asset finance - introduction to hire purchase and leasing
Introduction
The acquisition of assets - particularly expensive capital equipment - is a major commitment for many businesses. How that acquisition is funded requires careful planning.
Rather than pay for the asset outright using cash, it can often make sense for businesses to look for ways of spreading the cost of acquiring an asset, to coincide with the timing of the revenue generated by the business.The most common sources of medium term finance for investment in capital assets are Hire Purchase and Leasing.
Leasing and hire purchase are financial facilities which allow a business to use an asset over a fixed period, in return for regular payments. The business customer chooses the equipment it requires and the finance company buys it on behalf of the business.
Many kinds of business asset are suitable for financing using hire purchase or leasing, including:- Plant and machinery- Business cars- Commercial vehicles- Agricultural equipment- Hotel equipment- Medical and dental equipment- Computers, including software packages -Office equipment
Hire purchase
With a hire purchase agreement, after all the payments have been made, the business customer becomes the owner of the equipment. This ownership transfer either automatically or on payment of an option to purchase fee.
For tax purposes, from the beginning of the agreement the business customer is treated as the owner of the equipment and so can claim capital allowances. Capital allowances can be a significant tax incentive for businesses to invest in new plant and machinery or to upgrade information systems.
Under a hire purchase agreement, the business customer is normally responsible for maintenance of the equipment.
Leasing
The fundamental characteristic of a lease is that ownership never passes to the business customer.
Instead, the leasing company claims the capital allowances and passes some of the benefit on to the business customer, by way of reduced rental charges.
The business customer can generally deduct the full cost of lease rentals from taxable income, as a trading expense.
As with hire purchase, the business customer will normally be responsible for maintenance of the equipment.
There are a variety of types of leasing arrangement:
Finance Leasing
The finance lease or 'full payout lease' is closest to the hire purchase alternative. The leasing company recovers the full cost of the equipment, plus charges, over the period of the lease.
Although the business customer does not own the equipment, they have most of the 'risks and rewards' associated with ownership. They are responsible for maintaining and insuring the asset and must show the leased asset on their balance sheet as a capital item.
When the lease period ends, the leasing company will usually agree to a secondary lease period at significantly reduced payments. Alternatively, if the business wishes to stop using the equipment, it may be sold second-hand to an unrelated third party. The business arranges the sale on behalf of the leasing company and obtains the bulk of the sale proceeds.
Operating Leasing
If a business needs a piece of equipment for a shorter time, then operating leasing may be the answer. The leasing company will lease the equipment, expecting to sell it secondhand at the end of the lease, or to lease it again to someone else. It will, therefore, not need to recover the full cost of the equipment through the lease rentals.
This type of leasing is common for equipment where there is a well-established secondhand market (e.g. cars and construction equipment). The lease period will usually be for two to three years, although it may be much longer, but is always less than the working life of the machine.
Assets financed under operating leases are not shown as assets on the balance sheet. Instead, the entire operating lease cost is treated as a cost in the profit and loss account.
Contract Hire
Contract hire is a form of operating lease and it is often used for vehicles.
The leasing company undertakes some responsibility for the management and maintenance of the vehicles. Services can include regular maintenance and repair costs, replacement of tyres and batteries, providing replacement vehicles, roadside assistance and recovery services and payment of the vehicle licences.
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Acounting
Nhãn: Acounting
introduction to accounting
It is not easy to provide a concise definition of accounting since the word has a broad application within businesses and applications.
The American Accounting Association define accounting as follows:
"the process of identifying, measuring and communicating economic information to permit informed judgements and decisions by users of the information!.
This definition is a good place to start. Let's look at the key words in the above definition:
- It suggests that accounting is about providing information to others. Accounting information is economic information - it relates to the financial or economic activities of the business or organisation.
- Accounting information needs to be identified and measured. This is done by way of a "set of accounts", based on a system of accounting known as double-entry bookkeeping. The accounting system identifies and records "accounting transactions".
