Lesson 1

• Overview: the accounting cycle
• Cash vs. accrual basis accounting
• The chart of accounts
• Normal balances
• Adjusting entries defined

Lesson 2

• Recording accrued revenue and accrued expenses
• Different kinds of accrued revenue and expenses
• Computing and accruing revenue receivable
• Computing and recording expenses payable
• How failure to accrue revenue and expenses affects the financial statements

Lesson 3

• Recording unearned revenue—revenue received in advance.
• How to compute and record adjusting entries for unearned revenue originally recorded in a revenue account v. unearned revenue account
• Recording prepaid expenses
• How to compute and record adjusting entries for prepaid expenses originally recorded in an expense account v. prepaid (asset) account

Lesson 4

• How to compute and record other adjusting entries—bad debt expense, depreciation and others

Lesson 5

• The chart of accounts
• Preparing the unadjusted trial balance, entering the adjustments and preparing the adjusted trial balance
• 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

Final Exam

Take the open-book final exam online, attain a grade of at least 70, and instantly receive a personal Certificate of Completion in Mastering Adjusting Entries, suitable for framing.

Lesson 1

• Different kinds of accounting errors and where they occur.
• 10 common causes of errors . . . where to look for each kind of error . . . how to analyze and correct different kinds of errors.
• How to do the bank rec like a pro. How and where to record required journal entries.
• How to correct errors found in the bank statement v. ledger Cash account.

Lesson 2

• Finding and correcting errors in the trial balance—and errors that do not show up in the trial balance.
• Correcting doubling errors.
• Correcting slide errors—and checking the related journal entries and postings.
• Correcting transposition errors—and the related journal entries and postings.

Lesson 3

• How to correct an accrued expense for too little v. too much v. never recorded.
• How to correct an accrued expense originally recorded in an expense account v. prepaid (asset) account.
• How to correct accrued revenue recorded for too little v. too much v. never recorded.
• How to record the correcting journal entry for revenue originally recorded in a revenue v. unearned revenue account.
• Impact on the financial statements if these errors are not corrected.

Lesson 4

• Correcting current-period deferral errors.
• How to correct a deferred (prepaid) expense recorded for too little v. too much v. never recorded.
• How to correct a deferred expense originally recorded in an expense account v. prepaid (asset) account.
• How to correct too little or too much revenue recognized or deferred.
• How to correct revenue received in advance originally recorded in a revenue v. unearned revenue account v. never recorded.
• Impact on the financial statements if these errors are not corrected.

Final Exam

Take the open-book final exam online, attain a grade of at least 70, and instantly receive a personal Certificate of Completion in Mastering Correction of Accounting Errors, suitable for framing.

Lesson 1

• What costs to include in the cost of merchandise.
• What journal entries to record—and when to record them.
• How inventory is reported on the income statement as cost of goods sold—and on the balance sheet as ending inventory.

Lesson 2

How to record merchandise inventory:

• The perpetual method. How to compute and record the journal entry for purchases, net v. gross . . . sales . . . purchase discounts . . . returns and allowances . . . customer sales returns . . . and shrinkage.
• The periodic method. How to compute and record the journal entry for purchases, net v. gross . . . sales discounts, returns and allowances . . . and for closing out inventory and related accounts at year end.

Lesson 3

• How to cost out inventory using weighted average (periodic method) v. moving average (perpetual method) costing.
• How to compute ending inventory and COGS using weighted average (periodic method) v. moving average (perpetual method) costing.

Lesson 4

• How to cost out inventory using First-in, first-out (FIFO) under the perpetual v. periodic method, including how to compute and record purchases, sales, COGS and ending inventory.
• How to cost out inventory using Last-in, first-out (LIFO): How to compute and record purchases, sales, COGS, ending inventory and LIFO layers. When and how to compute LIFO liquidations.

Lesson 5

• How to cost out inventory using 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 when they are followed by a decline in the value of inventory, and when the decline is recovered.

Final Exam

Take the open-book final exam online, attain a grade of at least 70, and instantly receive a personal Certificate of Completion in Mastering Inventory, suitable for framing.

