, 1099-MISC, SS-8.

Publisher: AIPB

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Section 1: FIT withholding: The wage bracket and percentage methods. How to use IRS tables and special withholding rates.

Section 2: Fringe benefits. How to tax working condition fringe benefits . . . health insurance . . . qualified employee discounts . . . transit passes and parking . . . gift certificates, and more.

Section 3: Fringe benefits. How to tax—or not tax—various fringe benefits and report each one on the W-2, 941 and 940.

Section 4: Expense reimbursements, advances and allowances. What’s taxable v. nontaxable. Required substantiation. The cents-per-mile, standard mileage and federal per diem reimbursement methods. W-2 reporting.

Section 5: Personal use of company cars. 3 safe-harbor methods for valuing personal use and 4 requirements for using them. Reporting the value on the employee’s W-2.

Section 6: Deferred compensation and “cafeteria” plans. How to withhold pretax and report contributions to 401(k) plans and SEPs on the 941 and W-2. Contribution limits.

Section 7: Disability v. third-party sick pay. Handling sick pay from the employer v. self-insured plan v. insurer. FUTA and FIT taxability. Reporting sick payments on the W-2, 941 and 940.

Section 8: Taxing and reporting life insurance benefits. Reporting group-term life on the 940, 941 and W-2.

Section 9: Imputed income and gross-up for cash payments. How to compute a bonus that includes the employee’s share of taxes or withhold taxes after a cash bonus has been given.

Section 10: Imputed income and gross-up for fringe benefits. How to compute the employee’s share of taxes on noncash fringe benefits.

Section 11: Voluntary v. involuntary deductions. Child support orders, federal/state levies, other notices. Deductions permitted from employee pay before levy. Limits on the levy.

Section 12: Basics of workers’ comp insurance. Variations by state. Classification codes, computing premiums, taxation of workers’ comp benefits.

Glossary of key terms.

Appendix of sample payroll forms with instructions: W-4, 940, 940-Sched. A, 941, 941-Sched. B, 944, 945, 945-A, W-2, W-3, W-2c, W-3c, 941-X, I-9, 1099-MISC.

Publisher: AIPB

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Mastering Adjusting Entries
136 pages [55 self-teaching + 81 self-quizzes with detailed answers]

Section 1:  Why we use accruals, deferrals and other adjustments.The difference between cash basis and accrual basis accounting.

Section 2: Accrued revenue. How to record accrued revenue. Examples of different kinds of accrued revenue. Computing and accruing interest receivable. How failure to accrue revenue affects the financial statements.

Section 3: Accrued expenses. How to record accrued expenses.Examples of different kinds of accrued expenses. Computing and recording interest payable. How failure to accrue expenses affects the financial statements.

Section 4: Revenue collected in advance (unearned revenue). How to record unearned revenue. How to accrue revenue earned when the revenue collected was originally recorded in a revenue account v. an unearned revenue account.

Section 5: Prepaid (deferred) expenses. Recording prepayments and adjustments. How to accrue expenses when prepayments were recorded in an expense account v. a prepaid (asset) account.

Section 6: Other adjusting entries. How to compute and record the adjusting entry for bad debt expense for tax purposes v. book purposes. Adjusting entries for depreciation and various cash accounts.

Section 7: From unadjusted to adjusted trial balance. The chart of accounts. Preparing the unadjusted trial balance, entering the adjustments and preparing the adjusted trial balance. A summary of how the adjusted trial balance is used to prepare the income statement, balance sheet and statement of retained earnings. Basics of the post-closing trial balance.

Mastering Correction of Accounting Errors
130 pages [67 self-teaching + 63 self-quizzes with detailed answers]

Section 1: Where errors occur and how to find them. 10 common causes of errors. 5 areas where most errors occur. How to analyze errors to correct them.

Section 2: Performing the bank reconciliation. Step-by-step instructions on how to do a bank reconciliation and record the required journal entries. How to correct errors found on the bank statement or in the ledger Cash account.

Section 3: Using the trial balance to find errors. Finding and correcting errors in the trial balance or errors that do not show up on a trial balance.

Section 4: Correcting current-period accrual errors.

Correcting accrued expenses: How to correct an accrued expense recorded for too little or too much or omitted entirely. Correcting journal entries when the expense was originally recorded in an expense account v. a prepaid (asset) account. Impact on the financial statements if each kind of error is not corrected.

Correcting accrued revenues: How to correct accrued revenue recorded for too little or too much or omitted entirely. Correcting journal entries when the original entry was recorded in a revenue v. unearned revenue account. Impact on the financial statements if each kind of error is not corrected.

Section 5: Correcting current-period deferral errors.