- The "measurement" of accounting information is not a straight-forward process. it involves making judgements about the value of assets owned by a business or liabilities owed by a business. it is also about accurately measuring how much profit or loss has been made by a business in a particular period. As we will see, the measurement of accounting information often requires subjective judgement to come to a conclusion
- The definition identifies the need for accounting information to be communicated. The way in which this communication is achieved may vary. There are several forms of accounting communication (e.g. annual report and accounts, management accounting reports) each of which serve a slightly different purpose. The communication need is about understanding who needs the accounting information, and what they need to know!
Accounting information is communicated using "financial statements"
What is the purpose of financial statements?
There are two main purposes of financial statements:
(1) To report on the financial position of an entity (e.g. a business, an organisation);
(2) To show how the entity has performed (financially) over a particularly period of time (an "accounting period").
The most common measurement of "performance" is profit.
It is important to understand that financial statements can be historical or relate to the future.
Accountability
Accounting is about ACCOUNTABILTY
Most organisations are externally accountable in some way for their actions and activities. They will produce reports on their activities that will reflect their objectives and the people to whom they are accountable.
The table below provides examples of different types of organisations and how accountability is linked to their differing organisational objectives:
Organisation
Objectives
Accountable to (examples)
Private or public company
- Making of profit- Creation of wealth
- Shareholders- Other stakeholders (e.g. employees, customers, suppliers)
- Achievement of charitable aims- Maximise spending on activities
- Charity commissioners- Donors
Local Authorities
- Provision of local services- Optimal allocation of spending budget
- Local electorate- Government departments
Public services (e.g. transport, health) (e.g. Natinoal Healthe Servise, Prision Servise)
- Provision of public service (often required by law)- High quality and reliability of services
- Government ministers- Consumers
Quasi-governmental agencies
- Regulation or instigation of some public action- Coordination of public sector investments
- Government ministers- Consumers
All of the above organisations have a significant roles to play in society and have multiple stakeholders to whom they are accountable.
All require systems of financial management to enable them to produce accounting information.
How accounting information helps businesses be accountable
As we have said in our introductory definition, accounting is essentially an "information process" that serves several purposes:
- Providing a record of assets owned, amounts owed to others and monies invested;
- Providing reports showing the financial position of an organisation and the profitability of its operations
- Helps management actually manage the organisation
- Provides a way of measuring an organisation's effectiveness (and that of its separate parts and management)
- Helps stakeholders monitor an organisations activities and performance
- Enables potential investors or funders to evaluate an organisation and make decisions
There are many potential users of accounting Information, including shareholders, lenders, customers, suppliers, government departments (e.g. Inland Revenue), employees and their organisations, and society at large. Anyone with an interest in the performance and activities of an organisation is traditionally called a stakeholder.
For a business or organisation to communicate its results and position to stakeholders, it needs a language that is understood by all in common. Hence, accounting has come to be known as the "language of business"
There are two broad types of accounting information:
(1) Financial Accounts: geared toward external users of accounting information (2) Management Accounts: aimed more at internal users of accounting information
Although there is a difference in the type of information presented in financial and management accounts, the underlying objective is the same - to satisfy the information needs of the user. These needs can be described in terms of the following overall information objectives:
Collection
Collection in money terms of information relating to transactions that have resulted from business operations
Recording and Classifying
Recording and classifying data into a permanent and logical form. This is usually referred to as "Book-keeping"
Summarising
Summarising data to produce statements and reports that will be useful to the various users of accounting information - both external and internal
Interpreting and Communicating
Interpreting and communicating the performance of the business to the management and its owners
Forecasting and Planning
Forecasting and planning for future operation of the business by providing management with evaluations of the viability of proposed operations. The key forecasting and planning tool is the "Budget"
The process by which accounting information is collected, reported, interpreted and actioned is called "Financial Management". Taking a commercial business as the most common organisational structure, the key objectives of financial management would be to:
(1) Create wealth for the business(2) Generate cash, and(3) Provide an adequate return on investment bearing in mind the risks that the business is taking and the resources invested
In preparing accounting information, care should be taken to ensure that the information presents an accurate and true view of the business performance and position. To impose some order on what is a subjective task, accounting has adopted certain conventions and concepts which should be applied in preparing accounts.
