CHAPTER 9

ACCOUNTING FOR RECEIVABLES

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. EXPLAIN HOW COMPANIES RECOGNIZE ACCOUNTS

RECEIVABLE.

2. DESCRIBE HOW COMPANIES VALUE ACCOUNTS

RECEIVABLE AND RECORD THEIR DISPOSITION.

3. EXPLAIN HOW COMPANIES RECOGNIZE NOTES

RECEIVABLE.

4. DESCRIBE HOW COMPANIES VALUE NOTES

RECEIVABLE, RECORD THEIR DISPOSITION, AND
PRESENT AND ANALYZE RECEIVABLES.

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 CHAPTER REVIEW
Types of Receivables

1. (L.O. 1) Receivables are claims that are expected to be collected in cash. Receivables are
usually classified as: (a) accounts receivable, (b) notes receivable, and (c) other receivables.
2. Accounts receivable are amounts customers owe on account. Notes receivable are a written
promise (as evidenced by a formal instrument) for amounts to be received. And other receivables
include nontrade receivables such as interest receivable, loans to company officers, advances to
employees, and income taxes refundable.

Recognizing Accounts Receivable

3. When a business sells merchandise to a customer on credit, Accounts Receivable is debited and
Sales Revenue is credited.

4. If a payment is received by a customer within the discount period, the following entry is made:

Cash........................................................................................... XXX
Sales Discounts......................................................................... XXX
Accounts Receivable............................................................ XXX

Valuing Accounts Receivable

5. (L.O. 2) Companies record credit losses as debits to Bad Debt Expense (or Uncollectible
Accounts Expense). Such losses are considered to be a normal and necessary risk of doing
business. Two methods are used in accounting for uncollectible accounts: (a) the direct write-off
method and (b) the allowance method.

Direct Write-off Method for Uncollectible Accounts

6. Under the direct write-off method, bad debt losses are not anticipated and no allowance account
is used.
a. No entries are made for bad debts until an account is determined to be uncollectible at which
time the loss is charged to Bad Debt Expense.
b. This method makes no attempt to match bad debt expense to sales revenue in the income
statement or to show the cash realizable value of the accounts receivable in the balance sheet.
c. This method is not acceptable for financial reporting purposes, unless bad debt losses are
insignificant.
7. The allowance method is required when bad debts are material in amount. Its essential features are:
a. Uncollectible accounts are estimated and the expense for the uncollectible accounts is
matched against sales revenue in the same accounting period in which the sales occurred.
b. Estimated uncollectibles are debited to Bad Debt Expense and credited to Allowance for
Doubtful Accounts through an adjusting entry at the end of each period.
c. Actual uncollectibles are debited to Allowance for Doubtful Accounts and credited to Accounts
Receivable at the time a specific account is written off.
8. When there is a recovery of an account that has been written off as uncollectible, it is necessary to:
a. reverse the entry made when the account was written off, and
b. record the collection in the usual manner.
9. There are two bases that are used to determine the amount of expected uncollectibles. One is the
percentage-of-sales basis, and the other is the percentage-of-receivables basis.

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Percentage-of-Sales Basis

10. Under the percentage-of-sales basis,

a. Management establishes a percentage relationship between the amount of credit sales and
expected losses from uncollectible accounts.
b. The expected bad debt losses are determined by applying the percentage to the sales base
of the current period.
c. This basis better matches expenses with revenues.

Percentage-of-Receivables Basis

11. Under the percentage-of-receivables basis,

a. The balance in the allowance account is derived from an analysis of individual customer
accounts. The analysis is often called aging the accounts receivable.
b. The amount of the adjusting entry is the difference between the required balance and the
existing balance in the allowance account.
c. This basis produces the better estimate of cash realizable value of the accounts receivable.

Disposing Accounts Receivable

12. In order to accelerate the receipt of cash from receivables, owners frequently (1) sell to a factor
such as a finance company or bank, or (2) make credit card sales.

13. A factor buys receivables from businesses for a fee and then collects the payments directly from
the customers. The entry for a sale to a factor is:

Cash........................................................................................... XXX
Service Charge Expense........................................................... XXX
Accounts Receivable............................................................ XXX

14. Credit cards are frequently used by retailers because the retailer does not have to be concerned
with the customer’s credit history and the retailer can receive cash more quickly from the credit
card issuer. However, the credit card issuer usually receives a fee of from 2–6% of the invoice
price from the retailer.

Notes Receivable

15. A promissory note is a written promise to pay a specified amount of money on demand or at a
definite time. The party making the promise is called the maker; the party to whom payment is
made is called the payee.

