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The Accounting Equation Paper

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Accounting Equation Paper

The accounting equation is quite simply expressed as: Assets = Liabilities + Shareholder Equity or the accounting equation can also appear as the following: Liabilities = Assets – Shareholder Equity and also Shareholder Equity = Assets – Liabilities. The common theme is balance, no matter how the accounting equation is written it must reflect the total number of company assets are equal to the total number of liabilities the company has and those numbers are equal to shareholder equity and balance on the balance sheet. Though simply put, the accounting equation is a complex network of data displayed on the balance sheet and any transaction can offset the equation. On the same token a sale or perhaps a purchase will also be reflected on both sides of the accounting equation. At its conception a company begins at zero, $0 = $0 + $0 (Assets = Liabilities + Shareholder Equity) and any type of transaction should be reflected on both sides of the accounting equation. For example, if the owner of a new company secures a small business loan for $5,000 and decided to deposit the money in to the company account then the accounting equation will reflect: (Assets) $5,000 = $0 (Liabilities) + (Shareholder Equity) $5,000. As the company begins to get off the ground, operating costs begin to accumulate as well as supplies and expenses, those respective amounts would be reflected under Liabilities and would be subtracted from Assets and the Shareholder Equity. Thus balancing the accounting equation and tracking every entry and accurately reflecting the double-entry bookkeeping.
The purpose of utilizing the accounting equation is to reflect the relationship of a company’s assets, liabilities and equity through double-entry bookkeeping to ensure accuracy. A proper balance sheet will give you an accurate snap shot of what a company is truly worth. The

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