Accounting Accounting PrinciplesPrinciplesSecond Canadian EditionSecond Canadian Edition

Prepared by: Carole Bowman, Sheridan College

Weygandt · Kieso · Kimmel · Trenholm

CURRENT LIABILITIESCURRENT LIABILITIES

CHAPTERCHAPTER

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A current liability is a debt that can reasonably be expected to be paid 1. from existing current assets or

in the creation of other current liabilities and

2. within one year or the operating cycle, whichever is longer.

ACCOUNTING FOR ACCOUNTING FOR CURRENT LIABILITIESCURRENT LIABILITIES

ACCOUNTING FOR CURRENT ACCOUNTING FOR CURRENT LIABILITIESLIABILITIES

Types of liabilities1) Definitely determinable2) Estimated3) Contingent

Definitely determinable current liabilities include:1. Operating line of credit2. Accounts and notes payable3. Sales tax payable4. Payroll and employee benefits5. Unearned revenues6. Current maturities of

long-term debt

ACCOUNTING FOR ACCOUNTING FOR CURRENT LIABILITIESCURRENT LIABILITIES

OPERATING LINE OF CREDITOPERATING LINE OF CREDIT

A pre-authorized demand loan, allowing the company to write cheques up to a preset limit when needed.

Disclosed by footnote and by reporting any resulting bank overdraft as a current liability.

Notes Payable are obligations in the form of written promissory notes that usually require the borrower to pay interest.

Notes payable may be used instead of accounts payable because it supplies documentation of the obligation in case legal remedies are needed to collect the debt.

Notes due for payment within one year of the balance sheet date are usually classified as current liabilities.

NOTES PAYABLENOTES PAYABLE

SALES TAXES PAYABLE SALES TAXES PAYABLE Sales tax is expressed as a stated percentage of

the sales price of goods sold to customers by a retailer.

Sales tax includes the goods and service tax (GST), provincial sales tax (PST) or harmonized sales taxes (GST and PST combined).

The retailer (or selling company) collects the tax from the customer when the sale occurs, and periodically (usually monthly) remits the collections to the government.

Salaries or wages payable represent the amounts owed to employees for a pay period.

Payroll withholdings include federal and provincial income taxes, Canada Pension Plan (CPP) contributions, and employment insurance (EI) premiums.

Employees may also voluntarily authorize withholdings for charity, retirement, medical, or other purposes.

Payroll withholdings are remitted to governmental taxing authorities.

PAYROLL AND EMPLOYEE BENEFITSPAYROLL AND EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

Unearned Revenues (advances from customers) occur when a company receives cash before a service is rendered.

Examples are when an airline sells a ticket for future flights or when a lawyer receives legal fees before work is done.

UNEARNED REVENUES UNEARNED REVENUES

CURRENT MATURITIES OF CURRENT MATURITIES OF LONG-TERM DEBTLONG-TERM DEBT

Another item classified as a current liability is current maturities of long-term debt.

Current maturities of long-term debt are often identified on the balance sheet as long-term debt due within one year.

ESTIMATED LIABILTIESESTIMATED LIABILTIES

Obligation that exists but for which the amount and timing is uncertain.

However, the company can reasonably estimate the liability.

Examples include property taxes and warranty liabilities.

PROPERTY TAXESPROPERTY TAXES

Property taxes are accrued monthly based on the prior year’s tax bill.

When the property tax bill for the current year is received, the company will adjust its monthly expense for the remainder of the year.

PRODUCT WARRANTIESPRODUCT WARRANTIES

Warranty contracts may lead to future costs for replacement or repair of defective units.

Using prior experience with the product, the company estimates what the cost of servicing the warranty will be.

Estimated warranty costs are accrued with a debit to warranty expense and a credit to estimated warranty liability.

CONTINGENT LIABILITIESCONTINGENT LIABILITIES

Contingent liabilities exist when there is uncertainty about the outcome.

Contingencies are accrued by a debit to an expense account and a credit to a liability account if both of the following conditions are met:1. The contingency is likely, and2. The amount of the contingency can

be reasonably estimated.

FINANCIAL STATEMENT FINANCIAL STATEMENT PRESENTATIONPRESENTATION

Each major type of current liability is listed separately.

Often list bank loans, notes payable, and accounts payable first, then other liabilities.

COMINCO LTD.

Current liabilities (Millions)Bank loans and notes payable $ 5Accounts payable and accrued liabilities 230Income and resource taxes 36Long-term debt due within one year 30

$301

APPENDIX 11A

INTERNAL CONTROLS FOR PAYROLLINTERNAL CONTROLS FOR PAYROLLThe objectives of internal accounting control

concerning payroll are 1. to safeguard company assets from unauthorized payrolls and2. to assure the accuracy and reliability of the accounting records pertaining to payrolls.

Payroll activities include:1. hiring employees2. timekeeping3. preparing the payroll4. paying the payroll

These functions should be assigned to different departments or individuals.

4 Functionsof Payroll

HIRING EMPLOYEESHIRING EMPLOYEESThe human resources department is responsible for:

1. Posting job openings2. Screening and interviewing applicants3. Hiring of employees4. Authorizing changes in pay rates during

employment5. Terminations of employment

TIMEKEEPINGTIMEKEEPING Hourly employees are usually required to

record time worked by “punching” a time clock – the time of arrival and departure are automatically recorded by the employee when he/she inserts a time card into the clock.

