Help with Profit & Loss and Balance Sheets

January 21, 2011 8:48 AM

Help with Profit & Loss and Balance Sheets

I have some university work, and i'm confused on something. (I don't think the lecturer will give me the answer as this is coursework and i've already asked a couple of questions).

If you have a credit balance in the trial balance for you profit and loss account at the beginning of the year do you add that if you make a profit at the end of the year, and do you include corporation tax in that figure, or does that come off?

I can't get my profit and loss account and balance sheet figures to match, i'm really far out!

posted by rinsemedown to education (2 answers total)

I don't want to discourage you from asking your question here, but I do think that this is exactly what your professor's office hours are for -- you should not feel like you have used up your "quota" of questions with them. In my experience, as long as you have made an honest effort to engage with and understand the material, the vast majority of professors welcome questions where a student is trying to actually learn the material.
posted by misterbrandt at 9:21 AM on January 21, 2011

I'm a little confused about the question. Your P&L accounts would be closed off to retained earnings at year-end.... at the start of the year, they should be nil.

Corporate tax would normally be a separate account, but it would reduce your profit in the sense that it would be included in all your P&L accounts that are closed to retained earnings.
posted by barney_sap at 9:31 AM on January 21, 2011