The Account: basic concepts
Definition¶
The account is a mandatory dimension for identifying the data. In this dimension, it is possible to define any measurement or metric in order to carry out statistical or financial analysis.
Nature of the account¶
| Account | Function |
|---|---|
| Profit & Loss | This collects the P&L data. |
| Balance Sheet | This collects the balance sheet data. |
| Memorandum | This collects data and quantities recorded in the financial statements despite not belonging to the P&L or balance sheet. |
| Other variations | This collects statistical data, where the cumulative value is the sum of the values of each month. For example: quantities sold that are added together month by month. |
| Other stocks | This collects statistical data, where the cumulative value is the value of the month. For example: the number of employees of the company. |
Account types¶
| Account | Description |
|---|---|
| Normal account | Account included in the financial statements. |
| Detail account | This provides more detailed information than a normal reference account. For example: it may break down the purchasing data by product category (food, detergents, stationery etc.). |
| Variation account | This shows the variation over time of the amounts included in an account. This is particularly useful in statutory consolidated financial statements. For example: in the explanatory notes for a financial statement account, it is necessary to explain how the final value of the current financial year was reached from the closing amount of the previous year. |
Example of a detail account
In this example, a number of detail accounts have been related to a trade receivables account in order to break down the amounts that will be paid with different due dates (30-60 days, 60-90 days, etc.).
| Account name | Amount | Account type |
|---|---|---|
| Trade receivables | € 100 | Normal account |
| Trade receivables: 0-30 | € 60 | Detail account |
| Trade receivables: 30-60 | € 20 | Detail account |
| Trade receivables: 60-90 | € 20 | Detail account |
The sum of the detail account values is always equal to the value of the reference normal account.
Example of a variation account
In this example, variation accounts are related to the tangible assets account; these variation accounts are identified by variation/detail types showing the entries that led from the initial balance amount to the final balance amount.
| Account name | Amount | Account type |
|---|---|---|
| Tangible assets: initial balance | € 100 | Variation account |
| Tangible assets: investments | € 80 | Variation account |
| Tangible assets: disinvestments | € 0 | Variation account |
| Tangible assets: depreciation | € - 10 | Variation account |
| Tangible assets: other variations | € 30 | Variation account |
| Tangible assets (final balance) | € 200 | Normal account |
Account class¶
An account may also be related to a class. This is useful to check the sign with which the amounts are inserted in the forms. In fact, depending on requirements, it may be necessary to view the amounts with their original sign or as an absolute value.
- Original sign: all the values are displayed with a sign. This is "-" for negative values.
- Absolute value: all values are displayed without a sign, and are therefore positive.
If the accounts are displayed with a sign, this is due to the combination of the class attributed to the account and the sign of the classes set during configuration.
The following classes are available:
- Revenue
- Cost
- Asset
- Liability
- Asset increase
- Asset decrease
- Liability increase
- Liability decrease