Stockholders' Equity (3)

DONATED CAPITAL is a gift of assets to a company, usually by state or local governments, typically to induce a business to relocate to their jurisdiction. Donated Capital belongs to the Common Stockholders, unless otherwise stated in stockholders' agreements.

When calculating part g, you will use the CALL price of preferred stock. If there is no call price, then you will use the par value. But when preferred stock has a call price, that is the amount used, because it is the amount that would be paid to preferred stockholders if the corporation were to call and retire the preferred stock. Aside from this one small point, this problem is essentially the same as the example I provided in the Study Guide for this week.

Non-Cash Stock Transactions
Stock must be paid for before it can be issued. It is a violation of law to issue or record stock prior to receiving payment from investors. It's easy to value a stock sale for cash, since the cash paid fixes the actual value of the transaction.

Sometimes stock is issued for something other than cash. Land, buildings, equipment, vehicles or other assets can be exchanged for stock. Shares of one company's stock can also be exchanged for shares of another company. Investments of various types (stocks, bonds, etc.) may also be exchanged for shares of stock. In some cases, the value of the property given up can easily be determined, making it easy to place a value on the stock transaction.

When a non-cash transaction occurs, we have to take a market value approach, and we try to identify the part of the transaction that has the most widely accepted market value. There is a specific heirarchy accountants must use to determine the overall value of such transactions. We apply the heirarchy in the following order.

1. If the stock being issued is publicly traded, the entire transaction is the market value of the stock given up. We will assign that value to any assets received.

Example: On March 27, 2006 Microsoft Corp. exchanges 100,000 shares of company stock for a piece of undeveloped real estate. What is the value of this transaction?

On March 27, 2006 Microsoft stock sells for $27.25 per share. They give up 100,000 shares, in effect saying "we think the property we are purchasing is worth $2,725,000."
[$27.25 * 100,000 shares = $2,725,000]

We assign the market price of Microsoft stock to this transaction, because the stock is heavily traded on global stock markets, and the price is fixed by a very large market of investors. If Microsoft feels that the real estate is worth 100,000 shares, who are we to argue? Accountants just have to record the transaction.We don't have to care if company management is making a good deal or not. But we do assume that the transaction is "fair" and "at arms length" and that neither party is under any particular pressure or duress to enter into this fair market value agreement.

On the other side of the coin -- the seller (now stockholder) must also feel that $2,725,000 is a "fair" price for his/her real estate, or he/she would not have accepted Microsoft's offer. Since the 100,000 shares can immediately be sold on open market for $2,725,000, the seller can convert the shares to cash the same day as the transaction.

Microsoft common stock is $0.00000625 par value per share, so they will record $0.63 in par value, with the remaining recorded as additional paid-in capital, as follows:
[$0.00000625 x 100,000 = $ 0.625, rounded to $ 0.63]

General Journal

Date	Account	Debit	Credit
	Real Estate	2,725,000.00
	Common Stock		.63
	Additional Paid-in Capital		2,724,999.37
	To record the issue of 100,000 shares common stock in exchange for unimproved real estate.

This is a rather unusual example because Microsoft's par value is so low. But this is how it's done, regardless of the dollar amounts involved.

2. If the stock being issued is NOT publicly traded, the entire transaction is the market value of the asset received. We will assign that value to any shares of stock issued.

XYZ Corporation is a small private company. It's stock is not sold on a public stock exchange, and there is no ready market for the company's stock at this time. XYZ Corporation agrees to exchange 10,000 shares of company stock for a piece of unimproved real estate. Two independent, certified and licensed appraisers are hired to provide appraisals of the real estate value. The appraisers agree that the real estate has a fair market value in the range of $100,000 to $110,000 at the time of the transaction.

Following the accounting rule of conservatism, we apply the lower of the range of values, or $100,000, to this transaction. We follow the conservatism rule to minimize the effect of making an estimate. If the company stock has a par value of $1 we would record the transaction as follows:

General Journal

Date	Account	Debit	Credit
	Real Estate	100,000
	Common Stock		10,000
	Additional Paid-in Capital		90,000
	To record the issue of 10,000 shares $1 par common stock in exchange for unimproved real estate.