For financial accounts, the regulation or control of what kind of information is prepared and presented goes much further. UK and international companies are required to comply with a wide range of Accounting Standards which define the way in which business transactions are disclosed and reported. These are applied by businesses through their Accounting Policies.
The main financial accounting statements
The purpose of financial accounting statements is mainly to show the financial position of a business at a particular point in time and to show how that business has performed over a specific period.
The three main financial accounting statements that help achieve this aim are:
(1) The profit and loss account for the reporting period
(2) A balance sheet for the business at the end of the reporting period
(3) A cash flow statement for the reporting period
A balance sheet shows at a particular point in time what resources are owned by a business ("assets") and what it owes to other parties ("liabilities"). It also shows how much has been invested in the business and what the sources of that investment finance were.
It is often helpful to think of a balance sheet as a "snap-shot" of the business - a picture of the financial position of the business at a specific point. Whilst this is a useful picture to have, every time an accounting transaction takes place, the "snap-shot" picture will have changed.
By contrast, the profit and loss account provides a perspective on a longer time-period. If the balance sheet is a "digital snap-shot" of the business, then think of the profit and loss account as the "DVD" of the business' activities. The story of what financial transactions took place in a particular period - and (most importantly) what the overall result of those transactions was.
Not surprisingly, the profit and loss account measures "profit".
What is profit?
Profit is the amount by which sales revenue (also known as "turnover" or "income") exceeds "expenses" (or "costs") for the period being measured. 0 nhận xét
It is not easy to provide a concise definition of accounting since the word has a broad application within businesses and applications.
The American Accounting Association define accounting as follows:
"the process of identifying, measuring and communicating economic information to permit informed judgements and decisions by users of the information!.
This definition is a good place to start. Let's look at the key words in the above definition:
- It suggests that accounting is about providing information to others. Accounting information is economic information - it relates to the financial or economic activities of the business or organisation.
- Accounting information needs to be identified and measured. This is done by way of a "set of accounts", based on a system of accounting known as double-entry bookkeeping. The accounting system identifies and records "accounting transactions".
- The "measurement" of accounting information is not a straight-forward process. it involves making judgements about the value of assets owned by a business or liabilities owed by a business. it is also about accurately measuring how much profit or loss has been made by a business in a particular period. As we will see, the measurement of accounting information often requires subjective judgement to come to a conclusion
- The definition identifies the need for accounting information to be communicated. The way in which this communication is achieved may vary. There are several forms of accounting communication (e.g. annual report and accounts, management accounting reports) each of which serve a slightly different purpose. The communication need is about understanding who needs the accounting information, and what they need to know!
Accounting information is communicated using "financial statements"
What is the purpose of financial statements?
There are two main purposes of financial statements:
(1) To report on the financial position of an entity (e.g. a business, an organisation);
(2) To show how the entity has performed (financially) over a particularly period of time (an "accounting period").
The most common measurement of "performance" is profit.
It is important to understand that financial statements can be historical or relate to the future.
Accountability
Accounting is about ACCOUNTABILTY
Most organisations are externally accountable in some way for their actions and activities. They will produce reports on their activities that will reflect their objectives and the people to whom they are accountable.