Correcting deferred expenses: How to correct too little or too much expense recognized or deferred. Correcting journal entries when the prepayment was recorded in an expense account v. prepaid (asset) account. Impact on the financial statements if each kind of error is not corrected.

Correcting deferred revenues: How to correct too little or too much revenue recognized or deferred. Correcting journal entries when a payment received in advance was recorded in a revenue v. unearned revenue account. Impact on the financial statements if each kind of error is not corrected.

Mastering Payroll
136 pages [55 self-teaching + 81 self-quizzes with detailed answers]

Section 1: Who is an employee? How to classify—and pay—employees, independent contractors, leased employees, temporary help, agency referrals.

Section 2: Federal v. state laws. How to know if your employer or employees are covered by key federal laws. Minimum wage rules. The enterprise test.

Section 3: Paying employees. Who is paid overtime; computations. Paying for nonproductive time (showering, changing, etc.). When you can dock employee pay.

Section 4: Required payroll data. Information, data and forms for each employee. How long to keep each kind of information.

Section 5: Form W-4 and state withholding forms. How it must be completed. When you must reject a W-4. Rules on withholding a flat dollar percentage or dollar amount of tax.

Section 6: Withholding and depositing taxes. How to withhold FICA and federal income tax. The monthly, semiweekly and Wednesday-Friday rules. The “lookback period.” Form 941-X.

Section 7: Filing federal reporting forms. Computing Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA). Who must file a 940, W-2, W-3, 941 and Schedule B, and 945. Backup-tax rules.

Section 8: When wages are taxable. When wages are earned v. when they are paid. Handling wages paid in January for December work.

Section 9: Other federal and state requirements. Handling the 1099, 1099-MISC, 1099-DIV, 1099-INT, 1099-R, 1096. State unemployment insurance (SUI). Each state’s due dates for filing the state W-2 and distributing copies to employees.

Section 10: Journal entries. How to record salary, deductions and employer/employee payroll expense, payment of taxes, premiums, pension contributions and more.

Glossary of key terms.

Appendix of sample payroll forms with instructions: W-4, 940, 940-Sched. A, 941, 941-Sched. B, 941-X, 944, 945, 945-A, W-2, W-3, W-2c and W-3c, I-9, 1099-MISC, SS-8.

Mastering Inventory
196 pages [94 self-teaching + 102 self-quizzes with detailed answers]

Section 1: Introduction. What to include in merchandise costs, when and how to record the journal entries. How inventory is reported on the income statement as cost of goods sold and on the balance sheet as ending inventory.

Section 2: The perpetual method. How to compute and record journal entries for purchases (net or gross) . . . sales . . . purchase discounts . . . returns and allowances . . . customer sales returns . . . and inventory shrinkage.

Section 3: The periodic method. How to compute and record journal entries for purchases (net v. gross), sales, discounts, returns and allowances, sales returns, inventory shrinkage and closing out the inventory-related accounts at year end.

Section 4: Weighted average costing. How to compute ending inventory and COGS using weighted average costing (periodic method) and moving average costing (perpetual method).

Section 5: First-in, first-out (FIFO) costing. Clear explanations of FIFO under the perpetual v. periodic method, including how to compute and record purchases, sales, COGS and ending inventory.

Section 6: Last-in, first-out (LIFO) costing. How to compute and record purchases, sales, COGS, ending inventory and LIFO layers. When and how to compute LIFO liquidations.

Section 7: The lower of cost or net realizable value (LCNRV) rule. How to compute and apply LCNRV by item v. group v. total inventory. How to handle purchase commitments that are followed by a decline in the value of inventory, then a recovery.

Mastering Depreciation
204 pages [122 self-teaching + 82 self-quizzes with detailed answers]

Section 1:Depreciation for book v. tax purposes. Two ways to compute depreciation. Recording depreciation if the financial statements must undergo a compilation or review.

Section 2:Depreciation under GAAP (for book purposes).Determining the cost of an individual asset v. group of assets v. contributed assets under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). Determining the asset’s estimated life, residual value and book value. Journal entries for a manufacturing v. nonmanufacturing company. How depreciation appears on the financial statements.

Section 3:The straight-line method. How to compute, allocate and book straight-line depreciation. How to set up and maintain the depreciation schedule using this method.

Section 4:The units of production method. How to compute, allocate and book units of production depreciation. How to set up and maintain the depreciation schedule using this method.

Section 5:The declining balance method. How to compute, allocate and book declining balance depreciation. How to set up and maintain the depreciation schedule using this method.

Section 6:The sum-of-the-years’-digits method. How to compute, allocate and book sum-of-the-years’-digits depreciation. How to set up and maintain the depreciation schedule using this method.