3. In some rare instances neither of the two approaces above will work, and we have to take a slightly different approach. We still need to approximate true market value of the transaction, since that is always considered the fair approach.

Assume ABC Corporation is not publicly traded. They agree to exchange 5,000 shares of company stock for a piece of unimproved real estate. The real estate is in an area that is facing economic downturn in the real estate market, and has been available for sale for many years, with no interested buyers or offers. Appraisers are reluctant to place a market value on the property.

After updating and analyzing the company's books, the accountants determine that ABC Corporation's stock has a Book Value of $2.10 per share. We seldom use book value for any calculation, but this is one rare instance where it is used. We place a value on the transaction of $10,500 [5000 shares * $2.10]. IF the par value is $1 per share, we record the transaction as follows.

General Journal

Date	Account	Debit	Credit
	Real Estate	10,500
	Common Stock		5,000
	Additional Paid-in Capital		5,500
	To record the issue of 5,000 shares $1 par common stock in exchange for unimproved real estate.

In this case, the corporation is willing to give a share in the company equal to $10,500 in exchange for the real estate. This represents a future interest in profits and ownership to the person selling the property. The new stockholder believes the value of the land is worth $10,500 since he/she accepts the offer under these terms. Both parties will apply the same value to the transaction.

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Example Stockholders' Equity

Investor analysis of financial statements

Example: Analysis of an Equity Section of a Balance Sheet
Stockholders' Equity and Paid in Capital

The post closing year-end balance sheet of Technical Services, Inc. includes the following stockholders’ equity section (with certain details omitted):

Stockholders’ equity:
6% cumulative preferred stock, $100 par value, callable at $102, 100,000 shares authorized	$2,400,000
Common stock, $2 par value, 2,000,000 shares authorized	2,200,000
Additional paid-in capital: Common stock	1,485,000
Donated capital	410,000
Retained earnings, end of year	3,470,000
Total stockholders’ equity	$9,965,000

Instructions
From this information, compute answers to the following questions:

a. How many shares of preferred stock have been issued?

Recorded Par value of all preferred stock outstanding	$2,400,000
Divided by: Par value per share of preferred stock	$100
Number of shares of preferred stock outstanding [2,400,000 / 100]	24,000 shares

[Note: Preferred stock usually has a par value of $100 per share. In this case there is no additional paid-in capital associated with preferred stock.]

b. What is the total amount of the annual dividends paid to preferred stockholders?

Dividend requirement per share of preferred stock ($100 x 6%)	$6 per share
Times: Number of shares of preferred stock outstanding (from part a)	24,000
Annual preferred stock dividend requirement [24,000 * $6]	$144,000

c. How many shares of common stock are outstanding?

Recorded Par value of all common stock outstanding	$2,200,000
Divided by: Par value per share of common stock	$2
Number of shares of common stock outstanding [2,200,000 / $2]	1,100,000 shares

[Note: this company has no Treasury stock. Treasury shares would be sutracted from total shares, but only when they are present.]

d. What was the average issuance price per share of common stock?

Recorded Par value of all common stock outstanding	$2,200,000
Plus: Additional paid-in capital: Common stock	1,485,000
Total issue price of all common stock	$3,685,000
Divided by Number of shares of common stock outstanding (from part c)	1,100,000
Average issue price per share of common stock [$3,685,000 / 1,100,000]	$3.35 per share

[Note: this company has recorded additional paid-in capital on common stock. At least some of the stockholders paid a price greater than par value for their shares. Since stock prices tend to fluctuate, this would be a typical situation for most corporations.]

e. What is the amount of legal capital?

Par value of preferred stock issued	$2,400,000
Plus: Par value of common stock issued	2,200,000
Total legal capital	$4,600,000

[Note: Legal capital is the total of par value of all shares issued. Legal capital laws and requirements vary from state to state. Check with the Secretary of State to find out the legal capital requirements in your state. ]

f. What is the total amount of paid-in capital?

