Accounting Rules

What are Accounting Rules?

 Golden Rules of Accounting is set of frameworks for recording day to day transactions in the entity books using the double-entry system, wherein each transaction has a debit as well as a credit and involves two accounts for each transaction.

The Top 3 Golden Accounting Rules are:

1. Debit the “Receiver” and Credit the “Giver” (Personal Accounts)
2. Debit – What Comes IN and Credit – What Goes OUT (Real Accounts)
3. Debit – Expenses  and Losses and Credit – Incomes and Gains (Nominal Accounts)

Let us understand each one of them in detail.

Personal Account

We classify Personal Account into three Accounts:

• Artificial personal account- Accounts which are artificially created by persons like companies, legal bodies, partnership firms, etc
• Representative Personal Accounts- Which directly or indirectly represents a person, e.g., bank accounts, etc.
• Natural Personal Accounts-Accounts which are directly related to a person, e.g., Krishna A/c.

Real Account

This Account represents the assets which are Tangible and Intangible.

• Tangible Assets – Assets which have a physical form, e.g., Machines, buildings, etc
• Intangible Assets – Assets that don’t have a physical form, e.g., patent, goodwill, etc.

Nominal Account

• All profits, gains, expenses, and losses come under this Account.

Modern Rules of Accounting

As per Modern rules, each account in a transaction will be either debited or credited based on the six categories of Accounts.

Based on the type of account the transaction is recorded, the value increases or decreases as per the above table.

Examples of Accounting Rules

Example #1 – Golden Rules

Let us consider if we purchase machinery with cash. There are two accounts involved in this asset (machinery), a cash account and this come under real account the journal entry will be based on real account rule as below

Rule – Real Account

Debit – What Comes IN – Machinery (asset)

Credit – What Goes OUT – Cash

Journal Entry

Example #2 – Modern Rules

Consider the same example the Machinery purchased through Bank loan is the Asset, and Bank Loan is a Liability, the journal is passed as per the table:

Modern Rule

Journal Entry

How to Use Accounting Rules?

• As per the double-entry system, if a transaction happens in a business, it affects two or more accounts, and these accounts must be recorded in books of the entity.
• As per the transaction, we have to find which accounts, i.e., Real, Nominal Account, or Personal Accounts, is involved in the transaction and see whether the value has increased or decreased.
• Once the Accounts are found, the journal is passed based on the Debit and credit.
• The Credit and Debit Must be matched in each transaction, and they must always be equal.

Benefits

• They are used to know what accounts are involved and how they should be treated.
• All entities should use the same rule; hence there will be uniformity and consistency in recording transactions.
• Financial reports prepared using these rules are comparable and understandable easily.
• Any error can be easily found if the rules are followed.

Accounting Rules Vs. Accounting Principles

• Rule-based accounting is a set of rules to prepare financial statements, while principle-based are standards that help to develop understandable statements.
• Rule-based accounting is more reliable than the principle-based, as everyone follows the same rule.
• Principle-based will be easier to prepare statements while rule-based is complex as all the rules have to be met by the statement.
• Legal action can be taken if the statement is wrong, which is prepared under the accounting principle, but this is eliminated in rule-based accounting.
• As principle-based is easier and more comprehensive; hence managers can manipulate the financial reports, but this cannot happen in rule-based.

Conclusion

Accounting Rules, by its name, lays the foundation for preparing other financial statements. Since golden rules are used for recording main journal entries and journals are further recorded in the books. Hence it is imperative to follow the rules to prepare a fair report.

Recommended Articles

This has been a guide to Accounting Rules. Here we discuss three golden accounting rules with examples, how to use it, along with its benefits and differences from accounting principles. You can learn more about financial analysis from the following articles –

• Offset Account
• Appropriation Account
• Equity Accounting
• Debit Balance