16. When the life of a note is expressed in terms of months, the due date is found by counting the
months from the date of issue. When the due date is stated in terms of days, it is necessary to
count the days. In counting days, the date of issue is omitted but the due date is included.

17. The basic formula for computing interest on an interest bearing note is:

Time
Annual
Face Value in Terms
X Interest X = Interest
of Note of One
Rate
Year

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Recognizing Notes Receivable

18. (L.O. 3) Entries for notes receivable are required when the note is received and at maturity. To
illustrate, assume that on June 1, 2017, Raider Company receives a $2,000, 3-month, 12% note
receivable from Paul Revere in settlement of an open account. The entry is:

June 1 Notes Receivable........................................................ 2,000

Accounts Receivable............................................. 2,000

Valuing Notes Receivable

19. (L.O. 4) Like accounts receivable, short-term notes receivable are reported at their cash (net)
realizable value and an Allowance for Doubtful Accounts is used.

Disposing of Notes Receivable

20. On September 1, the maturity date, Paul Revere honors the note by paying the face amount,
$2,000 plus interest of $60 ($2,000 X 12% X 3/12). Assuming that interest has not been accrued,
the entry is:

Sept. 1 Cash............................................................................ 2,060

Notes Receivable................................................... 2,000
Interest Revenue.................................................... 60

Statement Presentation and Analysis

21. In the balance sheet, short-term receivables are reported within the current assets section below
short-term investments. Both the gross amount of receivables and the allowance for doubtful
accounts should be reported. In a multiple-step income statement, Bad Debt Expense and
Service Charge Expense are reported as selling expenses in the operating expenses section.

22. The accounts receivable turnover is computed by dividing net credit sales (net sales less cash
sales) by the average net accounts receivable during the year. The average collection period, a
variant of the accounts receivable turnover, is computed by dividing the turnover ratio into 365
days. The average collection period should not greatly exceed the credit term period.

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 LECTURE OUTLINE

A. Types of Receivables.

1. Receivables refer to amounts due from individuals and companies that

are expected to be collected in cash.

2. Receivables are classified as:

a. Accounts receivable are amounts customers owe on account.

Companies generally expect to collect these receivables within
30 to 60 days.

b. Notes receivable are a written promise (as evidenced by a formal

instrument) for amounts to be received. A note normally requires the
collection of interest and extends for time periods of 60 to 90 days or
longer.

c. Other receivables include nontrade receivables such as interest receiv-

able, loans to company officers, advances to employees, and income
taxes refundable.

B. Recognizing Accounts Receivable.

1. Accounts receivable are recognized when merchandise is sold on account,

as explained in Chapter 5.

2. Recognizing accounts receivable also occurs when a company sells mer-

chandise and a customer uses the company’s own credit card.

a. Credit card sales result in a debit to Accounts Receivable and a credit

to Sales Revenue.

b. If customers fail to pay within a specified period (usually 30 days), the

seller adds interest. The interest is debited to Accounts Receivable and
credited to Interest Revenue.

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C. Valuing Accounts Receivable.

1. Valuing receivables involves reporting receivables at their cash (net) real-

izable value. Cash (net) realizable value is the net amount expected to be
received in cash.

2. Uncollectible Accounts Receivable.

a. Credit losses are a normal and necessary risk of doing business on

a credit basis. Credit losses may be recognized under the allowance
method or by the direct write-off method.

b. GAAP requires the allowance method for financial reporting purposes

when bad debts are material in amount. Under this method:

(1) Companies estimate uncollectible accounts receivable and match

this estimate expense against revenues in the same
accounting period in which they record the revenues.

(2) Companies debit estimated uncollectibles to Bad Debt Expense

and credit them to Allowance for Doubtful Accounts (a contra-
asset account) through an adjusting entry at the end of each
period.

(3) When companies write off a specific account, they debit actual
uncollectibles to Allowance for Doubtful Accounts and credit that
amount to Accounts Receivable.

3. Occasionally, a company collects from a customer after it has written off

the account as uncollectible. The company

a. Reverses the entry made in writing off the account to reinstate the
customer’s account.

b. Journalizes the collection in the usual manner.

9-6 Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Weygandt, Accounting Principles, 12/e, Instructor’s Manual (For Instructor Use Only)
 4. Two bases are used to determine the amount of the expected uncollectibles:

a. Under the percentage-of-sales basis, management estimates what

percentage of credit sales will be uncollectible. This percentage is
based on past experience and anticipated credit policy, and is applied
either to total credit sales or net credit sales of the current year.

(1) This basis of estimating uncollectibles emphasizes the matching

of expenses with revenues (income statement viewpoint).