Total Stockholders Equity	$9,965,000
Less: Retained earnings	3,470,000
Total paid-in capital	$6,495,000

[Note: Paid-in capital represents all amounts paid by stockholders to the corporation in exchange for stock. Donated Capital is also called Contributed Capital. GAAP requires us to include Donated
Capital in the computation of paid-in capital. See the note below on Donated Capital.]

g. What is the book value per share of common stock? (Assume there are no dividends in arrears.)

Total stockholders' equity	$9,965,000
Less: Call value of Preferred stock [$102 * 24,000 shares]	2,448,000
Total Book Value belonging to common stockholders	$7,517,000
Divided by number of common shares outstanding (from part c)	1,100,000
Book value per share of common stock, rounded to nearest cent	$6.83

[Note: Book Value is an artificial amount. It merely represents the amount of value due to the common stockholders, divided by the number of common shares outstanding. Call price of preferred stock represents the amount that would be paid to buy out preferred stockholders.]

h. Dividends on common stock
Assume that retained earnings at the beginning of the year amounted to $745,000 and the net income for the year was $3,600,000. What was the dividend declared during the year on each share of common stock?

Retained earnings, beginning of year	$745,000
Add: Net income for the year	3,600,000
Subtotal	4,345,000
Less: Retained earnings end of year	3,470,000
Total dividends paid during the year	875,000
Less: Dividends on preferred stock (part b)	144,000
Total dividends due common stockholders	$731,000
Divided by: Number of common shares outstanding (part c)	1,100,000
Dividends per share of common stock outstanding, rounded	$ .6645

[Note: This part simply follows the general format of a Retained Earnings statement. Accountants generally carry Dividend and EPS calculations out to 4 decimal places, for greater accuracy. Most publicly traded companies have millions, perhaps even tens-of-millions of shares of common stock. It's easy to see how those 2 extra decimal places can make a big difference in accuracy when you are dealing with many shares of stock. ]

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Stockholders' Equity (2)

Common and Preferred Stock

All corporations must have one class of voting common stock. Owners of the voting common stock have the right to elect the board of directors and vote on important matters that affect stockholders. They also have the right to receive unlimited dividends and benefit from unlimited capital growth.

Preferred stock is optional. Preferred stock usually carries certain benefits not available to common stockholders. Preferred stockholders generally receive dividends before common stockholders. In the event the corporation is liquidated, the Preferred stockholders are in line ahead of Common stockholders. Despite the benefits of Preferred stock, there are also limits on dividends and there is little or no capital growth potential for Preferred stock.

We follow the same basic rules to record both Common and Preferred Stock transactions.

Par and No-par stock

Par refers to a set amount of money, which is the underlying amount of Capital attributed to each share of stock. It can be any dollar amount the Corporation chooses. Par and No-Par stock rules vary from state to state. The use of these terms is a matter of law. Some states don't allow No-Par stock.

Par value is often used to assess annual corporate franchise fees. The francise fees allow a corporation to be in good standing and continue to operate legally.

Corporations often distribute money to Stockholders, in the form of Dividends and other payments. In some states the Par value limits the amount that can be paid out to Stockholders. Those laws ensure that the Corporation does not deplete all it's capital resources. Not all states allow No-Par stock to prevent corporations for depleting their capital by paying excess Dividends. You need to check the laws in your state to know how corporations are organized where you live.

Selling Par Stock

A corporation raises money by selling stock. Corporations must sell at least one class of
Common stock at the initial capitalization. This creates a group of owners who vote to elect a Board of Directors. The Board then hires a President or CEO, who heads the company and authorizes all further activities of the corporation.

Par stock is recorded at its par value in the stock account.

Record the Sale of 100 shares of $1 par common stock, at par ($1 per share). Selling price is $1 per share

General Journal

Date	Account	Debit	Credit
	Cash	100
	Common Stock		100
	To record the sale of 100 shares of $1 par common stock at par.

Record the Sale of 100 shares of $1 par common stock, at a premium. Selling price is $5 per share.