Lesson 1

• Depreciation for book v. tax purposes. Two ways to compute depreciation.
• Depreciation for book purposes (GAAP). Determining the cost of an asset v. group of assets v. contributed assets under GAAP. Setting the asset’s estimated life, residual value and book value. How depreciation appears on the financial statements.

Lesson 2

• The straight-line method of depreciation. How to compute, allocate, book and set up the schedule for straight-line depreciation.
• The units of production method of depreciation. How to compute, allocate, book and set up the schedule for units of production depreciation.

Lesson 3

• The declining balance method of depreciation. How to compute, allocate, book and set up the schedule for declining balance depreciation.
• The sum-of-the-years’-digits method of depreciation. How to compute, allocate, book and set up the schedule for sum-of-the-years’-digits of depreciation

Lesson 4

Depreciation for tax purposes. How to depreciate equipment and buildings under MACRS, apply the half-year, mid-quarter and mid-month conventions. When and how to elect the Section 179 deduction. Setting up and maintaining the tax depreciation schedule.

Lesson 5

• Depreciation vehicles and cars for tax purposes. Using Sec. 179 v. tax depreciation for vehicles that are modified or weigh over 6,000 lbs. How annual IRS depreciation limits apply to cars, unmodified SUVs, pickups and vans weighing up to 6,000 lbs. Recording depreciation of employee personal use of company vehicles. Setting up and maintaining the tax depreciation schedule.

Final Exam

Take the open-book final exam online, attain a grade of at least 70, and instantly receive a personal Certificate of Completion in Mastering Depreciation, suitable for framing.

Lesson 1

• Who is an employee? How to classify—and pay—different kinds of employees, independent contractors, temporary help, agency referrals.

Lesson 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.
• Paying employees. Who is paid overtime . . . how to compute overtime—which hours to include v. not include . . . when to pay v. not pay for nonproductive time (showering, changing, etc.) . . . when you can v. cannot dock employee pay.

Lesson 3

• Required payroll data. Information, data and forms for each employee. How long to keep which data and information.
• Form W-4. How it must be completed. When you must reject a W-4. Rules on withholding a flat dollar percentage or dollar amount of tax. State withholding forms.

Lesson 4

• Withholding and depositing taxes. How to withhold federal income tax and FICA. Depositing federal income tax withheld under the monthly, semiweekly and Wednesday-Friday rules. The “lookback period.” Form 941-X.

Lesson 5

• 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.

Lesson 6

• When wages are taxable. When wages are earned v. paid. Handling wages paid in January for December work.
• Other federal and state requirements. Handling the 1099, 1099-MISC, 1099-DIV, 1099-INT, 1099-R, 1096. Rules for distributing W-2s to employees. State W-2s. State unemployment insurance (SUI).

Lesson 7

• Payroll journal entries. How to record salary, deductions and employer v. employee payroll expense, payment of taxes, premiums, pension contributions and more.

Final Exam

Take the open-book final exam online, attain a grade of at least 70, and instantly receive a personal Certificate of Completion in Mastering Payroll, suitable for framing.

Lesson 1

Spotting employee inventory theft.

• Red flags, including false sales, phony write-offs and other schemes.
• 5 controls that prevent theft of assets.

Stopping employee theft before it starts.

• 4 key factors to check before hiring.
• How to use a fidelity bond for employees who have access to cash.
• Key controls that prevent theft and fraud.

Lesson 2

Check fraud.

• How to prevent—or spot—forged company checks, payroll-related check fraud, customer check fraud.
• Systems that prevent check fraud.

Credit card fraud.

• 10 schemes that exploit lost or stolen credit cards.
• How to spot a counterfeit Visa, MasterCard or American Express card.
• Recommended rules for company credit cards.

Lesson 3

How vendors cheat you.

• Forms of bribery.
• Telemarketing scams that target businesses.
• How to check out a suspicious vendor before you buy.

Lesson 4

Computer and Internet fraud

• How to implement password, laptop and wireless and remote access security.
• Types of Internet crime and how to avoid them.

Final Exam

Take the open-book final exam online, attain a grade of at least 70, and instantly receive a personal Certificate of Completion in Mastering Internal Controls and Fraud Prevention, suitable for framing.