SHORT-ANSWER ESSAY QUESTIONS
S-A E 218
A worksheet is an optional working tool used by accountants to facilitate the preparation of financial statements. Consider the steps followed in preparing a worksheet. How does the use of a worksheet assist the accountant. Could financial statements be prepared without a worksheet? Evaluate how the process would differ. Consider factors such as timeliness, accuracy, and efficiency in your evaluation.
Solution 218
The worksheet organizes the accountant's work in preparing the income statement and the balance sheet. The worksheet contains the general ledger trial balance, the adjusting entries, and an adjusted trial balance (if 10-column). The columns for these trial balances and entries allow the accountant to prove the equality of the debits and credits at each step of the process. From the adjusted trial balance the balance sheet and income statement amounts are obtained and entered in the appropriate columns.
Preparing financial statements without the use of a worksheet would be less organized and probably more prone to errors. And, if errors are made, they will probably be less easy to detect and locate, and, therefore, less efficient and more time consuming.
S-A E 219
Journalizing and posting closing entries is a required step in the accounting cycle. Discuss why it is necessary to close the books at the end of an accounting period. If closing entries were not made, how would the preparation of financial statements be affected?
Ans: N/A, SO: 2, Bloom: K, Difficulty: Easy, Min: 5, AACSB: None, AICPA BB: Legal/Regulatory, AICPA FN: Measurement, AICPA PC: Communication, IMA: Reporting, IFRS: No