GAAP - The Balance Sheet

Overview

US GAAP is the commonly recognized body of rules and procedures governing financial accounting and recording. One of the basic statements in a firm's financials is the balance sheet, which is said to present a snapshot of a company's financial position as of a specific point in time. Certain situations with their specific sets of rules are commonly encountered in practice. With this course's coverage of the rules, calculations, journal entries, and financial statement presentation requirements, the financial statement preparer, auditor, or user will learn to account for certain unique business situations.

The material is presented in part with a question-and-answer format. Questions are answered with ample practical business situation cases, sample journal entries, detailed calculations, and financial statement presentation examples.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:

  • identify GAAP rules related to current and long-term assets
  • recall GAAP treatment rules for receivables, inventories, cash in transit, and the cash value of life insurance
  • classify intangible assets as indefinite- and definite-lived
  • recognize proper GAAP treatment of non-monetary exchanges, impairment of goodwill and other assets, including real estate
  • identify proper representation of unrealized and unrecognized stock gains as well as how to report investments in and losses in excess of investment in an LLC
  • classify costs included in inventory and identify recording standards for inventory purchase and sale transactions
  • recall proper treatment of such employee-related costs as accrued leave, sabbaticals, and pension benefit obligations
  • classify loans and other debt; recall their accounting treatment as well as that for coupon discounts
  • recognize accounting treatment and reporting of certain types of share exchanges
  • identify quasi-reorganization accounting requirements
  • recall the accounting rules for treatment of non-controlling interests and capital structure information

Designed For

Accounting and financial professionals with balance sheet familiarity who need to update their understanding of various common situations encountered when preparing or interpreting financial statements

Prerequisites

General familiarity with basic GAAP and with the balance sheet

Advanced Preparation

None

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