General Journal

Date	Account	Debit	Credit
	Cash	500
	Common Stock		100
	Additional Paid-in Capital		400
	To record the sale of 100 shares of $1 par common stock at $5 per share

The Stock account (Common Stock in this case) is always credited for the amount of Par only.Any premium above par is credited to a different account. In this case I used the title Additional Paid-in Capital, but some companies and textbooks use other terms to mean the same thing.

[Quick check -- what term does your textbook use for Additional Paid-in Capital?]

Selling No-Par Stock

When a company uses No-Par stock, they omit the Additional Paid-in Capital account entirely.

Record the Sale of 100 shares of No-Par common stock for $5 per share.

General Journal

Date	Account	Debit	Credit
	Cash	500
	Common Stock		500
	To record the sale of 100 shares of no-par common stock at $5 per share.

Although No-Par stock is easier to record, not all states permit this type of stock. All stock transactions should follow one of the formats above, which much match the type of stock being sold.

In some states a corporation may have par, no-par and preferred stock all at the same time. You need to check with state laws to see what is permitted where you live.

Record the Sale of 10 shares of $100 par, 8% cumulative preferred stock for $105 per share.

General Journal

Date	Account	Debit	Credit
	Cash	1050
	Preferred Stock, $100 par, 8% cumulative		1000
	Additional Paid-in Capital - Preferred		50
	To record the sale of 100 shares of $1 par common stock at $5 per share

Using the Additional Paid-in Capital (APIC) accounts

Some corporations set up a different APIC for each class of stock. Other corporations use only one APIC account for all classes of stock. Which way is correct?

Answer: Both are correct. It's up to the corporation to decide how it wants to recorde these transactions.

Ultimately, all APIC belongs to the Common stockholders. Preferred stockholders are entitled to either the Par value or Call value of their stock, and are not entitled to a return of APIC.

Call value of Preferred Stock

Some Preferred stock has a Call value. This means the corporation can Call, or buy back, the stock from the Preferred stockholders, at the option of the corporation. The stockholders have no say in this matter. Because they are losing their investment the Call value is usually higher than the Par value, at least by a couple of dollars.

There is usally an Exercise Date on a Preferred stock Call. That date is usually many years in the future, and prevents the corporation from calling the stock before this date. The Exercise Date benefits stockholders -- the corporation must wait until some time after this date before it can call the preferred stock.

When Preferred stock is called, it is usually Retired. Retired stock is no longer available for sale, no dividends will be paid on retired stock, and it has no future effect on stockholders equity.

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Stockholders' Equity (1)

Equity versus Debt

Equity is Ownership in a company.

Debt represents all liabilities, bills and money owed by a company, including bank loans and mortgages.

The Accounting Equation is Assets = Liabilities + Owners' Equity

As we see by this equation, all assets are financed by total equity and debt.

Banks and other lenders expect the owners to take most of the risk in a business. Banks may be willing to lend a corporation some money, but only after stockholders have put in their share first.

Banks generally lend long-term money for long-term assets. This includes mortgage loans for land, buildings and equipment. The asset is pledged capital against the loan, so the bank can take the property back in the event the loan payments aren't made. This further limits the bank's risk of loss.

But, banks generally don't lend long-term money for short-term needs. Short term needs include daily operating expenses, inventory, payroll, insurance premiums and the like. Loaning long-term money for short-term needs is very risky for a bank. They have no collateral to repossess if the corporation defaults on the loan.

Short-term money comes from stockholders, who must take the greatest risk.But in exchange for taking the risk, stockholders are also entitled to benefit from the growth and earnings of the company for years to come. Some companies fail and the stockholders lose their entire investment. But other companies are extremely successful and the financial reward to stockholders can be huge.

Creating a corporation and issuing stock

The life of a corporation starts when the Organizers file an application with the Secretary of State, and pay a fee. The application contains the Articles of Incorporation and asks the State to authorize the company to issue stock.

Authorized, Issued, Outstanding and Treasury stock
Authorized - The Secretary of State authorizes a corporation to issue shares of stock. This determines the total number of shares that can be issued, and the par value per share.

