Chapter 4: Balance Sheet: Presenting and Analyzing Resources
and Financing Key
1. Accounting does not normally recognize mutually unexecuted contracts as assets or liabilities.
2. Acquisition cost includes all costs required to prepare an asset for its intended use.
3. Investors would view measurements that reflect current conditions as the most relevant for making
investment decisions.
4. The principal objective of accounting reports as currently prepared is to present accurately the results of
operations and the financial condition of the firm.
5. Conservatism emphasizes the early recognition of losses and delayed recognition of gains.
6. Accounting records all executory promises.
7. The current replacement cost of an asset is the amount a firm would have to pay to obtain another asset with
identical service potential; it is an entry value that reflects economic conditions at the measurement date.
8. The same asset can have different measurements for tax purposes, for financial reporting purposes, and for
internal managerial decision-making purposes.
9. Depreciation allocates the asset’s cost to the periods of benefit in some systematic and rational way, and it
attempts to track changes in the asset’s fair value.
10. Realization is the presumption that a firm will remain in operation long enough to carry out its current plans.
and in the normal course of its operations, realize changes in the fair values of its assets either by using those
assets or selling them.
11. Historically, recognition has described a preference for financial reporting such “that possible errors in
measurement be in the direction of understatement rather than overstatement of net income and net assets.”
12. Shareholders’ equity is a residual interest or claim—that is, the owners (shareholders) of a firm have a claim
on assets not required to meet the claims of creditors.
13. The amounts that firms report as received from owners are equal to the amounts the firm received when it
originally issued the shares of stock.
14. The balance sheet amount of shareholders’ equity does not, and is not intended to, provide the user of the
financial reports with a measure of the market value of common equity.
15. A potential investor can easily ascertain market value of common equity for a given publicly traded firm by
looking up the most recent share price (as reported in various online services) and then multiplying this share
price times the number of common shares outstanding, as reported on the balance sheet.
16. One can analyze the financial health of a business from a single financial statement considered in isolation
such as the balance sheet.
17. The balance sheet portrays the effects of a firm’s investing and financing decisions.
18. The balance sheet does provides all the information an analyst wants or needs about a firm’s resources and
19. Authoritative accounting guidance precludes the recognition of some resources as assets and some
obligations as liabilities.
20. The amounts reported on the balance sheet for assets, liabilities, and shareholders’ equity reflect current
market conditions.
21. In assessing the financial condition of a firm, an astute analyst recognizes that historical costs are reflected
on the balance sheet and adjusts the reported numbers.
22. The balance sheet perfectly describes both resources and financing (claims on those resources).
23. Applying asset and liability definitions and recognition criteria under U.S. GAAP and IFRS results in the
balance sheet including all economic benefits (resources) and obligations.
24. Balance sheets based on U.S. GAAP and IFRS omit some items and measure others with bias, relative to
measurements based on current economic conditions.
25. Both U.S. GAAP and IFRS require reporting that results in the more conservative measurement of
earnings.
26. In the recognition criteria for liabilities with uncertain amount and/or timing, “probable” is used in U.S.
GAAP to refer to a relatively high threshold of likelihood—a rule of thumb used in practice is approximately
80%.
27. In IFRS, “probable” as recognition criterion for liabilities with uncertain amount and/or timing means “more
likely than not”—approximately 51%.
28. Firms that use International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) may, but need not list their assets from
least liquid to most liquid, with the same ordering used to list liabilities.
29. A balance sheet prepared according to U.S. GAAP lists liabilities starting with those that the firm will
discharge soonest (the most current or closest to maturity liabilities) and ending with those that it will pay latest
(the most noncurrent or distant to maturity liabilities).
30. Under U.S. GAAP, assets and liabilities are listed on the balance sheet in order of decreasing liquidity, so
the most liquid assets (liabilities) are shown first, under their respective categories.
31. A balance sheet prepared according to U.S. GAAP lists assets from most liquid to least liquid, where liquid
refers to the ease of converting the asset into cash.
32. What is a probable future economic benefit that a firm controls because of a past event or transaction?
33. The criteria for asset recognition include(s):
34. Which of the following is/are true?
35. The _____ of an asset is the amount a firm would have to pay to obtain another asset with identical service
potential; it is an entry value that reflects economic conditions at the measurement date.
36. Which of the following is a measurement attribute used in U.S. GAAP to measure inventories whose
usefulness (typically, in terms of salability) to the firm has declined below the cost of the inventories?
37. _____ is the net cash (selling price less selling costs) that the firm would receive if it sold the asset today, in
orderly fashion in an arm’s-length transaction. It is an example of an exit value, because it reflects a price that
the firm would receive in a transaction in which an asset leaves the firm.