The table below provides examples of different types of organisations and how accountability is linked to their differing organisational objectives:
Organisation
Objectives
Accountable to (examples)
Private or public company
- Making of profit- Creation of wealth
- Shareholders- Other stakeholders (e.g. employees, customers, suppliers)
- Achievement of charitable aims- Maximise spending on activities
- Charity commissioners- Donors
Local Authorities
- Provision of local services- Optimal allocation of spending budget
- Local electorate- Government departments
Public services (e.g. transport, health) (e.g. Natinoal Healthe Servise, Prision Servise)
- Provision of public service (often required by law)- High quality and reliability of services
- Government ministers- Consumers
Quasi-governmental agencies
- Regulation or instigation of some public action- Coordination of public sector investments
- Government ministers- Consumers
All of the above organisations have a significant roles to play in society and have multiple stakeholders to whom they are accountable.
All require systems of financial management to enable them to produce accounting information.
How accounting information helps businesses be accountable
As we have said in our introductory definition, accounting is essentially an "information process" that serves several purposes:
- Providing a record of assets owned, amounts owed to others and monies invested;
- Providing reports showing the financial position of an organisation and the profitability of its operations
- Helps management actually manage the organisation
- Provides a way of measuring an organisation's effectiveness (and that of its separate parts and management)
- Helps stakeholders monitor an organisations activities and performance
- Enables potential investors or funders to evaluate an organisation and make decisions
There are many potential users of accounting Information, including shareholders, lenders, customers, suppliers, government departments (e.g. Inland Revenue), employees and their organisations, and society at large. Anyone with an interest in the performance and activities of an organisation is traditionally called a stakeholder.
For a business or organisation to communicate its results and position to stakeholders, it needs a language that is understood by all in common. Hence, accounting has come to be known as the "language of business"
There are two broad types of accounting information:
(1) Financial Accounts: geared toward external users of accounting information (2) Management Accounts: aimed more at internal users of accounting information
Although there is a difference in the type of information presented in financial and management accounts, the underlying objective is the same - to satisfy the information needs of the user. These needs can be described in terms of the following overall information objectives:
Collection
Collection in money terms of information relating to transactions that have resulted from business operations
Recording and Classifying
Recording and classifying data into a permanent and logical form. This is usually referred to as "Book-keeping"
Summarising
Summarising data to produce statements and reports that will be useful to the various users of accounting information - both external and internal
Interpreting and Communicating
Interpreting and communicating the performance of the business to the management and its owners
Forecasting and Planning
Forecasting and planning for future operation of the business by providing management with evaluations of the viability of proposed operations. The key forecasting and planning tool is the "Budget"
The process by which accounting information is collected, reported, interpreted and actioned is called "Financial Management". Taking a commercial business as the most common organisational structure, the key objectives of financial management would be to:
(1) Create wealth for the business(2) Generate cash, and(3) Provide an adequate return on investment bearing in mind the risks that the business is taking and the resources invested
In preparing accounting information, care should be taken to ensure that the information presents an accurate and true view of the business performance and position. To impose some order on what is a subjective task, accounting has adopted certain conventions and concepts which should be applied in preparing accounts.
For financial accounts, the regulation or control of what kind of information is prepared and presented goes much further. UK and international companies are required to comply with a wide range of Accounting Standards which define the way in which business transactions are disclosed and reported. These are applied by businesses through their Accounting Policies.
The main financial accounting statements
The purpose of financial accounting statements is mainly to show the financial position of a business at a particular point in time and to show how that business has performed over a specific period.
The three main financial accounting statements that help achieve this aim are:
(1) The profit and loss account for the reporting period
(2) A balance sheet for the business at the end of the reporting period
(3) A cash flow statement for the reporting period
A balance sheet shows at a particular point in time what resources are owned by a business ("assets") and what it owes to other parties ("liabilities"). It also shows how much has been invested in the business and what the sources of that investment finance were.
It is often helpful to think of a balance sheet as a "snap-shot" of the business - a picture of the financial position of the business at a specific point. Whilst this is a useful picture to have, every time an accounting transaction takes place, the "snap-shot" picture will have changed.