Issued - Once a corporation sells a share of stock to a stockholder, that share is issued. A share can be issued only once by the corporation, but it can be traded any number of times among shareholders and investors. Trading is generally done on a public stock market, and transactions go through a stock broker.

An Initial Public Offering (IPO) is the sale and issue of new stock, usually by a new corporation. After the IPO all future trading will take place on a stock market, with shares being traded amoung investors. After the IPO, the corporation is essentially out of the picture, when it comes to stock market activities. The corporation receives money only in the IPO.

Outstanding - After being authorized and issued, the total number of shares held by stockholders is called outstanding. Dividends are paid on outstanding shares only.

Treasury stock - Sometimes a company buys its own stock back from stockholders. This stock is held in the treasury (along with all the gold and crown jewels :-). No dividends are paid on treasury stock. Treasury stock can be held indefinitely, resold at any time, or retired. Retired stock is permanently removed from future sale and dividends.

A treasury stock journal entry includes a debit to the treasury stock account. It appears as a negative amount in the stockholders' equity section of the balance sheet.

Buying treasury stock reduces the number of shares outstanding. This has several effects. Reducing the number of shares increases Earnings Per Share (EPS). In return the stock's market price generally goes up, or at least holds steady in declining economic times. Since fewer shares are outstanding it also reduces total dividends.

An example: XYZ, Inc plans an IPO. The Secretary of State authorizes them to sell 1,000,000 shares of $1 par common stock. Through a stock market the company offers 750,000 shares for sale to interested investors. They hold back 250,000 shares from issue, because these may be needed later for employee stock option plans. Later that year the corporation decides buy back 50,000 shares that were previously issued.

	authorized	issued	treasury	outstanding
Authorized	1,000,000	0	0	0
Sold in IPO	1,000,000	750,000	0	750,000
Bought Treasury	1,000,000	750,000	(50,000)	700,000

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Managerial Accounting

Managerial Accounting is very different from Financial Accounting. There you learned about the overall framework of accounting, and how to prepare financial statements for investors and other people outside the company. Managerial Accounting will focus on preparing financial information for Managers who are inside the company. Their needs are different than the general public's, and Managers are entitled to access information that is confidential.

In this tutorial, and in the legal and business world in general, Managers (or Management) are viewed as a special group of people. We will view them both as a "whole" and as individuals. They are employees of the company, and they are the ones in charge of running a company and making daily, mission-critical decisions that effect the very life of the company.

Because of their position in a company, Management can either act to benefit the company and it's owners or they can undermine the company. We expect the former, and cringe at the latter. The financial collapse of Enron is a recent example of a group of Managers who put their own personal gain above their obligation to the stockholders and public alike. It was the 7th largest company in the US at the time. Thousands of employees people lost their entire retirement fund, and thousands of other investors lost their entire investment.

Each week we will learn to use new managerial tools. Each one is a little different, but when you are done you will have many useful tools for business decision-making. After all, a carpenter would use a hammer to drive a nail, and a screwdriver to install a screw. OK, I know a few that would use a hammer to drive a screw but you get the idea! ;-)

Let's put it this way: you can do more with a full box of useful tools. Fair enough? So each week we will learn to use some new ones, or find new and different uses for one's we've learned about earlier.

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Liabilities (2)

Preparing and using an Amortization Table, year-end balances and adjusting journal entries

On April 1, 2005, Mike's Bikes, Inc. signed a 5-year, $50,000 note payable to 6th National Bank in conjunction with the purchase of equipment. The note calls for interest at an annual rate of 8%, with payments of $ 1,013.82 per month starting May 1, 2005. The note is fully amortizing over a period of 60 months. The bank sent Mike an amortization table showing the allocation of monthly payments between interest and principal over the life of the loan. A small part of this amortization table is illustrated below.

In Chapter 7 we prepared a Bank Reconciliation to dertermine the correct Cash account balance. We also entered journal entries to correct any errors and journalize any unrecorded transactions.

In Chapter 10 we are going to verify the correct account balances for Notes Payable and Interest Payable, that is, the balance these accounts should be as of year-end on December 31. This is one of our standard and ordinary year-end procedures.