38. IFRS defines _____ as a current exchange value, which can mean either a current entry price or a current
exit price.
39. _____ is the amount that results from using an appropriate interest rate to discount one or more future cash
flows to the present. It is the sum of the present values of the individual future cash inflows and outflows
associated with an asset. It is not, in and of itself, a measurement attribute. Rather, it is a means of arriving at a
measurement attribute.
40. Which of the following terms describes the presumption that a firm will remain in operation long enough to
carry out its current plans, and will, in the normal course of its operations, realize changes in the fair values of
its assets either by using those assets or selling them?
41. The distinction between recognition and realization is essential to accrual accounting, hence the importance
accorded to recognition criteria. Firms recognize items that qualify for inclusion in the financial statements
when they enter the financial statements. In the case of value decreases, the firm
42. _____ means that the information is pertinent to the decisions of users of financial reports, in the sense that
the information can make a difference in those decisions.
43. _____ means that the information presented is reasonably free from error and bias and faithfully represents
what it purports to represent.
44. Historically, _____ has described a preference for financial reporting such “that possible errors in
measurement be in the direction of understatement rather than overstatement of net income and net assets.”
45. _____ is the basis for the practice of reporting certain assets at the lower of acquisition cost or fair value.
The requirement to test assets for impairment and to record impairment charges rests on the notion that balance
sheet carrying values of assets should not exceed the amount of cash that the firm expects to receive by using or
selling the asset.
46. An accounting _____ arises when a firm incurs an obligation to make a future sacrifice that, because of a
past event or transaction, it has little or no discretion to avoid.
47. Which of the following is/are true regarding accounting liabilities?
48. _____ are probable future sacrifices of economic benefits arising from present obligations of a particular
entity to transfer assets or provide services to other entities in the future as a result of a past event or
transaction.
49. The criteria for liability recognition include(s):
50. _____ is a residual interest or claim—that is, the owners (shareholders) of a firm have a claim on assets not
required to meet the claims of creditors.
51. The measurement of the assets and liabilities on the balance sheet also determines the measurement of
______________.
52. Corporate laws within many jurisdictions require that, within _____, firms distinguish between amounts
received from owners and amounts generated by operations which the firm has not distributed to owners.
53. Many firms disaggregate the initial amounts they received from shareholders for common shares into the
_____ and the amounts received in excess of this value, called additional paid-in capital (APIC), share
premium, or capital contributed in excess of par value.
54. Many firms disaggregate the initial amounts they received from shareholders for common shares into the
par or nominal or stated value of the shares and the amounts received in excess of this value, called:
55. Which of the following is/are true about amounts received from shareholders for the firm’s shares when the
firm first issued them?
56. The sum of the par value amount and the additional paid-in capital amount is the total amount received from
shareholders for the shares when the firm first issued them. This total amount is also called _____.
57. Any subsequent sale of a firm’s previously issued common shares from one investor to another (such as
occurs on public stock exchanges):
58. In a rising stock market, the result of any subsequent sale of a firm’s previously issued common shares
from one investor to another (such as occurs on public stock exchanges):
59. An investor can easily ascertain the _____ of common equity for a given publicly traded firm by looking up
the most recent share price (as reported in various online services) and then multiplying this share price times
the number of common shares outstanding, as reported on the balance sheet.
60. _____ measures the net assets generated by a firm from operations exceeding dividends declared.
61. The _____ account accumulates the amounts of the undistributed earnings over time.
62. When a firm has accumulated losses, rather than profits, the Retained Earnings account is typically called:
63. Retained earnings are
64. Retained earnings represent the source of net assets generated by the earnings process that exceed the firm’s
dividend declarations. Common practice refers to the process of curtailing dividends to accumulate assets,
represented by retained earnings, as _____.
65. Firms use short-term financing for
66. Firms use long-term financing for
67. Long-term debt imposes financing risk because it
68. The more variable the firm’s cash flows from operating activities, the more risk that the firm will not have
sufficient cash to meet the required payments. Failure to meet these obligations can result in
69. Which of the following is/are true regarding the balance sheet?
70. Key factors in preparing a balance sheet is/are deciding
71. For a firm to recognize an asset
72. The principal objective of accounting reports as currently prepared is to present ______ the results of
operations and the financial condition of the firm.