The employee’s supervisor must:1. approve the hours shown by signing

the time card at the end of the pay period 2. authorize any overtime hours for an employee.

PREPARING THE PAYROLLPREPARING THE PAYROLL

The payroll department prepares the payroll on the basis of two sources of input:

1. human resource department authorizations, and

2. approved time cards.

PAYING THE PAYROLLPAYING THE PAYROLL

The comptroller’s department is responsible for the payment of the payroll.

1. Payment by direct deposit, or by cheque, minimizes the risk of loss from theft.

2. All direct deposit lists and cheques must be signed by the comptroller and their distribution protected by the comptroller’s department.

DETERMINING AND PAYING DETERMINING AND PAYING THE PAYROLLTHE PAYROLL

Determining the payroll involves calculating1. gross earnings,2. payroll deductions, and3. net pay.

Gross earnings is the total compensation earned by an employee.

There are three types of gross earnings: 1. wages2. salaries 3. bonuses

Total wages are determined by applying the hourly rate of pay to the hours worked.

Most companies are required to pay a minimum of one and one-half times the regular hourly rate for overtime work.

GROSS EARNINGSGROSS EARNINGS

PAYROLL DEDUCTIONSPAYROLL DEDUCTIONS

The difference between gross pay and the amount actually received is attributable to payroll deductions.

Mandatory deductions consist of Canada Pension Plan (CPP, or QPP in Quebec), employment insurance (EI) and personal income tax.

PAYROLL DEDUCTIONSPAYROLL DEDUCTIONS Voluntary deductions pertain to

withholdings for charitable causes, retirement, and other purposes.

All voluntary payroll deductions should be authorized in writing by the employee.

Voluntary payroll deductions do not result in a payroll expense to the employer.

Net pay is determined by subtracting payroll deductions from gross earnings.

EMPLOYER PAYROLL COSTSEMPLOYER PAYROLL COSTS CPP

• The employer must match each employee’s CPP contribution.

EI • The employer is required to contribute 1.4

times each employee’s EI deductions. Workplace Health, Safety, and Compensation

• Employers pay a specified percentage of their gross payroll to provide supplemental benefits for workers who are injured or disabled in the workplace.

ADDITIONAL FRINGE BENEFITS ADDITIONAL FRINGE BENEFITS PAID ABSENCESPAID ABSENCES

Employees may have the right to receive compensation for future benefits when certain conditions of employment are met.

The compensation may pertain to:1. Paid vacation2. Sick pay benefits3. Paid holidays

ADDITIONAL FRINGE BENEFITS ADDITIONAL FRINGE BENEFITS PAID ABSENCESPAID ABSENCES

When the payment of compensation is probable and can reasonably be determined, a liability should be accrued.

When the amount can not be reasonably estimated, the potential liability should be disclosed.

Many companies use a payroll register to accumulate the gross earnings, deductions, and net pay by employee for each period.

In some cases, this record is a journal or book of original entry.

The typical entry to record the employee costs in a payroll is to debit Salaries or Wages expense and to credit a variety of liability accounts.

When the payroll is paid, the liability accounts are debited and Cash is credited.

RECORDING THE PAYROLLRECORDING THE PAYROLL

RECOGNIZING PAYROLL RECOGNIZING PAYROLL EXPENSES AND LIABILITIESEXPENSES AND LIABILITIES

Academy Company records its payroll for the week ending June 15, 2002 with the journal entry above. Office Salaries Expense ($5,200) and Wages Payable ($12,010) are debited in total for $17,210 in gross earnings. Specific liability accounts are credited for the deductions made during the pay period. Salaries and Wages Payable is credited for $9,885.34 in net earnings.

June 15 Office Salaries Expense Wages Expense

CPP PayableEI Payable Income Tax PayableUnited Way PayableUnion Dues PayableSalaries and Wages Payable To record payroll for the week ending June 15.

5,200.0012,010.00

654.03 387.23 5,646.90 421.50 215.00 9,885.34

GENERAL JOURNALDate Account titles and explanation Debit CreditDate Account Titles and Explanation Debit Credit

RECORDING EMPLOYER RECORDING EMPLOYER PAYROLL COSTSPAYROLL COSTS

The entry to record the payroll costs associated with the Academy Company payroll results in a debit to Employee Benefits Expense for $2,056.65, a credit to CPP Payable for $654.03 ($654.03 x 1) and a credit to EI Payable for $542.12 ($387.23 x 1.4). Assuming a worker’s compensation rate of 1 percent, the comp-ensation payable liability would be for $172.10 ($17,210 x 1%). Vacation pay accrues at 4% and therefore the vacation payable will be 688.40 ($17,210 x 4%).

GENERAL JOURNAL

Date Account Titles and Explanation Debit Credit

June 15 Employee Benefits Expense CPP Payable EI Payable Workers’ Compensation Payable Vacation Pay Payable

To record employer payroll costs on June 15 payroll.

2,056.65 654.03 542.12 172.10 688.40

The entry to record payment of the Academy Company payroll is a debit to Salaries and Wages Payable and a credit to Cash.

RECORDING PAYMENT RECORDING PAYMENT OF THE PAYROLLOF THE PAYROLL

GENERAL JOURNAL

Date Account Titles and Explanation Debit Credit

June 15 Salaries and Wages Payable Cash

To record payment of payroll.

9,885.34

9,885.34

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