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Incomplete records
by Neil Stein08 Sep 2004         
Examinerslike questions on incomplete records because they provide theopportunity to test a variety of bookkeeping and accounting techniques.
The two main instances in which incomplete records can be found are where:
there are no records at all
some records exist and information is available to calculate missing figures.
Norecords at allIt is still possible to calculate a profit or loss figureby using the fact that the profit of a business must be represented bymore assets. We list and value the opening and closing net assets, thencalculate the profit as the difference between the two:Profit = Closingnet assets - Opening net assets
Allowance must be made forproprietor's drawings and extra capital introduced, so the formulabecomes:Profit = Closing net assets - Opening net assets + Drawings -Capital introduced
Incomplete recordsThis a more common scenario,both in exam questions and in practice. There are standard techniquesfor calculating missing figures:
Opening capital
Missing figures for sales and purchases
Missing figures for cash.
OpeningcapitalWe need to have the opening capital of the business at thebeginning of a period to provide a starting point - the capital in thebalance sheet account. Questions will usually give us a list of openingassets and liabilities, and we use this to arrive at the openingcapital.
Missing figures for sales and purchasesIf we know theopening and closing receivables/debtors of a business, and the cashreceived from customers, we can calculate sales. All we need to do isset up a sales ledger total account (see Figure 1).
Figure 1: Sales ledger total account (figures invented)
    $        $   
Opening receivables/debtors    38,600    Cash received    218,650   
Sales (balancing figures)    221,250    Closing receivables/debtors    41,200   
    259,850        259,850   
If any three of these figures is known, the fourth can be calculated.
Allwe are doing here is using the sales ledger control account format, butinstead of proving the accuracy of the sales ledger, we are calculatingwhat the sales must have been in order for the other figures to be whatthey are. The same technique may be used to calculate credit purchases.If the sales figure is given we can calculate the cash received.
Thereis another way to calculate sales, purchases or stock figures, and thatis to use the trading account format. We normally set up the tradingaccount as (figures invented):
        $    $   
Sales            100,000   
Less:    cost of sales            
    opening inventory/stock    10,000        
    purchases    78,000        
        88,000        
     less: closing inventory/stock    13,000    75,000   
Gross profit            25,000   
               
Supposethe closing inventory/stock has been destroyed by fire, along with allthe inventory/stock records. Then we wouldn't have the closinginventory/stock total to include in our trading account. However, wecan calculate it if we know the gross profit percentage on sales - or,of course, the mark-up on cost of sales.
In the example above, grossprofit is 25% of sales. If we are told this, we can insert the grossprofit of $25,000 and so calculate the missing inventory/stock figureas a balancing item. We can also find a missing purchases figure, oreven a missing sales figure.
Suppose we are given:
        $    $   
Cost of sales               
    opening inventory/stock    10,000        
    purchases    78,000        
        88,000        
    less: closing inventory/stock    13,000    75,000   
Weare also told that gross profit percentage on sales is 25%. If grossprofit is 25% on sales, cost of sales must be 75%. The sales total istherefore:$75,000 x 100/75 = $100,000.
Whenever the gross profit percentage is given in an incomplete records question, you know that this technique is needed.
Missingfigures for cashWe may be given details of cash receipts and paymentsplus details of opening and closing balances, but with one figuremissing, often the proprietor's drawings. We can calculate the missingfigure by setting up a cash account to find the balancing item required.
Here are the incomplete records techniques:
Construct    To calculate   
1 Opening assets and liabilities    Opening balance   
2 Sales or purchases ledger total amounts    Any missing figure   
3 Trading profit (gross profit percentage must be given)    Any missing figure   
4 Cash account    Any missing figure   
Thereis only one way to develop fluency in incomplete records questions, andthat is to practise as many questions as you can. Here are three shortexercises:
The net assets of Altese, a trader, at 1 January 2003amounted to $128,000. During the year to 31 December 2003, Alteseintroduced a further $50,000 of capital and made drawings of $48,000.At 31 December 2003, Altese's net assets totalled $184,000. Using thisinformation compute Altese's total profit for the year ended 31December 2003.
Senji does not keep proper accounting records, and itis necessary to calculate her total purchases for the year ended 31January 2004 from the following information:
    $   
Trade payables/creditors        
     31 January 2003    130,400   
     31 January 2004    171,250   
Payments to suppliers    888,400   
Cost of goods taken by Senji for her personal use    1,000   
Refund received from suppliers    2,400   
Discounts received    11,200   
Compute the figure for purchases for inclusion in Senji's financial statements.
Alukifixes prices to make a standard gross profit percentage on sales of331/3%. The following information is available for the year ended 31January 2004 to compute her sales total for the year:
    $   
Inventory/stock        
    1 February 2003    243,000   
    31 January 2004    261,700   
Purchases    595,400   
Purchases returns    41,200   
Calculate the sales figure for the year ended 31 January 2004.
Answers
1.
    $   
Opening capital    128,000   
Capital introduced    50,000   
    178,000   
less: drawings    48,000   
    130,000   
Closing capital    184,000   
Profit is therefore    54,000   
2. See Figure 2.
Figure 2: Purchases total account
    $        $   
Payments    888,400    Balance brought forward    130,400   
Discounts received    11,200    Goods taken by Senji    1,000   
Balance carried forward    171,250    Refunds from suppliers    2,400   
        Purchases (balancing figure)    937,050   
    1,070,850        1,070,850   
3.
    $    $   
Cost of sales            
   Opening inventory/stock        243,000   
   Purchases    595,400        
   less: returns    41,200    554,200   
        797,200   
   less: closing inventory/stock        261,700   
        535,500   
Sales figure is therefore:            
$535,500 x 3/2        803,250   
Thesethree examples are quite elementary, but they illustrate techniquesthat you will find in nearly all incomplete records questions.
Neil Stein is former examiner for Paper 1.1

lj99

great thanks