Accounting Standards & Bookkeeping — Guides, Updates & Practical Insights
Indian Accounting Standards (AS 1-29), bookkeeping principles, GST accounting entries, and valuation rules
“Audit” in Accounting Standards & Bookkeeping
Accounting Entries under GST: Complete Journal Entry Guide with Examples
Learn how to record GST transactions in your books of accounts. This guide covers journal entries for intra-state and inter-state purchases and sales, input tax credit set-off, reverse charge mechanism, advances received, and GST payment to government — with practical examples and ledger formats.
AS 15 Employee Benefits: Defined Contribution, Defined Benefit and Disclosure
AS 15 (Accounting Standard 15) prescribes accounting and disclosure for employee benefits. This guide covers short-term benefits, post-employment benefits (defined contribution and defined benefit plans), other long-term benefits, termination benefits, actuarial assumptions, and disclosure requirements.
Stock Audit Process and Checklist
A stock audit verifies the physical existence, quantity and valuation of inventory. Here is the process and a checklist.
Other Expenses Under Note 9: Rent, Communication and Director's Fees
Ten named sub-heads and a residual — with short-term and low-value lease rentals inside "rent", and every item above one percent of total income presented separately.
Accounting Compliance Calendar 2026–27 — Monthly, Quarterly and Year-End
A month-by-month accounting calendar for FY 2026–27 — what to close each month, what to reconcile each quarter, and the statutory dates for GST, TDS, advance tax and the annual audit that the books have to support.
Ind AS Applicability and Roadmap — Who Must Adopt Ind AS
The MCA roadmap sets out which companies must adopt Ind AS based on net worth and listing status, phased across financial years from 2016-17.
UDIN: What It Is and How to Generate
UDIN (Unique Document Identification Number) authenticates documents certified by chartered accountants. Here is what it is and how to generate it.
Capital structure decisions: EBIT-EPS analysis, the financial break-even point and the debt-equity indifference point, with a worked example for a growing private company
Capital structure is the mix of debt and equity behind a business. EBIT-EPS analysis computes earnings per share (EPS) under each financing plan at several levels of EBIT. EPS = (EBIT - interest) x (1 - tax rate) / number of shares. The indifference point is the EBIT at which two plans give the...
MSMED Disclosures Under Section 22: Five Items and the Appointed Day
Five disclosures under section 22 of the MSMED Act, carried into Schedule III — principal and interest unpaid, interest paid with the late payments, interest due for the delay, interest accrued and unpaid, and interest remaining payable in succeeding years.
SA 210, Agreeing the Terms of Audit Engagements: the preconditions for an audit, management's responsibilities, what the engagement letter must contain, recurring audits and a request to change the terms
Before accepting an audit, the auditor must establish two preconditions: management is using an acceptable financial reporting framework, and management acknowledges its responsibilities for the statements, internal control and access to information and people. The terms are then recorded in an...
Discounted cash flow (DCF) valuation of an unlisted company: forecasting the cash flows, choosing the discount rate, the terminal value and the equity value, with a worked example for a small manufacturer
DCF = forecast cash flow available to the firm (FCFF) for each year, discount each at the cost of capital, add a terminal value for the years after the forecast, and deduct net debt to reach equity value. Terminal value by constant growth = FCFF in the last year × (1 + g) ÷ (discount rate − g)...
Net asset value (NAV) method of business valuation: book value, adjusted net assets and value per share, and when the asset approach fits, with a worked example for a property-holding company
NAV = value of all assets − all liabilities, including claims ranking ahead of equity such as preference capital. Book NAV uses the figures in the balance sheet; adjusted NAV restates assets to realisable or replacement value, brings in liabilities that are not on the books, and allows for tax on...
