ACCOUNTING THEORY tries to describe the role of accounting and is composed of four types of accounting theory: classical inductive theories, income theories, decision usefulness theories, and information economics / agency theories: a. Classical inductive theories are attempts to find the principles on which current accounting processes are based; b. Income theories try to identify the real profit of an organization; c. Decision usefulness theories attempt to describe accounting as a process of providing the relevant information to the relevant decision makers; and, d. The information economics / agency theories of accounting see accounting information as a good to be traded between rational agents each acting in their own self-interest.
ABNORMAL SPOILAGE is spoilage that is not part of everyday operations. It occurs for reasons such as the following: out-of-control manufacturing processes, unusual machine breakdowns, and unexpected electrical outages that result in a number of spoiled units. Some abnormal spoilage is considered avoidable; that is, if managers monitor processes and maintain machinery appropriately, little spoilage will occur. To highlight these types of problems so that they can be monitored, abnormal spoilage is recorded in a Loss from Abnormal Spoilage Account in the general ledger and is not included in the job costing inventory accounts (work in process, finished goods, and cost of goods sold).
FUNCTIONAL-BASED ACCOUNTING focuses on organizational units such as departments and plants, uses financial outcome measures and static standards and benchmarks to evaluate performance, and emphasizes status quo and organizational stability. On the other hand, activity-based accounting focuses on processes, uses both operational and financial measures and dynamic standards, and emphasizes and supports continuous improvement. Activity-based accounting adds a process perspective.
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