We determine correct loan and interest payable balances by creating an amortization table. We will write adjusting entries to bring the account balances into agreement with the amortization table.

Let's look at some journal entries over the life of a loan and see how they relate to the amortization table.

Journal entry to record the original note payable of $50,000 on April 1, 2005. We have increased Cash (Debit) and increased Notes Payable (Credit). No interest has accrued yet. Interest is related to time, so at least one day must pass before we can calculate (accrue) interest.

Date	Account	Debit	Credit
Apr-1	Cash	$50,000
	Notes Payable		$50,000
	To record 8% 60-month note with 6th National Bank

Monthly payments and principal balances

Interest calculation
Beginning Balance * Annual Interest Rate * Time Factor
$50,000 * 8% * 1/12 = $333.33

Principal payment = Payment amount - Interest
$1,013.82 - $333.33 = $680.49

Principal balance reduction
Beginning Balance - Principal payment = Ending Balance
$50,000 - $680.49 = $49,319.51

Journal entry to record the first monthly payment on this note, May 1, 2005, payment 1 from the amortization table above.

Date	Account	Debit	Credit
May-1	Notes Payable	$680.49
	Interest Expense	333.33
	Cash		$1013.82
	To record monthly note payment for May.

Balances at December 31, 2006 (year end)

Making Year-End Adjusting Journal Entries
Adjusting journal entries should be made to bring account balances to the correct amount before preparing financial statements. The Books are not always correct or accurate. This situation needs to be corrected at the end of the year, or anytime we need to prepare Financial Statements

At the end of each year we organize our adjusting entries on a Working Trial Balance (WTB) before preparing financial statements. You can see an example of the WTB in Comprehensive Problem 1, in your text. Let's look at an example of year-end adjusting entries.

Example - adjusting Notes Payable at year-end

Assume the following: We look at the WTB and see that the loan balance is recorded as a credit balance of $ 44,329.16. We compare this with our amortization table and see that the correct balance should be a credit balance of $ 44,427.38. We need to make an adjusting entry to bring the books to the correct balance.

In this case we need to credit Notes Payable for $ 98.22 to bring the books into agreement with the amortization table. In some cases we would have to debit Notes Payable. When do you think that would be the case? If an amortization table was used for each monthly loan payment, the books should agree with the amortization table, and no adjusting entry would be needed in that case.

What account should we debit? We must review the related journal entries for the year and see which accounts were debited and credited each month. In most cases we will make the adjustment to the Interest Expense account (look at the monthly entries above). In some cases we may find that a different account was used by mistake. We would correct that error as well, when making the year end adjustments. Let's assume that the only two accounts effected in this example are Notes Payable and Interest Expense. The adjusting journal entry would be.

Date	Account	Debit	Credit
Dec-31	Interest Expense	$ 98.22
	Notes Payable		$ 98.22
	To adjust Notes Payable to agree with amortization table

Proof:

	Debit	Credit
Notes Payable balance		44,329.16
Adjustment		98.22
Corrected NP balance		44,427.38
Balance per amortization table		44,427.38
Difference		0

The same approach can be used to reconcile and adjust Interest Expense. But generally speaking we are more concerned with having the correct Notes Payable balance on the balance sheet.

Large businesses record transactions daily, sometimes in Real Time, as they happen. Smaller businesses may record transactions less frequently, perhaps at the end of the day, week or month. Bookkeepers often have to make estimates, especially when they don't have enough information to write a correct entry. This is common in the business world.

Here's a common example, and one I see on a regular basis as an accountant and tax preparer. A client or their bookkeeper records a loan payment as a debit to "Loan Payment" and a credit to "Cash." You should know by now that accountants don't use an account called "Loan Payment." We record a loan payment with debits to Interest Expense and Notes Payable and a credit to Cash, as shown in the examples above. To correct the bookkeeper's error we would write an adjusting entry to debit the correct accounts and bring the "bogus" account to a zero balance.

Present Value
If you owe me $1000 I would like to have it paid as soon as possible. I am losing the use of my money as long as you owe me.

