Commerce Accountancy

Accounting Principles and Practices

2,324 Questions

Accounting principles and practices involve the preparation of trial balances, ledgers, and bank reconciliation statements. This area tests your knowledge of fundamental accounting concepts and routine business transactions. It is a core section in commerce exams and various competitive tests.

Ledger accountsTrial balance preparationBank reconciliation statementAccounting conceptsPrimary books of accounts

Accounting Principles and Practices Questions

Multiple choice
  1. in an error of omission

  2. will affect the trial balance

  3. will not affect the profit

  4. none of these

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

 a) This error is not an error of omission as the entry has not been omitted.  b) This error will not effect the trial balance as the amount recorded is correct.  c) It will affect the net profi as wrong account has been debited.  

Multiple choice
  1. personal A/c

  2. real A/c

  3. nominal A/c

  4. none of these

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Free samples account is used to record the cost of free samples distributed for advertising/promotion purposes. Since it records an expense (advertising expense), it's a nominal account (temporary account that gets closed at period end). It's not a personal account (not for people) or real account (not for permanent assets). Option D is unnecessary.

Multiple choice
  1. personal A/c

  2. real A/c

  3. nominal A/c

  4. none of these

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Goods misappropriated by an employee is treated as an expense or loss to the business. Nominal accounts include all expenses, losses, incomes, and gains. Since misappropriation represents a loss, it's recorded in a nominal account.

Multiple choice
  1. an asset account

  2. a liability account

  3. a revenue account

  4. an expense account

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Goodwill is an intangible asset representing the reputation and brand value of a business. It appears on the assets side of the balance sheet and is classified as an asset account.

Multiple choice
  1. cash account in the ledger

  2. discount account in the ledger

  3. bank account in the ledger

  4. general journal

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

A double column cash book records both cash and bank transactions. Since cash transactions are already recorded in the cash book, maintaining a separate cash account in the ledger would be duplication and is therefore unnecessary.

Multiple choice
  1. all cash purchases of assets other than goods

  2. all cash sales of assets other than goods

  3. returns of fixed assets purchased on credit

  4. recovery of an amount already written off as bad debt

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Journal proper (journal paper) is used for transactions that cannot be recorded in subsidiary books. Returns of fixed assets purchased on credit requires a journal entry: Asset Account debited (for returns) and Supplier Account credited, which goes through the journal proper.

Multiple choice
  1. The journal

  2. The ledger

  3. The cash book

  4. The bill receivable book

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Books of original entry (also called primary books or journals) are where transactions are first recorded in chronological order. The ledger is the book of final entry where classified accounts are maintained, not a book of original entry. Options A, C, and D are all books of original entry used to record specific types of transactions.

Multiple choice
  1. sales book

  2. sales return book

  3. sales return book & cash book

  4. journal proper

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

When goods sold on credit are returned by a customer, this is recorded in the sales return book to track returns. However, when cash is immediately given in exchange for the returned goods, the cash payment must be recorded in the cash book as well. Both books are needed to capture the complete transaction - the return aspect and the immediate cash settlement.

Multiple choice
  1. Total cost of goods sold for the period

  2. The quantity of a particular product sold during the period

  3. The amount owed to a particular creditor

  4. The portion of total current assets that consist of cash

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Subsidiary ledgers contain detailed individual account information such as quantities of specific products sold, individual customer balances, or specific supplier amounts. The general ledger only shows aggregate totals and summary figures, not granular details like the quantity of a particular product sold. Product-level quantity data is maintained in inventory subsidiary ledgers or sales records, not visible in the general ledger.

Multiple choice
  1. Dr. purchase a/c & Cr. machinery a/c

  2. Dr. machinery a/c & Cr. purchase a/c

  3. Dr. purchase a/c & Cr. bank a/c

  4. Dr. machinery a/c & Cr. bank a/c

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

When machinery is incorrectly debited to purchase account, we need to reverse the wrong entry and pass the correct one. The purchase account was wrongly debited, so we credit it to cancel that entry. Machinery is an asset that should be debited when acquired. Hence, the rectification entry is: Dr. Machinery a/c and Cr. Purchase a/c.

Multiple choice
  1. When a transaction is partially or completely omitted.

  2. When the amount is written on the wrong side or posted in wrong account or casting errors are there, etc.

  3. When the transaction recorded is in contravention with the general accounting policies.

  4. When the effect of errors committed are cancelled.

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Multiple choice
  1. Error of principle

  2. Error of commission

  3. Compensating error

  4. Error of omission

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

An error of principle occurs when a transaction is recorded in violation of the fundamental accounting principles. Dishonour of a bill is a financial matter that should not be treated as a general expense. Recording it in general expenses account violates the principle of classifying transactions by their nature - it's a receivable issue, not an operating expense.

Multiple choice
  1. P & L account

  2. Balance sheet

  3. Earning statement

  4. Trial balance

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

A trial balance is a statement that lists all ledger account balances (both debit and credit) on a particular date. Its primary purpose is to verify the arithmetic accuracy of posting - that total debits equal total credits. The P&L account and balance sheet are financial statements, not lists of ledger balances. An earning statement is another term for P&L.