Limitations of Accounting Statements (Cambridge (CIE) O Level Accounting)

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Dan Finlay

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Maths Lead

Limitations of Accounting Statements

What are the limitations of using accounting statements?

Limitation

Explanation

Historic cost

  • The historic cost accounting principle means that the actual cost is recorded on the statements for each transaction

  • It can be difficult to compare transactions if they did not happen at the same time

Time factor

  • There is a gap between the end of a financial year and the preparation of the financial statements

  • The current information might be different from the information stated on the financial statements

Difficulties of definition

  • Businesses might have different layouts of their financial statements

    • Some businesses might subtract the goods taken for the owner's use from purchases before stating it on the income statement

    • Some businesses might subtract sales returns from the sales before stating it on the income statement

    • Some businesses might not explicitly state the profit from operations whereas others might

  • It can be difficult to make comparisons if the items do not represent exactly the same thing

Non-financial aspects

  • The money measurement accounting principle means that only information involving money is recorded

  • There are a lot of other important aspects which are not included in the statements

    • Quality of the goods

    • Employee satisfaction

    • Reputation

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Dan Finlay

Author: Dan Finlay

Dan graduated from the University of Oxford with a First class degree in mathematics. As well as teaching maths for over 8 years, Dan has marked a range of exams for Edexcel, tutored students and taught A Level Accounting. Dan has a keen interest in statistics and probability and their real-life applications.

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