Section 7:Depreciation for tax purposes. How to depreciate equipment and buildings under MACRS. How to apply the half-year convention . . . mid-quarter convention . . . mid-month convention. How to use IRS tables. Applying the Section 179 deduction. How to set up and maintain the tax depreciation schedule.

Section 8:Depreciating vehicles for tax purposes. Annual IRS limits for cars. How IRS limits apply to unmodified SUVs, pickups and vans weighing up to 6,000 lbs. Sec. 179 and depreciation if these vehicles are modified or weigh over 6,000 lbs. How to handle employee personal use of company vehicles in a sole proprietorship, S corp, C corp or partnership. How to set up and maintain the tax depreciation schedule.

Mastering Internal Controls and Fraud Prevention
78 pages [45 self-teaching + 33 quizzes/answers]

Section 1: Employee inventory theft. Red flags of false sales, phony write-offs and other theft schemes. 5 controls that prevent theft.

Section 2: Preventing employee theft. 4 key factors to check before hiring. How to use a fidelity bond for employees who have access to cash. Controls against theft, fraud.

Section 3: Check fraud. How to prevent—or spot—forged company checks, payroll-related check fraud, customer check fraud. Systems that prevent check fraud.

Section 4: Credit card fraud. 10 schemes that use lost or stolen credit cards. How to spot a counterfeit Visa, MasterCard or American Express card. Recommended rules for company credit cards.

Section 5: How vendors can cheat you. Forms of bribery. Telemarketing scams that target businesses. How to check out a suspicious vendor before you buy.

Appendix A: Forms, Patterns and Red Flags of Bribery

Appendix B: Operations That Support Frauds and Scams

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Section 1: Introduction. What to include in merchandise costs, when and how to record the journal entries. How inventory is reported on the income statement as cost of goods sold and on the balance sheet as ending inventory.

Section 2: The perpetual method. How to compute and record journal entries for purchases (net or gross) . . . sales . . . purchase discounts . . . returns and allowances . . . customer sales returns . . . and inventory shrinkage.

Section 3: The periodic method. How to compute and record journal entries for purchases (net v. gross), sales, discounts, returns and allowances, sales returns, inventory shrinkage and closing out the inventory-related accounts at year end.

Section 4: Weighted average costing. How to compute ending inventory and COGS using weighted average costing (periodic method) and moving average costing (perpetual method).

Section 5: First-in, first-out (FIFO) costing. Clear explanations of FIFO under the perpetual v. periodic method, including how to compute and record purchases, sales, COGS and ending inventory.

Section 6: Last-in, first-out (LIFO) costing. How to compute and record purchases, sales, COGS, ending inventory and LIFO layers. When and how to compute LIFO liquidations.

Section 7: The lower of cost or net realizable value (LCNRV) rule. How to compute and apply LCNRV by item v. group v. total inventory. How to handle purchase commitments that are followed by a decline in the value of inventory, then a recovery.

Publisher: AIPB

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Section 1: Where errors occur and how to find them. 10 common causes of errors. 5 areas where most errors occur. How to analyze errors to correct them.

Section 2: Performing the bank reconciliation. Step-by-step instructions on how to do a bank reconciliation and record the required journal entries. How to correct errors found on the bank statement or in the ledger Cash account.

Section 3: Using the trial balance to find errors. Finding and correcting errors in the trial balance or errors that do not show up on a trial balance.

Section 4: Correcting current-period accrual errors.

Correcting accrued expenses: How to correct an accrued expense recorded for too little or too much or omitted entirely. Correcting journal entries when the expense was originally recorded in an expense account v. a prepaid (asset) account. Impact on the financial statements if each kind of error is not corrected.

Correcting accrued revenues: How to correct accrued revenue recorded for too little or too much or omitted entirely. Correcting journal entries when the original entry was recorded in a revenue v. unearned revenue account. Impact on the financial statements if each kind of error is not corrected.

Section 5: Correcting current-period deferral errors.

Correcting deferred expenses: How to correct too little or too much expense recognized or deferred. Correcting journal entries when the prepayment was recorded in an expense account v. prepaid (asset) account. Impact on the financial statements if each kind of error is not corrected.

Correcting deferred revenues: How to correct too little or too much revenue recognized or deferred. Correcting journal entries when a payment received in advance was recorded in a revenue v. unearned revenue account. Impact on the financial statements if each kind of error is not corrected.

Publisher: AIPB

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Master double-entry bookkeeping/accounting in one short sitting —around 2 hours.

Ideal before you start any accounting course, for on-the-job training or to nail down a skill you may feel insecure about.

