Accounting Basics
This booklet is designed to give the reader an overview of general bookkeeping practices and accounting terminology, in preparation for EasyPC Training’s MYOB accounting or manual bookkeeping courses.
As you read through, please note that words or phrases underlined appear in a glossary at the back of the booklet
The Accounting Equation
All accounting entries in the books of account for an organisation have a relationship based on the ‘accounting equation’:
Assets = Liabilities + Owner’s equity
Assets
Assets are tangible and intangible items of value which the business owns. Examples of assets are:
Cash Cars Buildings Machinery Furniture
Debtors (money owed from customers)
Stock / Inventory
Liabilities
Liabilities are those items which are owed by the business to bodies outside of the business. Examples of liabilities are:
Loans to banks
Creditors (money owed to suppliers) Bank overdrafts
Owner’s Equity
The simplest way to understand the accounting equation is to understand what makes up ‘owner’s equity’.