By contrast, the profit and loss account provides a perspective on a longer time-period. If the balance sheet is a "digital snap-shot" of the business, then think of the profit and loss account as the "DVD" of the business' activities. The story of what financial transactions took place in a particular period - and (most importantly) what the overall result of those transactions was.
Not surprisingly, the profit and loss account measures "profit".
What is profit?
Profit is the amount by which sales revenue (also known as "turnover" or "income") exceeds "expenses" (or "costs") for the period being measured. 0 nhận xét
accounting concept
Nhãn: Accounting
In drawing up accounting statements, whether they are external "financial accounts" or internally-focused "management accounts", a clear objective has to be that the accounts fairly reflect the true "substance" of the business and the results of its operation.
The theory of accounting has, therefore, developed the concept of a "true and fair view". The true and fair view is applied in ensuring and assessing whether accounts do indeed portray accurately the business' activities.
To support the application of the "true and fair view", accounting has adopted certain concepts and conventions which help to ensure that accounting information is presented accurately and consistently.
Accounting Conventions
The most commonly encountered convention is the "historical cost convention". This requires transactions to be recorded at the price ruling at the time, and for assets to be valued at their original cost.
Under the "historical cost convention", therefore, no account is taken of changing prices in the economy.
The other conventions you will encounter in a set of accounts can be summarised as follows:
Monetary measurement
Accountants do not account for items unless they can be quantified in monetary terms. Items that are not accounted for (unless someone is prepared to pay something for them) include things like workforce skill, morale, market leadership, brand recognition, quality of management etc.
Separate Entity
This convention seeks to ensure that private transactions and matters relating to the owners of a business are segregated from transactions that relate to the business.
Realisation
With this convention, accounts recognise transactions (and any profits arising from them) at the point of sale or transfer of legal ownership - rather than just when cash actually changes hands. For example, a company that makes a sale to a customer can recognise that sale when the transaction is legal - at the point of contract. The actual payment due from the customer may not arise until several weeks (or months) later - if the customer has been granted some credit terms.
Materiality
An important convention. As we can see from the application of accounting standards and accounting policies, the preparation of accounts involves a high degree of judgement. Where decisions are required about the appropriateness of a particular accounting judgement, the "materiality" convention suggests that this should only be an issue if the judgement is "significant" or "material" to a user of the accounts. The concept of "materiality" is an important issue for auditors of financial accounts.
Accounting Concepts
Four important accounting concepts underpin the preparation of any set of accounts:
Going Concern
Accountants assume, unless there is evidence to the contrary, that a company is not going broke. This has important implications for the valuation of assets and liabilities.
Consistency
Transactions and valuation methods are treated the same way from year to year, or period to period. Users of accounts can, therefore, make more meaningful comparisons of financial performance from year to year. Where accounting policies are changed, companies are required to disclose this fact and explain the impact of any change.
Prudence
Profits are not recognised until a sale has been completed. In addition, a cautious view is taken for future problems and costs of the business (the are "provided for" in the accounts" as soon as their is a reasonable chance that such costs will be incurred in the future.
Matching (or "Accruals")
Income should be properly "matched" with the expenses of a given accounting period.
Key Characteristics of Accounting Information
There is general agreement that, before it can be regarded as useful in satisfying the needs of various user groups, accounting information should satisfy the following criteria:
Criteria
What it means for the preparation of accounting information
Understandability
This implies the expression, with clarity, of accounting information in such a way that it will be understandable to users - who are generally assumed to have a reasonable knowledge of business and economic activities
Relevance
This implies that, to be useful, accounting information must assist a user to form, confirm or maybe revise a view - usually in the context of making a decision (e.g. should I invest, should I lend money to this business? Should I work for this business?)
Consistency
This implies consistent treatment of similar items and application of accounting policies
Comparability
This implies the ability for users to be able to compare similar companies in the same industry group and to make comparisons of performance over time. Much of the work that goes into setting accounting standards is based around the need for comparability.
