Journal entries

(noun)

A journal entry, in accounting, is a logging of transactions into accounting journal items. The journal entry can consist of several items, each of which is either a debit or a credit.

Examples of Journal entries in the following topics:

  • The Accounting Cycle

    • The accounting cycle includes analysis of transactions, transferring journal entries into a general ledger, revenue, and expense closed.
    • These source documents are then recorded in a Journal.
    • This is also known as a book of first entry.
    • These write-ups are known as Journal entries.
    • These Journal entries are then transferred to a Ledger, which is the group of accounts, also known as a book of accounts.

  • Mentor insights: the “Where the Rubber Meets the Road” spokes on the wheel

    • I found these journal entries extremely inspirational and we hope you will as well.
    • (Jay Milbrandt's Journal Entries from Bangladesh, Pepperdine University JD/MBA alumni)
    • (Jay Milbrandt's Journal Entries from Bangladesh, Pepperdine University JD/MBA alumni)
    • (Jay Milbrandt's Journal Entries from Bangladesh, Pepperdine University JD/MBA alumni)
    • (Jay Milbrandt's Journal Entries from Bangladesh, Pepperdine University JD/MBA alumni)

  • Answer key

    • Keep a diary of this journey and try when possible to have journal entries about what type of entrepreneurial characteristics you are developing to help you achieve your legacy goals.
    • Blog back: Post entries from your journal regarding your thoughts about your own journey.

  • Ledgers

    • As you will see from some of the additional sources we quote, oftentimes journal and ledger are used to describe the same thing.
    • A ledger is simply a collection of the accounts of your business where transactions are recorded using the double-entry bookkeeping method.
    • In the case of the Accounts Receivable example, when a sale is entered in the ledger, a corresponding entry is made in a Sales Journal.
    • And, when a payment is received and posted to a customer's account in the Accounts Receivable ledger, a corresponding entry is made in a Cash Receipts Journal.
    • Setting up subsidiary ledgers and journals for special purposes like this shields the General Ledger from an excessive amount of detail and, at the same time, preserves the principle of double-entry accounting, makes reconciliations easier and, in general, promotes accuracy in a company's accounting records.

  • Double-Entry Bookkeeping

    • In the double-entry accounting system, each accounting entry records related pairs of financial transactions for asset, liability, income, expense, or capital accounts.
    • Accounting entries that debit and credit related accounts typically include the same date and identifying code in both accounts, so that in case of error, each debit and credit can be traced back to a journal and transaction source document, thus preserving an audit trail.
    • The rules for formulating accounting entries are known as "Golden Rules of Accounting".
    • The accounting entries are recorded in the "Books of Accounts".
    • There are two different approaches to the double entry system of bookkeeping.

  • Summary and discussion questions

    • Next we covered the advantages of the system of double-entry bookkeeping and how, together with ledgers and other accounting records, it enhances the accuracy of information maintained in an accounting system, whether it is manual or computer-based.
    • Explain the advantages of double-entry bookkeeping.
    • Do you agree with Goethe's description of double-entry bookkeeping as Goethe as "one of the most beautiful discoveries of the human spirit"?
    • (Wall Street Journal 2009).
    • Tuna, Cari, "Pendulum is Swinging Back on "Scenario Planning", The Wall Street Journal, July 6, 2009, page B6.

  • Licensing

    • When considering strategic entry into an international market, licensing is a low-risk and relatively fast foreign market entry tactic.
    • Licensing is a rapid entry strategy, allowing almost instant access to the market with the right partners lined up.
    • Localization is a complex issue legally, and licensing is a clean solution to most legal barriers to entry.
    • Cultural and linguistic barriers are also significant challenges for international entries.
    • Identify the benefits and risks associated with licensing as a foreign market entry model

  • Summary and references

    • "The Muddles Over Outsourcing. " Journal of Economic Perspectives, Fall 2004, 93-114.
    • "The case for foreign ownership of farmland in Poland. " Cato Journal, Vol. 24, No. 3, Fall 2004, available at http://www.cato.org/pubs/journal/cj24n3/cj24n3-6.pdf
    • "Delivering on Strategy. " Spectra-Journal of the MC, June 2006.
    • "Corporate Scandal Shakes India. " Wall Street Journal, A-1, 2009.
    • "Globalization and the Growth in Emerging Markets and the New Economy. " Journal of Policy Modeling 25, 2003, 505-524.

  • A short history of accounting and double entry bookkeeping

    • "The treatise described double-entry bookkeeping—that for every credit entered into a ledger there must be a debit, a concept created by Florentine merchants and hailed by Goethe as "one of the most beautiful discoveries of the human spirit".
    • In my opinion, Goethe was exaggerating when he called double entry bookkeeping "one of the most beautiful discoveries of the human spirit".
    • At any rate, the discovery of double-entry bookkeeping was undeniably important, because, as Wikipedia explains:
    • Here is a simple example to give you a feel for the way that double entry bookkeeping works:
    • First, a single transaction affects two accounts (a double-entry).

  • The Prevalence of Small Businesses

    • The point here is that barriers to entry are central factors in determining the feasibility of the average business owner entering a given industry.
    • This is a smaller barrier to entry, thus there are more SMBs in the restaurant industry than in the aerospace industry.
    • The 80% of SMBs that reside in the service-providing sector is largely a reflection of the overall U.S. economy (services over goods), as well as the greater feasibility of service industries for small-scale entry.