If I fall on hard times I might prefer to get my money paid back sooner, rather than later, because I need the money now. I might be inclined to settle for less than the full amount of the debt, in order to get the cash I need as soon as possible.

Let's say I could earn 10% interest if I had the money you owe me. In one year I would lose:

$1000 x 10% x 1 = $100 interest

if you paid me back now I could accept

$1000 - $100 = $900

Investing that money in an interest bearing account, which compounds daily (typical bank method), the $900 would grow to $1000 in a year. I would be in the same position at the end of a year, either way. But one way I have my money available in case I need it, which may be preferable.

The long and short of this story is simple. Money has a value, over time. It can be calculated fairly easily. If we don't have our money, we lose the use of it. Having money now is better than having it in the future, because I can put it to better use if it is available to me.

The business world accepts these simple facts about money, and business managers assume that interest should be earned or paid whenever appropriate in the situation. Federal tax law mandates that interest be charged where appropriate. Zero interest loans are not recognized for federal tax purposes.

Contingencies
A contingent situation is one that may arise in the future, based on some past event. For instance, if I sell lawnmowers one of them might break in the warranty period, and I will have to replace it. The warranty claim will arise in the future, from a sale made today.

There may be contingent gains or losses. Contingent gains are ignored until they are finalized. Contingent losses are recognized as soon as they can be identified and measured.

GAAP places a couple of requirements on contingent losses. They should be reported in the financial statements if they meet BOTH of two criteria:
1) the loss is probable,
2) the amount can be reasonably estimated.

It must also be a material amount, in order to have a reportable effect on the financial statements. Some are just a normal part of business, called general business risk, and are not reported. For instance, we all know that airplanes can crash. Airlines don't consider this a reportable contingency, because it is impossible to predict the occurrence or amount of loss in advance.

On the other hand, the company may be involved in a lawsuit. Their attorney advises them that they will probably lose, based on other cases and the probable loss will be $100,000. The loss is probable, and the amount can be reasonably estimated. The loss would be entered into the books, with a journal entry, and disclosed in the financial statements.

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Liabilities (1)

Liabilities are essentially debts. They can be:
current (short term): due & payable within 1 year
long-term: due & payable in over 1 year

The most common liabilities are:
Accounts Payable: for routine expenses and inventory purchased on credit

Notes Payable: short- or long-term loans from banks or other lenders

Accrued Expenses: various current expenses, accrued to prepare financial statements; these can include accounts such as interest payable, taxes payable, wages payable, and other similar accruals at the end of the year.

Mortgage Notes: long term borrowing to purchase major assets; the assets purchased are also pledged as collateral

Bonds Payable: corporation general debt; bonds of major corporations can be purchased on a public stock exchange; bonds pay interest on a regular basis, usually twice a year; bonds may have maturity dates from 5 to 30 years, or any other time frame selected by the company and acceptable by lenders.

Liabilities often have to be estimated at balance sheet date, so we can prepare financial statements.

Amortization table
An amortization table is a calculation involving interest and regular payments, or reductions, in an account or debt. Costs can be amortized over several years, using an amortization table. They are usually prepared to show the progress of loan payments, especially in long-term mortgage loans. If you have a home loan, you will probably get an amortization table from your bank, showing how your payments are divided among interest, principle and other fees (escrow).

Amortization tables are relatively easy to prepare. The use of computer spreadsheet programs makes creating these tables a very simple task. One "template" can be created and used over and over for different amounts, interest rates and time frames.

Interest calculation
Interest applies to many liabilities. Notes, bonds and mortgages all involve interest.

Interest is the fee you pay for the use of someone else's money. The calculation is always the same.

Interest = Principle X Annual Interest Rate X Time (portion of a year)

Interest Rates are always expressed in annual terms. For instance, 12% interest means 12% per year, or 1% (1/12) per month.

The Time factor is always in relation to a year, so it maintains the correct relationship with annual interest rates. One month's time factor would be 1/12. Three months' would be 3/12, 7 months would be 7/12, etc.

Sometimes interest agreements are expressed in a number of days. We usually use a 360 day year to make the calculation easier, and more rounded. This goes back to the days before modern calculators and computers, when we used pencil and paper to calculate interest. Example: 30 day note uses 30/360 time factor.