Reliability
This implies that the accounting information that is presented is truthful, accurate, complete (nothing significant missed out) and capable of being verified (e.g. by a potential investor).
Objectivity
This implies that accounting information is prepared and reported in a "neutral" way. In other words, it is not biased towards a particular user group or vested interest 0 nhận xét
The theory of accounting has, therefore, developed the concept of a "true and fair view". The true and fair view is applied in ensuring and assessing whether accounts do indeed portray accurately the business' activities.
To support the application of the "true and fair view", accounting has adopted certain concepts and conventions which help to ensure that accounting information is presented accurately and consistently.
Accounting Conventions
The most commonly encountered convention is the "historical cost convention". This requires transactions to be recorded at the price ruling at the time, and for assets to be valued at their original cost.
Under the "historical cost convention", therefore, no account is taken of changing prices in the economy.
The other conventions you will encounter in a set of accounts can be summarised as follows:
Monetary measurement
Accountants do not account for items unless they can be quantified in monetary terms. Items that are not accounted for (unless someone is prepared to pay something for them) include things like workforce skill, morale, market leadership, brand recognition, quality of management etc.
Separate Entity
This convention seeks to ensure that private transactions and matters relating to the owners of a business are segregated from transactions that relate to the business.
Realisation
With this convention, accounts recognise transactions (and any profits arising from them) at the point of sale or transfer of legal ownership - rather than just when cash actually changes hands. For example, a company that makes a sale to a customer can recognise that sale when the transaction is legal - at the point of contract. The actual payment due from the customer may not arise until several weeks (or months) later - if the customer has been granted some credit terms.
Materiality
An important convention. As we can see from the application of accounting standards and accounting policies, the preparation of accounts involves a high degree of judgement. Where decisions are required about the appropriateness of a particular accounting judgement, the "materiality" convention suggests that this should only be an issue if the judgement is "significant" or "material" to a user of the accounts. The concept of "materiality" is an important issue for auditors of financial accounts.
Accounting Concepts
Four important accounting concepts underpin the preparation of any set of accounts:
Going Concern
Accountants assume, unless there is evidence to the contrary, that a company is not going broke. This has important implications for the valuation of assets and liabilities.
Consistency
Transactions and valuation methods are treated the same way from year to year, or period to period. Users of accounts can, therefore, make more meaningful comparisons of financial performance from year to year. Where accounting policies are changed, companies are required to disclose this fact and explain the impact of any change.
Prudence
Profits are not recognised until a sale has been completed. In addition, a cautious view is taken for future problems and costs of the business (the are "provided for" in the accounts" as soon as their is a reasonable chance that such costs will be incurred in the future.
Matching (or "Accruals")
Income should be properly "matched" with the expenses of a given accounting period.
Key Characteristics of Accounting Information
There is general agreement that, before it can be regarded as useful in satisfying the needs of various user groups, accounting information should satisfy the following criteria:
Criteria
What it means for the preparation of accounting information
Understandability
This implies the expression, with clarity, of accounting information in such a way that it will be understandable to users - who are generally assumed to have a reasonable knowledge of business and economic activities
Relevance
This implies that, to be useful, accounting information must assist a user to form, confirm or maybe revise a view - usually in the context of making a decision (e.g. should I invest, should I lend money to this business? Should I work for this business?)
Consistency
This implies consistent treatment of similar items and application of accounting policies
Comparability
This implies the ability for users to be able to compare similar companies in the same industry group and to make comparisons of performance over time. Much of the work that goes into setting accounting standards is based around the need for comparability.
Reliability
This implies that the accounting information that is presented is truthful, accurate, complete (nothing significant missed out) and capable of being verified (e.g. by a potential investor).
Objectivity
This implies that accounting information is prepared and reported in a "neutral" way. In other words, it is not biased towards a particular user group or vested interest 0 nhận xét
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