Audit of inventories: attending the physical count, cut-off, roll-forward procedures, valuation at cost or net realisable value and stock held by third parties
When inventory is material, the auditor must attend the physical count unless that is impracticable (SA 501, paragraph 4). If the count is on another date, the auditor tests movements between the count date and year end (paragraph 5). If attendance is impracticable, the auditor performs alternative...
Consolidation procedure under Ind AS 110: combining line by line, eliminating the investment against equity, goodwill, non-controlling interests, intra-group balances and unrealised profit, with a worked example
Under Ind AS 110, paragraph B86, a parent combines like items line by line, eliminates its investment against its share of the subsidiary's equity (with goodwill under Ind AS 103), and eliminates in full intra-group balances, income, expenses and unrealised profits. Non-controlling interests are...
SA 230, Audit Documentation: timely preparation, form, content and extent of working papers, departures from requirements, matters after the report date, assembly of the final audit file and retention
The auditor must prepare documentation on a timely basis that lets an experienced auditor with no previous connection to the audit understand the procedures, results, evidence, significant matters and judgments. The file is assembled soon after the report (ordinarily within 60 days), nothing is...
Ind AS vs AS — Key Differences Explained
Ind AS and the older Accounting Standards differ in philosophy, measurement and disclosure — Ind AS is principles-based, fair-value oriented and IFRS-converged.
Chart of Accounts for Indian Businesses
A chart of accounts (COA) is the organised list of all accounts a business uses to record transactions. Here is how to structure one.
Comparable company multiples method: EV/EBITDA, P/E, price to book and revenue multiples applied to an unlisted company, with a worked example for a regional distributor
Multiple = value of the comparable ÷ its earnings measure. Apply the chosen multiple to your own normalised earnings measure. Enterprise multiples (EV/EBITDA, EV/revenue) give enterprise value, from which net debt is deducted; equity multiples (P/E, price to book) give equity value directly. The...
How to build a financial model: the input sheet, revenue and cost drivers, the three linked statements, balance checks and scenarios, with a worked example for a start-up restaurant
A sound model has four layers: inputs (every assumption, labelled, on one sheet), workings (revenue, cost, asset and debt schedules driven by the inputs), outputs (profit and loss, balance sheet, cash flow, linked) and checks (the balance sheet balances, cash agrees, no typed-in numbers in the...
Audit of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets: the assertions, what the auditor verifies for additions, disposals, depreciation, title and impairment, and the documents to keep ready
The auditor ties each class of asset to the assertions: existence, rights and obligations, completeness, valuation and allocation, and presentation and disclosure. For PPE the usual tests are vouching additions, examining disposals, recomputing depreciation, inspecting title documents and...
SRS 4410 (Revised), Compilation Engagements: when the standard applies, what the practitioner does and does not do, misleading information, documentation and the compilation report
In a compilation the accountant helps prepare financial information from what management provides, and reports in a way that makes the limited role clear. The accountant is not required to verify the accuracy or completeness of the information (paragraph 6) and the report cannot carry an opinion or...
Accounting & Bookkeeping Guide for Indian Businesses 2026–27
A practical guide to accounting for an Indian business — cash versus accrual, the books the law requires, GST and TDS record-keeping, when an audit becomes mandatory under section 63, retention periods, and the mistakes that cost the most.
From enterprise value to equity value per share: net debt, surplus assets, preference shares, control premium and the discount for lack of marketability, with a worked example for a private company
Equity value = enterprise value − debt and debt-like items + cash and surplus assets − preference capital. Value per share = equity value ÷ fully diluted equity shares. A control premium may be added for a block that carries control, and a discount for lack of marketability may be taken off a block...
Audit, review, agreed-upon procedures and compilation: what each engagement is, the level of assurance it gives and when a business needs which
An audit gives reasonable assurance (high, but not absolute) and ends in an opinion. A review under SRE 2400 (Revised) gives limited assurance and ends in a conclusion. Agreed-upon procedures (SRS 4400) and compilation (SRS 4410 Revised) give no assurance at all: the first reports factual findings...