(2) When the company makes the adjusting entry, it disregards the
existing balance in Allowance for Doubtful Accounts.

b. Under the percentage-of-receivables basis, management estimates

what percentage of receivables will result in losses from uncollectible
accounts. The company prepares an aging schedule, in which it classi-
fies customer balances by the length of time they have been unpaid.

(1) This method normally results in the better approximation of cash

realizable value (balance sheet viewpoint).

(2) An aging schedule is used to determine the required balance in

the allowance account at the balance sheet date.

(3) The amount of the bad debt expense adjusting entry is the differ-
ence between the required balance and the existing balance in
the allowance account.

5. The direct write-off method may be used for financial reporting purposes
only when bad debts are insignificant. Under this method:

a. Bad debt losses are not estimated and an allowance account is not
used.

b. Bad debt losses are debited to Bad Debt Expense when they are
determined to be uncollectible.

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 c. This method does not attempt to match bad debt expense with sales
revenues or to show accounts receivable in the balance sheet at the
amount the company actually expects to receive.

D. Disposing of Accounts Receivable.

1. In the normal course of events, companies collect accounts receivable in

cash and remove receivables from the books.

2. Companies frequently sell their receivables to another company for

cash, which shortens the cash-to-cash operating cycle.

3. A sale may be made to a factor which is a finance company or bank that

buys receivables from businesses and then collects the payments directly
from the customers.

4. A credit card sale occurs when a company accepts national credit cards,
such as Visa, Mastercard, and American Express.

a. A retailer’s acceptance of a national credit card is another form of

selling (factoring) the receivable.

b. The retailer generally considers sales from the use of national credit
card sales as cash sales. The retailer must pay to the bank that
issues the card a fee of 2 to 6% for processing the transactions.

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 ACCOUNTING ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION

Assume you use a Visa card to purchase some new ties at Nordstrom. Visa acts
as the clearing agent for the transaction and transfers funds from the bank that
issued your Visa card to Nordstrom’s bank account.

If Nordstrom prepares a bank reconciliation monthly and some credit card sales
have not been processed by the bank, how should Nordstrom treat these
transactions on its reconciliation?

Answer: Nordstrom would treat the credit card receipts as deposits in transit. It
has already recorded the receipts as cash. Its bank will increase
Nordstrom’s cash account when it receives the receipts.

E. Notes Receivable.

1. A promissory note is a written promise to pay a specified amount of money

on demand or at a definite time. Notes receivable give the payee a stronger
legal claim to assets than accounts receivable. Promissory notes may
be used:

a. When individuals and companies lend or borrow money.

b. When the amount of the transaction and the credit period exceed
normal limits.

c. In settlement of accounts receivable.

2. Determining the maturity date. When the life of a note is expressed in

terms of months, you find the date when it matures by counting the months
from the date of issue. When the due date is stated in terms of days, you
need to count the exact number of days to determine the maturity date.
In counting, omit the date the note is issued but include the due date.

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 3. Computing interest. The formula for computing interest is face value of
note times annual interest rate times time in terms of one year. For a
note stated in months, a fraction of the year is used; when a note is stated in
days, time factor is the number of days in the note divided by 360.

4. Recognizing notes receivable occurs when the note is received. The

company records the note receivable at its face value by debiting Notes
Receivable and crediting Accounts Receivable.

5. Valuing short-term notes receivable involves reporting notes receivable at

their cash (net) realizable value.

a. The notes receivable allowance account is Allowance for Doubtful

Accounts.

b. The estimations involved in determining cash realizable value and

in recording bad debt expense and the related allowance are
similar.

6. Disposing of notes receivable involves the honoring

(paying) or dishonoring
(not paying) of the note at maturity.

a. A note is honored when its maker pays it in full at its maturity date.
If interest has been accrued prior to maturity, Interest Receivable is
credited for the accrued interest at maturity.

b. A dishonored (defaulted) note is a note that is not paid in full at

maturity. The entry to record the dishonor of a note depends on
whether the payee expects eventual collection. If the debtor is
expected to pay, Accounts Receivable is debited for the face value
of the note plus accrued interest. If there is no hope of collection, the
payee would write off the face value of the note by debiting
Allowance for Doubtful Accounts.

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F. Statement Presentation and Analysis.

1. Companies should identify in the balance sheet or in the notes to the

financial statements each of the major types of receivables.

2. Short-term receivables appear in the current assets section of the balance

sheet. Companies report both the gross amount of receivables and the
allowance for doubtful accounts.

3. In a multiple-step income statement, companies report bad debt ex-

pense and service charge expense as selling expenses in the operating
expenses section. Interest revenue appears under “Other revenues and
gains” in the nonoperating activities section.