Section 1: How a business keeps track of its money. How bookkeeping measures every item and activity in dollars. The “chart of accounts” made easy. Self-quiz makes sure you really know it.

Section 2: Every transaction affects two or more accounts. When you buy a car your Asset—Car account goes up, but your Cash account goes down. When you buy an ad in the local paper, your Advertising Expense account goes up, but so does your Accounts Payable (bills that are payable later). Filled with examples. Double- quiz lets you practice as if you were on the job.

Section 3: Recording journal entries. Pick up the simple rules of double-entry bookkeeping. Which amounts go in which accounts and how to show this. Filled with examples. Double-quiz lets you practice until you know it cold.

Section 4: The general ledger accounts. Shows you what a ledger account looks like on a computer v. on paper. Explains how journal entries you learned go into the accounts. Now learn how to quickly find and retrieve financial information from the accounts—such as:

• your company’s cash balance
• your company’s sales for any month
• which bills your company has paid or not paid

And other financial information. Double-quiz lets you practice finding and retrieving financial information fast!

Section 5: The income statement and balance sheet. Snapshot of the financial statements and how they are compiled from the general ledger accounts.

Section 6: The accounting cycle. An overview of the accounting process from start to finish.

Publisher: AIPB

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Section 1: Introduction. Sources and uses of cash: 3 kinds of activities.

Sections 2-4: Cash provided by operating activities (CPO), the direct method.

Part I: Computing cash inflows using changes in A/R and Allowance for Doubtful Accounts. Computing cash outflows using changes in Prepaid Expenses, Depreciation, Amortization, A/P and either Purchases (periodic method) or Inventory and COGS (perpetual method).

Part II: Using changes in Interest Payable, Discount on Notes Payable, Income Tax Payable and related accounts.

Part III: Using changes in Unearned Revenue, Dividends and Interest Receivable, Amortization of Notes Receivable.

Section 5: CPO case study, the direct method. Brings together everything you learned in Sections 2–4.

Section 6: Computing CPO, the indirect method. Computing inflows/outflows from changes in Depreciation, A/R, A/P, Inventory, Unearned Revenue, Interest Payable and other accounts.

Section 7: CPO case study, the indirect method. Brings together and applies what you learned in Section 6.

Section 8: Cash from investing activities. Inflows from disposal of PP&E, intangible assets, securities, loan collection. Outflows for investing in PPE, intangible assets, securities, making loans.

Section 9: Cash from financing activities. Inflows from issuing stock, creditor notes, mortgages, bonds, receipt of principal on loans. Outflows for dividends, treasury stock purchases, payment of loan principal.

Sections 10-11: Preparing a statement of cash flows.

Part I. Asset accounts.

Part II. Liability, stockholders’ equity accounts.

Section 12: Special and supplementary items. Inflows and outflows related to the purchase/sale of securities or treasury stock, foreign currency transactions, acquisitions and lawsuits. Which items are disclosed only as supplemental information.

Section 13: Special items for large corporations. Sale of a business, equity in an affiliate’s income, issuing bonds, amortization of a bond discount or premium, early extinguishment of debt.

Section 14: Comprehensive case study. Everything you learned applied to a complete statement of cash flows.

Publisher: AIPB

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Section 1: How to use ratios. Measure a firm’s financial health. Where to find the numbers to use for ratios.

Section 2: Can the firm pay its short-term obligations? Find out with the current and quick (“acid test”) ratios.

Section 3: Measure liquidity (ability to turn assets into cash). Measure the quality of your company’s A/R and collection efforts and foresee problems in future sales, pricing or inventory with the inventory-turnover and A/R-turnover ratios.

Section 4: Rate a firm’s efficiency. See if sales are providing sufficient return on your company’s investment in fixed assets with the sales-to-fixed-assets ratio. Evaluate your company from one period to another period using the profit-margin ratio.

Section 5: Debt management. Predict when losses will start to hurt your company’s credit rating with the total-liabilities-to-total-assets ratio. Forecast long-term solvency and when the company must stop borrowing with the times-interest-earned ratio.

Section 6: Evaluating return on investment. Uncover the true return on investment with the return-on-investment ratio. Assess return to stockholders with the return-on-stockholders’ equity ratio.

Section 7: More tools for evaluating company performance. Learn how to compare financial statement items year to year and how to evaluate key sections of the income statement and balance sheet.

Section 8: Company v. industry performance. Where to find standards of comparison and industry norms to see how your company is doing.

Section 9: Stock market ratios. Easily measure any stock’s performance the way the pros do. Master the earnings-per-share ratio . . . price-earnings ratio . . . dividend-payout ratio.

Publisher: AIPB

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