73. Accountants record assets at
74. Assume that Trader Pete’s, an organic food retailer in the United States, recently purchased a new
refrigeration system for its Washington, DC, store. Trader Pete’s paid $1.3 million for the refrigeration unit and
paid an additional $120,000 to modify the unit to meet its specific needs. Trader Pete’s paid $55,000 for the
transportation and installation of the unit, plus $48,000 for an annual insurance premium for the first year,
which begins next month. Finally, assume that Trader Pete’s hired a refrigeration technician, who is charged
with the maintenance of the unit; that technician’s annual salary is $80,000. How much should Trader Pete’s
record as the acquisition cost of the refrigeration unit?
75. On January 1, Year 3, All Business Machines (ABM) issued 1,000 shares of its common stock for a
building. Real estate appraisers estimated the building to have a market value of $55,000 on the date of
acquisition. The common stock of ABM sold for $50 per share on the date of the acquisition. On January 1,
Year 3, ABM paid $650 in real estate transfer taxes, $500 in real estate legal fees for recording the transaction,
$1,750 in property taxes for Year 3, and $2,000 for a two-year insurance policy beginning January 1, Year 3. At
what amount should the building appear in the Building account of ABM on January 1, Year 3?
76. The acquisition cost for nonmonetary assets includes
77. When analyzing a balance sheet
78. Which of the following is not cash?
79. At December 31, Year 1, Adam Corporation has 5,000 shares of par value common stock, additional paid-in
capital of $25,000, total shareholders’ equity of $80,000, and retained earnings of $45,000. What is the par value
per share?
80. At December 31, Year 1, Bolton Corporation has par value common stock with a par value of $1.50 per
share, Additional paid-in capital of $60,000, total shareholders’ equity of $100,000, and retained earnings of
$25,000. What is the number of common stock shares?
81. At the end of the third year of operation, Alger Corporation has total assets equal to $100,000, liabilities
totaling $90,000, and contributed capital of $30,000. What is the balance in retained earnings?
82. On December 30, Year 1, Plank Company entered into a contract to purchase inventory over the next year.
This is an example of a(n)
83. A prefabricated steel storage shed is purchased for $20,000 cash and a $80,000 interest-bearing note payable
over a 5-year period at an annual interest rate of 10 percent per annum. The cost to be recorded as an asset (in
addition to the $100,000 purchase price) should include all of the following except
84. The value of fixed assets (such as plant, property, and equipment) included in total assets on the statement
of financial position is the
85. (CMA adapted, Dec 94 #5) Several alternatives have been identified for measuring items on the statement
of financial position. Which of the following alternatives may be used?
Present Value Current Cost Net Realizable Value
86. Assets are classified as current for reporting purposes when
87. A liability arises when a firm
88. The stockholders’ equity of a firm can be defined as
89. The shareholders’ equity section of the balance sheet for a corporation generally does not include
90. A cereal company issues coupons that can be exchanged for boxes of cereal. It issues two million coupons
that promise the retailer who redeems the coupons $1 per coupon. The probability of redemption of any one
coupon is 10%. What is the amount of the liability that the company recognizes?
91. Grand Metropolitan is a consumer foods company headquartered in the United Kingdom. It has followed the
common practice in the U.K. of treating expenditures on product development, quality control, and advertising
as an expense each year. Grand Metropolitan has now decided to recognize the full value of its brand names as
an asset on the balance sheet as of September 30, Year 6. To keep the balance sheet in balance and in
accordance with U.K. practice, Grand Metropolitan will likely
92. Generally accepted accounting principles in the United States require firms to
93. Which of the following is/are true regarding the “reliability” of a reported amount?
94. Both U.S. GAAP and IFRS specify the asset measurement basis for financial reporting and _____ is the
initial measurement attribute for most assets.
95. The _____ of an asset as defined in U.S. GAAP is an opportunity cost in the sense that it reflects an
amount that the firm could receive if it sold the asset today. It is the amount the firm forgoes by not selling the
asset. In U.S. GAAP, it reflects a market participant perspective, so that the intentions of managers regarding
how they plan to use the asset do not determine the measurement.
96. In the recognition criteria for liabilities with uncertain amount and/or timing, “probable” is used in U.S.
GAAP to refer to a threshold of likelihood—a rule of thumb used in practice is approximately _____ In IFRS,
“probable” as recognition criterion for liabilities with uncertain amount and/or timing means approximately
_____.
97. Under both U.S. GAAP and IFRS, the firm must immediately expense all expenditures on _____.
98. U.S. GAAP explicitly defines _____ of an asset as “the price that would be received to sell an asset [or paid
to transfer a liability] in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date.” Thus,
U.S. GAAP defines it as an exit value, namely, the amount the firm would receive if it sold an asset in an
orderly, arm’s-length transaction at the measurement date.
99. All of the following statements are true except: