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The Statement of Financial Position and Statement of Profit or Loss

VIVA Subject Guide
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1 Introduction

In this chapter we will look at what information the Statement of Financial Position and Statement of Profit or Loss are giving and also examine the standard layout and terminology that will be required from you in the examination.

2 The dual (or double) effect of transactions

Let us consider the effect of the following transactions on a sole trader:

  1. The owner puts $10,000 into a separate bank account for the business:

The business owns

The business owes

  1. The business buys a shop for $2,000

The business owns

The business owes

  1.  The business buys goods for resale (in cash) for $1,000

The business owns

The business owes

  1.  The business buys more goods for resale (on credit) for $2,000

The business owns

The business owes

  1. The business buys a car for $3,000 (cash)

The business owns

The business owes

  1. The business sells half of the goods for $2,400 (cash)

The business owns

The business owes

  1. The business sells the remainder of the goods for $2,800 on credit

The business owns

The business owes

  1. The business pays $600 of the amount owing, on account

The business owns

The business owes

  1. The business pays electricity of $200

The business owns

The business owes

  1. The business receives half of the amount owing to it, on account.

The business owns

The business owes

  1. The owner takes $1,200 from the business

The business owns

The business owes

Check on profit:

In each case, the summary we have prepared is effectively a Statement of Financial Position and shows the owner: how much they are owed, why they are owed it, and how the amount is held within the business.

The check made on the profit is effectively a Statement of Profit or Loss. This shows the owner how the profit was actually made.

3 The Statement of Financial Position

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Below is an example of the layout of a Statement of Financial Position for a sole trader:

Statement of Financial Position as at 31 March 2009

$

$

ASSETS

Non-current assets

Land and Buildings

100,000

Plant and Equipment

50,000

Fixtures and Fittings

20,000

Motor Vehicles

30,000

200,000

Current assets

Inventories

10,000

Accounts receivable

12,000

Prepayments

3,000

Cash

4,000

29,000

$ 229,000

CAPITAL AND LIABILITIES

Capital

Capital at 1 April 2008

130,000

Profit for year to 31 March 2009

50,000

Less: withdrawals

(10,000)

170,000

Non-current liabilities

8% Loan

25,000

Current liabilities

Accruals

2,000

Accounts payable

20,000

Bank overdraft

12,000

34,000

$ 229,000

Terminology:

  • Asset   an economic resource controlled by the business

  • Non-current asset     an asset the business intends to keep (longer than 12 months)

  • Current asset     not a non-current asset (!)

  • Inventory     an asset bought by the business intended for sale

  • Accounts receivable     amount owed to the business by customers

  • Prepayment     a payment made by the business in advance

  • Capital     amount owing by the business to the proprietor (owner)

  • Drawings (or withdrawals)     anything taken from the business by the owner

  • Liability     amount owing by the business

  • Current liability     a liability due within 12 months of Statement of Financial Position date

  • Non-current liability     a liability due more than 12 months from the date of the Statement of Financial Position

  • Accounts payable     liability due to suppliers

  • Bank overdraft     liability due to the bank (a “negative” bank balance

4 The Statement of Profit or Loss

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Below is an example of the layout of a Statement of Profit or Loss for a sole trader:

Statement of Profit or Loss for the year ended 31 March 2009

$

$

Sales revenue

180,000

Cost of sales:

Opening Inventory

30,000

Purchases

120,000

150,000

Closing Inventory

(40,000)

110,000

Gross Profit

70,000

Other income:

Rent received

10,000

Interest received

1,000

11,000

81,000

Expenses:

Rent

5,000

Electricity

3,000

Telephone

2,000

Wages and salaries

15,000

Motor expenses

6,000

31,000

Net profit

$50,000

Terminology

  • Revenue

  • Purchases

  • Trading Account

5 The difference between Capital and Revenue items

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You should note from the previous exercises that when we pay for anything, there are two possible reasons. Either we buy an asset, which appears on the Statement of Financial Position, or we pay an expense, which appears on the Statement of Profit or Loss.

We call the purchase of assets (for the Statement of Financial Position) Capital Expenditure, whereas the payment of expenses (for the Statement of Profit or Loss) is called Revenue Expenditure.

6 The Accounting Equation

You should note from the earlier illustrations that at any point in time:

ASSETS = CAPITAL + LIABILITIES

It follows from this that:

ASSETS – LIABILITIES = CAPITAL

The term “net assets” is often used to refer to

assets – liabilities, and so:

NET ASSETS = CAPITAL

Over a period of time (for example, over a year), the net assets of a business will change. Since the above equation is true at any point in time, it also holds true that over a period of time:

INCREASE IN NET ASSETS = INCREASE IN CAPITAL

There are only three reasons why the capital of a business should change over time:

  • More capital introduced (this will increase the capital)

  • Profit for the period (this will increase the capital)

  • Drawings during the period (this will reduce the capital)

Therefore, finally, over a period of time,

INCREASE IN NET ASSETS = CAPITAL INTRODUCED + PROFIT - DRAWINGS

On 1 January, net assets of a business were $25,000. On 31 December they had increased to $32,000. During the year the owner had introduced more capital of $10,000 and had made drawings of $7,000.

You are required to calculate the profit for the year

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Increase in net assets = capital introduced + profit – drawings

32,000 – 25,000   = 10,000 + Profit – 7,000

7,000   = Profit + 3,000

Profit   = $4,000

On 1 January, the net assets of a business were $118,000. On 31 December, the net assets were $150,000. During the year the owner had introduced no additional capital, and the profit for the year was $54,000

How much were the drawings during the year?

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Increase in net assets = capital introduced + profit – drawings

150,000 – 118,000   = 0 + 54,000 – drawings

32,000   = 54,000 – drawings

Drawings   = 54,000 – 32,000 = $22,000

Practice questions

The Statement of Financial Position and Statement of Profit or Loss

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