Current Liabilitiesand Payroll

Chapter 11

Objective 1

Account for current liabilities

of known amount.

Accounts Payable...

…are amounts owed to suppliers for goods or services purchased on account.

• Accounts payable do not bear interest expense for the debtor.

Accounts Payable Example

• Suppose that on June 3, Lloyd’s Sporting Store purchased $1,000 of goods on account from Patti Wholesaler.

• What is the journal entry?

Inventory 1,000 Accounts Payable 1,000

Purchase on account

Short-Term Notes Payable...

…are promissory notes payable due within one year.

• In addition to recording the note payable, the business must also pay interest expense.

• If interest expense is accrued at the end of the period, interest payable must also be recorded.

Short-Term Notes Payable Example

• On April 30, Patti purchased inventory for $10,000 by issuing a 90-day, 10% note payable.

• What is the journal entry?

Inventory 10,000Notes Payable 10,000

Purchase inventory on a 90-day, 10% note

Short-Term Notes Payable Example

• Assume the accounting period ended May 31.

• How much interest was accrued as of May 31?

• $10,000 × 10% × 31/360 = $86.11

• How does Patti record the payment at maturity?

Short-Term Notes Payable Example

July 29Note Payable 10,000.00Interest Payable 86.11Interest Expense 163.89

Cash10,250.00

Sales Tax Payable Example

• Most states levy a sales tax on retail sales.

• Suppose that a store sold $3,000 worth of merchandise on a given Saturday.

• The business collected an additional 5% in sales tax.

• How much is the sales tax liability?

• $150

Accrued Expenses (Liabilities)...

– are expenses that have been incurred but not recorded.

– salaries

– taxes withheld

– interest

– utilities

Payroll Liabilities

Salary Expense 10,000Employee Income Tax Payable 1,200FICA Tax Payable 800Employee Union Dues Payable 140Salary Payable 7,860

To record salary expense

Unearned Revenue Example

• Assume that on June 1, Dennis’s Landscaping collected $1,500 for services to be provided during the months of June, July, and August.

June 1Cash 1,500

Unearned Revenue 1,500Received cash in advance

Unearned Revenue Example

• What entry does Dennis record on June 30?

June 30Unearned Revenue 500

Service Revenue 500Earned service revenue that was collectedin advance

Objective 2

Account for Current Liabilities

That Must be Estimated.

Estimated Warranty Payable

• The matching principle demands that the company record the warranty expense in the same period that the business recognizes sales revenue.

Estimated Warranty Payable Example

• Patti Wholesaler made sales of $1,000,000 subject to product warranties.

• In the past years, claims have averaged 2%.

Warranty Expense 20,000Estimated Warranty Payable 20,000

To accrue warranty expense

Estimated Warranty Payable Example

• On January 28, a customer returned a defective product and was given a $300 refund.

Estimated Warranty Payable 300Cash 300

To record refund under warranty

Estimated Vacation PayLiability Example

• Suppose Lloyd’s Sporting Store has a March payroll of $10,000 and vacation pay adds 4% (2 weeks of annual vacation divided by 50 workweeks each year).

• How much vacation pay should be accrued?

Estimated Vacation PayLiability Example

March 31Vacation Pay Expense 400

Estimated Vacation Pay Liability 400To accrue vacation expense

Contingent Liability

• Report a contingent liability in the notes to the financial statement if it is reasonably possible that a loss or expense will occur.

• The FASB says to record an actual liability if it is probable that the business has suffered a loss and its amount can be reasonably estimated.

Contingent vs. Current Liability

• Suppose a hospital has lost a court case for uninsured malpractice.

• The hospital estimates that the liability will fall between $1.5 and $2.5 million.

Contingent vs. Current Liability

• The hospital must record a loss and a liability of $1.5 million.

• The hospital must disclose in a note the possibility of an additional $1.0 million loss.

Objective 3

Compute Payroll Amounts.

Payroll

• Straight time is the base rate paid to employees for a set number of hours.

• Overtime is additional time worked by employees for which they received a higher rate (usually 1.5 times the straight time rate).

