Nolte Products Is Undecided About Which Basis to Use in Estimating

question 193

Essay

Nolte Products is undecided about which basis to use in estimating uncollectible accounts. On December 31, 2014, the balance in Accounts Receivable was $680,000 and net credit sales amounted to $3,700,000 during 2014. An aging analysis of the accounts receivable indicated that $39,000 in accounts are expected to be uncollectible. Past experience has shown that about 1% of net credit sales eventually are uncollectible.
Instructions
Prepare the adjusting entries to record estimated bad debts expense using the (1) percentage of sales basis and (2) the percentage of receivables basis under each of the following independent assumptions:
(a) Allowance for Doubtful Accounts has a credit balance of $3,200 before adjustment.
(b) Allowance for Doubtful Accounts has a debit balance of $730 before adjustment.

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Definitions:

Operating Expenses

Expenses incurred from a company's day-to-day activities, excluding the cost of goods sold, such as rent, utilities, and salaries.

Notes to The Financial Statements

Supplementary information provided alongside the financial statements, offering detailed explanations of the figures, accounting policies, and other relevant data to aid in interpretation.

Net Income

The amount of money a business keeps after deducting all expenditures and taxes from its overall revenue.

Average Number

A mathematical concept that represents the central or typical value in a set of numbers, calculated by dividing the sum of all values by the count of numbers.