Accounting

In the annual financial statements, all assets and liabilities must be assessed according to the valuation regulations set out in the law of obligations, where the principle of prudence is central. Here, assets may be valued at a maximum and debts at a minimum in order to meet creditor protection and fiscal objectives.

Hidden reserves in business administration: compulsory reserves arise by law, discretionary reserves through conservative estimates, arbitrary reserves serve to influence profits.

Hidden reserves arise when expenses are overestimated and revenues are underestimated, using methods such as undervaluation of assets and overvaluation of liabilities. They affect the external income statement through targeted balance sheet manipulation.

The expenses and revenues listed in the profit and loss statement are corrected through accrual accounting before the annual financial statements are prepared. Accrual entries adjust these items to the correct period.

Final debtor losses are written off directly; anticipated losses are recorded indirectly through bad debt provision. Bad debt provision serves the value adjustment of outstanding receivables.

Depreciation can be recorded directly on the fixed asset account or indirectly through an allowance account, whereby the balance sheet shows the book value or acquisition cost depending on the method. With the direct method, the depreciation is recorded directly on the machinery account, with the indirect method on an allowance account.

Two methods of depreciation: straight-line with a constant annual amount and declining balance with a decreasing annual amount. The basis is acquisition value, useful life, and salvage value.

Depreciation spreads the costs of fixed assets over their useful life to correctly present the balance sheet and profit and loss statement. Impairments arise from wear and tear and technological progress.

In double-entry accounting, every business transaction is recorded in both debit and credit, which double-confirms the success of the company. Each entry must show the same profit or loss in the balance sheet and income statement.