4. Investors and managers evaluate accounts receivable for liquidity by

computing the accounts receivable turnover and an average collection
period.

a. The accounts receivable turnover is computed by dividing net credit

sales by the average net accounts receivable during the year. This
ratio measures the number of times, on average, the company
collects accounts receivable during the period.

b. The average collection period is computed by dividing the accounts

receivable turnover into 365 days. Companies frequently use the
average collection period to assess the effectiveness of a company’s
credit and collection policies.

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A Look at IFRS

The basic accounting and reporting issues related to recognition, measurement,

and disposition of receivables are essentially the same between IFRS and
GAAP.

KEY POINTS

Similarities
 The recording of receivables, recognition of sales returns and allowances
and sales discounts, and the allowance method to record bad debts are the
same between IFRS and GAAP.
 Both IFRS and GAAP often use the term impairment to indicate that a
receivable may not be collected.
 The FASB and IASB have worked to implement fair value measurement (the
amount they currently could be sold for) for financial instruments, such as
receivables. Both Boards have faced bitter opposition from various factions.

Differences
 Although IFRS implies that receivables with different characteristics should
be reported separately, there is no standard that mandates this segregation.
 IFRS and GAAP differ in the criteria use to determine how to record a
factoring transaction. IFRS uses a combination approach focused on risks
and rewards and loss of control. GAAP uses loss of control as the primary
criterion. In addition, IFRS permit partial derecognition of receivables; GAAP
does not.

Looking to the Future

The question of recording fair values for financial instruments will continue to be
an important issue to resolve as the Boards work toward convergence. Both the
IASB and the FASB have indicated that they believe that financial statements
would be more transparent and understandable if companies recorded and
reported all financial instruments at fair value.

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 20 MINUTE QUIZ

Circle the correct answer.

True/False

1. Receivables are classified as accounts, notes, or other.

True False

2. Financing charges added to a customer’s credit card balance with a retailer are recorded
as a debit to Accounts Receivable and a credit to Interest Revenue.
True False

3. The allowance method for uncollectible accounts violates the expense recognition
principle.
True False

4. An aging schedule shows a required balance in Allowance for Doubtful Accounts of $8,600.
If there is a credit balance in the allowance account of $2,000 prior to adjustment, the
adjustment amount is $6,600.
True False

5. Sale of receivables to a factor may result in a debit to Service Charge Expense at the time
of sale.
True False

6. The maturity date of a 60-day note dated December 1 is January 31.

True False

7. The interest due at maturity of a two-month, 8%, $800 note is computed by multiplying
$800X.08 X 2/12.
True False

8. The maturity value of a $5,000 note is $5,300. If $180 of the interest has been accrued
prior to maturity, the entry to record the honoring of the note at maturity should include
a credit to Interest Revenue for $120.
True False

9. The principal amount of a 9%, 3-year, note receivable is $300,000 and is dated January 1,
2014. The interest revenue to be recognized on December 31, 2014, is $9,000.
True False

10. Short-term receivables are reported in the balance sheet immediately below cash.
True False

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Multiple Choice

1. The sale of merchandise by a company on its own credit card may result in a
a. debit to Service Charge Expense.
b. debit to Interest Expense.
c. credit to Interest Revenue.
d. credit to Cash.

2. A company has net credit sales of $600,000 for the year and it estimates that uncollectible
accounts will be 2% of sales. If Allowance for Doubtful Accounts has a credit balance of
$1,000 prior to adjustment, its balance after adjustment will be a credit of
a. $12,000.
b. $13,000.
c. $11,000.
d. some other amount.

3. Under the allowance method, the entry to write-off an uncollectible account results in
a debit to
a. Bad Debt Expense and a credit to Accounts Receivable.
b. Bad Debt Expense and a credit to Allowance for Doubtful Accounts.
c. Allowance for Doubtful Accounts and a credit to Bad Debt Expense.
d. Allowance for Doubtful Accounts and a credit to Accounts Receivable.

4. A company sells $400,000 of accounts receivable to a factor for cash less a 2% service
charge. The entry to record the sale should not include a
a. debit to Interest Expense for $8,000.
b. debit to Cash for $392,000.
c. debit to Service Charge Expense for $8,000.
d. credit to Accounts Receivable for $400,000.

5. When an interest-bearing note is dishonored at maturity and ultimate collection is expected,

the entry for the dishonoring, assuming no previous accrual of interest should include
a. a debit to Allowance for Doubtful Accounts.
b. only a credit to Notes Receivable.
c. a credit to Notes Receivable and Interest Revenue.
d. a credit to Notes Receivable and Interest Receivable.

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 ANSWERS TO QUIZ

True/False

1. True 6. False
2. True 7. True
3. False 8. True
4. True 9. False
5. True 10. False

Multiple Choice

1. c.
2. b.
3. d.
4. a.
5. c.

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