Reading Financial Reports For Dummies
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Any costs on the financial statements not directly related to generating revenue are considered expenses. Expenses fall into four categories: operating, interest, depreciation or amortization, and taxes. A large company can have hundreds of expense accounts, so here is a broad overview of the types of expense accounts that fall into each of these categories:

  • Operating expenses: The largest share of expense accounts falls under the umbrella of operating expenses, which include advertising, dues and subscriptions, equipment rental, store rental, insurance, legal and accounting fees, meals, entertainment, salaries, office expenses, postage, repairs and maintenance, supplies, travel, telephone, utilities, vehicle expenses, and just about anything else that goes into the cost of operating a business and isn't directly related to selling a company's products.

  • Interest expenses: Interest paid on a company's debt is reflected in the accounts for interest expenses — credit cards, loans, bonds, or any other type of debt the company may carry.

  • Depreciation and amortization expenses: The process for amortization is similar. The depreciation and amortization accounts track the amount written off each year for any type of asset, and the income statement shows expenses related to depreciation and amortization in each individual year.

  • Taxes: A company pays numerous types of taxes. Sales taxes aren't listed in the expense area because they're paid by customers and accrued as a liability until paid. Taxes withheld from employee paychecks are also accrued as a liability and aren't listed as an expense.

    The types of taxes that are expenses for a company include the employer's half of Social Security and Medicare taxes, unemployment taxes and other related payroll taxes that vary depending on state, and corporate taxes, if the company has incorporated. Businesses that aren't incorporated don't have to pay taxes on income. Instead, the owners report that income on their personal tax returns.

About This Article

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About the book author:

Lita Epstein, who earned her MBA from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, enjoys helping people develop good financial, investing and tax-planning skills.
While getting her MBA, Lita worked as a teaching assistant for the financial accounting department and ran the accounting lab. After completing her MBA, she managed finances for a small nonprofit organization and for the facilities management section of a large medical clinic.
She designs and teaches online courses on topics such as investing for retirement, getting ready for tax time and finance and investing for women. She’s written over 20 books including Reading Financial Reports For Dummies and Trading For Dummies.
Lita was the content director for a financial services Web site, MostChoice.com, and managed the Web site, Investing for Women. As a Congressional press secretary, Lita gained firsthand knowledge about how to work within and around the Federal bureaucracy, which gives her great insight into how government programs work. In the past, Lita has been a daily newspaper reporter, magazine editor, and fundraiser for the international activities of former President Jimmy Carter through The Carter Center.

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