Gross Pay and Net Pay

Gross Pay Deductions Net Pay

FICA Tax

• The FICA tax has two components:

1 Old age, survivors’, and disability insurance (6.2% applied to the first $87,000 of employee earnings in a year)

2 Health insurance (1.45% applied to all employee earnings)

Employer Payroll Taxes

• Social Security (FICA) tax

• State unemployment compensation tax

• Federal unemployment compensation tax

Unemployment Compensation Taxes

• Employers paid 5.4% to the states and 0.8% to the federal government on the first $7,000 of each employee’s annual earnings.

• The state government uses the money to pay unemployment benefits to people who are out of work.

Breakdown of Payroll Costs

Employer disburses $1,200

Employer cost of healthcare to insurance co.

$90

Employer payroll taxesto government

$110

Net pay toemployee

$750

Employee payrolltaxes to government

$230

Employeeunion dues

$20

Employee Gross Pay – $1,000

Objective 4

Record Basic Payroll Transactions.

Salary Expense

• Salary expense to the employer is the gross salary of all employees.

• Employees pay their own income and FICA taxes as well as union dues.

• The employer serves as a collecting agent and sends these amounts to the government and union.

To Record Salaries Expense:

Salary ExpenseEmployee Income Tax PayableFICA Tax PayableEmployees Union Dues PayableSalary Payable to Employees (take-home

pay)

To Record Salaries Expense:

Payroll Tax ExpenseFICA Tax PayableState Unemployment Tax PayableFederal Unemployment Tax

Payable

To Record Salaries Expense:

Health Insurance Expense for Employees

Life Insurance Expense for EmployeesPension Expense

Employee Benefits Payable

Objective 5

Use a Payroll System.

Payroll System Components

– payroll record

– special payroll bank account

– payroll checks

– earnings record for each employee

Payroll Record...

– is also referred to as the payroll journal.

• It lists payroll data for each employee.

• It serves as a check register.

• It provides information for recording payroll expenses and related withholdings.

Payroll Bank Account

• When companies use a payroll bank account, the company draws a check for the net amount of salary payable to employees on its regular bank account.

• The company deposits this check in the special payroll bank account.

Payroll Bank Account

• The company writes paychecks to employees out of the payroll account.

• When the paychecks clear the bank, the payroll account has a zero balance.

• Disbursing paychecks from a separate bank account isolates net pay for analysis and control.

Recording Cash Disbursements

• When the employer pays the employees, the company debits Salary Payable to Employees and credits Cash.

• The liabilities to the government, unions, and other parties is also debited when cash is paid.

Recording Cash Disbursements

• Assume the following journal entry was made at the end of an accounting period:

Salary Expense 180,000Employee Income Tax Payable 45,000FICA Tax Payable 11,160Employee Union Dues Payable 840Salary Payable to Employees 123,000

Recording Cash Disbursements

• What is the journal entry when the employer pays these liabilities?

Employee Income Tax Payable 45,000FICA Tax Payable 11,160Employee Union Dues Payable 840Salary Payable to Employees 123,000

Cash 180,000

Internal Control over Payrolls

– controls for efficiency

– controls for safeguarding payroll disbursements

Controls for Efficiency

– making payroll disbursements from one payroll account in one month and from another the next

– following established policies for hiring and firing employees

– complying with government regulations– testing employees for their interest in the

job and their skills to perform the job

Controls for SafeguardingPayroll Disbursements

• Large organizations must establish controls to ensure that payroll disbursements are made only to legitimate employees.

• Duties of hiring and firing should be separated from the duties of accounting for payroll and distributing paychecks.

Controls for SafeguardingPayroll Disbursements

• Requiring an identification badge bearing an employee’s photograph also helps internal control.

• A formal time-keeping system helps ensure that employees have actually worked.

Objective 6

Report Current Liabilities

on the Balance Sheet.

Report Current Liabilities

• Companies report current liabilities on the balance sheet.

– Current liabilities of known amount (payroll)

– Current liabilities that must be estimated (warranties)

Report Current Liabilities

• At the end of the year, companies report the amount of payroll liabilities owed to all parties.

• The liability at year end is the amount of the payroll expense that is still unpaid.

Liabilities KnownWhen Recorded

– accounts payable

– short-term notes payable

– sales tax payable

– current portion of long-term debt

– accrued expenses payable

– unearned revenues

Liabilities EstimatedWhen Recorded

– warranty payable

– income tax payable

– vacation pay liability

End of Chapter 11