Using Amortization Tables
Amortization is an accounting method used to spread costs or payments over a period of time, based on a few basic concepts: Time, Principal (money or cost), and Interest Rate. Amortizing a loan balance uses all three of these to reduce a loan balance to zero over a number of years. This might apply to a home mortgage or automobile loan. It might also apply to an automobile or equipment lease.

Interest is always expressed as an annual Rate, so your interest calculation must always have a Time factor. For instance, one year's interest on $100 at 12% (annual rate) is

$100 x 12% = $12 annual interest [on your calculator 100 * .12 = 12]

If you make a home or car loan payment every month, you would not want to pay a year's worth of interest on each monthy payment, would you? (this is not a trick question ;-) Of course, you would only want to pay one month's interest each month. So we have to add a Time factor to the annual interest calculation above. In this case there are 12 months in a year, to calculate one month's interest we would use 1/12 as a Time factor.

$100 x 12% x 1/12 = $1 monthly interest [100 * .12 / 12 * 1= 1]

If you wanted to calculate interest for 2 months you would use 2/12:

$100 x 12% x 2/12 = $2 interest [100 * .12 / 12 * 2 = 2]

The monthly payment amount stays the same each month, and is divided between interest expense and principal reduction. As the principal goes down, so does the interest expense. Eventually the principal amount is zero, perhaps over 5 years for a car loan, or 25 years for a home mortgage.

Let's say you buy a new home with a $100,000 mortgage, spread over 25 years, at 8% interest. How much is your payment going to be, and how much interest will you pay over the life of the loan if you make all the payments on time? Here's a good website you can visit to answer this type of question.

http://www.interest.com/calculators

I used their calculator to answer this question, and create an amortization table. It took about 10 seconds. Your monthly payment would be $771.82 and your total interest over the life of the loan (25 years) would be $131,542.40. In total your $100,000 loan would cost you $231, 542.40 -- that's over twice the amount of money you originally borrowed, in fact you would pay back 2.3 times your original loan amount.

Many borrowers reduce their overall interest expense by making extra principal payments on their loans whenever possible. Look at an amortization table you will see that most of the monthly payment goes to Interest and only a small portion goes to Principal Reduction. [If you have not done so yet, use the calculator link, and enter the amounts shown above, then generate an amortization table and look at it.]

At the end of month 1, you would have paid $771.82 ($666.67 interest and $105.15 principal). This reduces your principal balance to $99,894.85. If you were to make all the first 12 payments on time you would have paid $9,261.84 ($7952.69 interest and $1309.15 principal.) At the end of 12 months the loan balance would be $98,690.85. Now, follow closely at this point.

Principal balance after month 1	$99,894.85
Principal balance after month 12	$98,690.85
Difference	$1,204.00
Month 1 payment	$771.82
Total payment	$1975.82

If I pay and extra $1204 principal in month 1, it will reduce my principal balance and move me down the amortization table to where I would be after 12 months. I would avoid paying the amortized interest for months 2 - 12, a savings of $7286.02 over the life of the loan.

In other words, paying an extra $1204 principal saved me $7286 in interest. It would also reduce my total loan payments by 1 year, because I moved down 12 months on the amortization table.

An alternative: Let's say you can't afford to pay that much extra principal each month. If you move down the amortization table one extra month, and pay just that amount of extra principal, you would cut your total interest (about) in half, and cut the loan payoff time in half. In this example you would reduce the loan from 25 years to 12.5 years, and reduce your total interest from $131,542.40 to (about) $65,771.20 - a huge savings!!

CAVEAT: You must still make monthly loan payments, even if you pay off some principal early. So you should incorporate extra principal reduction strategies into your overall cashflow budget. But the earlier you reduce your principal, the better.

Using a spreadsheet, you can quickly create an amortization table for any principal amount, interest rate, payment amount or time factor. With a spreadsheet you can quickly see how different interest rates and payment schedules can effect your personal finances. You can use it for credit cards as well. The same concepts apply.

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