How To Make Adjusted Journal Entry in Accounting

Introduction 

Adjusting entries are a crucial aspect of financial management, ensuring accuracy, transparency, and compliance in financial reporting. These entries, often conducted at the end of an accounting period, serve a distinct purpose in aligning a company’s financial statements with the accrual basis of accounting. Understanding the intricacies of adjusting journal entries is fundamental, as it not only contributes to a more accurate portrayal of a company’s financial health but also ensures adherence to accounting principles.

Through our comprehensive guide, we will delve into the intricacies of adjusting journal entries, shedding light on their definition, purpose, and the various types of adjusting entries that contribute to refining financial reporting. Moreover, by using examples we will understand the process of adjusting entries. Delving further, we will outline the step-by-step process of creating and adjusting entries and understand how automation plays a crucial role in adjusting entries seamlessly.

Our goal is to provide a comprehensive overview of the importance and intricacies of adjusting entries in financial management. By leveraging traditional know-how and new technology, businesses can streamline their accounting processes, improve accuracy, and ensure compliance with accounting principles.

What are Adjusting Entries? 

Adjusting entries are made at the end of an accounting period post-trial balance, to record unrecognized transactions, and rectify initial recording errors. They align real-time entries with accrual accounting, and involve adjustments such as accrued expenses, revenues, provisions, and deferred revenues.

Principal and Purpose of Adjusting Entries

Adjusting journal entries adhere to the fundamental principles of double-entry accounting, wherein changes are made to the balances of a minimum of two general ledger (GL) accounts by employing equivalent amounts of debits and credits. The primary objective behind these adjustments is to transition from cash transactions to the accrual accounting method.

Accrual accounting is underpinned by the matching principle, which dictates that revenue and associated expenses should be documented in the identical accounting period when the transaction occurs, irrespective of when the actual fund exchange takes place. By implementing adjusting entries, businesses can bring their accounting practices in line with the accrual accounting framework, facilitating a more comprehensive understanding of income generation and expense incurrence. 

Adjusting entries serves as a crucial mechanism for aligning financial statements and records with the accrual basis, thereby ensuring a more accurate representation of a company’s financial position.

6 Types of Adjusting Entries 

Adjusting entries include accruals for revenue and expenses, deferrals for prepayments, estimates for depreciation and provisions for doubtful accounts. These entries align financial statements with actual economic activity, ensuring accurate and transparent reporting.There are six types of adjusting entries.

1. Accrued revenue Accruals encompass transactions that have transpired, yet cash exchanges have not taken place, and these transactions remain unrecorded in a company’s general ledger. Accrued revenue occurs when a business earns income from providing products or services to customers but receives payment at a subsequent date. To accurately record revenue in the appropriate accounting period, an adjusting entry is made. This is particularly common in service-related businesses, where services may be rendered months before billing the customer.  Failure to accrue revenue could significantly underestimate total revenue compared to expenses for the period. To record accrued revenues organizations, debit account receivable account and credit revenue account. 
   
   
2. Accrued expense  Accrued expenses are financial obligations that a business incurs during a specific pay period but does not settle until a subsequent date. These obligations commonly arise in the form of recurring bills, such as utilities or payroll expenses. In essence, an accrued expense signifies an expenditure that has been recognized and accrued in the financial records before the actual payment has been made.  The entry for accrued expenses is executed by debiting the relevant expense account, acknowledging the incurred cost, and simultaneously crediting the accounts payable account, denoting the liability to be settled in the future.
   
   
3. Deferral revenue Deferrals in accounting involve postponing the recognition of transactions from the current period to a future accounting period. This process requires two journal entries: an initial entry to record the transaction and an adjusting entry later. When a company invoices or receives payment from a customer before delivering goods or services, a deferral revenue is necessary. This is common in scenarios where customer invoicing outpaces the completion of work, especially in projects spanning time or involving retainers and deposits. Upon receipt of payment, it is recorded as a liability since it is yet to be earned. Over time, this liability transforms into revenue as the services are delivered. The initial entry captures the payment, and the adjusting entry, scheduled for the future, recognizes the revenue when it is earned.
   
   
4. Deferral expense Deferral expense involves an adjusting entry when a company makes a payment in advance of incurring the actual expense. When a business incurs an expense that will benefit multiple accounting periods it is recognized as a prepaid expense. These prepaid expenses necessitate adjusting entries. Since a deferred expense signifies prepaid services or products with future economic benefit, it is categorized as an asset. Initially recorded as assets, these prepayments are gradually expensed through adjusting entries as time progresses.
   
   
5. Depreciation and amortization Depreciation and amortization serve as specific instances of adjusting entries falling within the broader category of estimates. Estimates refer to adjusting entries primarily associated with non-cash transactions. Depreciation involves distributing the cost of a depreciable asset over its useful life. Typically applied to fixed assets like buildings, vehicles, and manufacturing equipment, depreciation ensures a systematic reduction in asset value over time. Amortization, on the other hand, pertains to intangible assets like patents and licenses. The process of systematically and periodically reducing the value of these assets is executed through adjusting entries during the accounting close. Since depreciation lacks any actual cash exchange, it represents an estimate of how much a physical asset is utilized in each accounting period. The calculation of each entry adheres to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), employing methods such as straight-line depreciation, expressed as Depreciation (per accounting period) = Cost of the asset / Estimated Useful Life. The adjusting entry to record the depreciation expense involves debiting the depreciation expense account and crediting the accumulated depreciation account. This ensures a proper reflection of the gradual reduction in the value of assets over time.
   
   
6. Provisions for bad debts Provisions involve allocating funds to anticipate future expenses. A key example is the adjustment for doubtful accounts, which addresses potential non-payment by customers. When a business extends credit, this entry recognizes the need to set aside funds in preparation for possible defaults. By making this adjustment, the financial records accurately reflect the business’s financial standing, ensuring a more realistic representation of its assets and liabilities. Adjusting entries enhances financial accuracy for informed decision-making.

Importance of Adjusting Entries

Adjusting entries are important as they ensure accurate expense reporting, tracking revenue and expenses, rectifying reconciliation errors, maintaining financial statement accuracy and facilitating the analysis of financial performance for informed decision-making and sustained financial health.

1. Ensures accurate revenue reporting Making adjusting entries is crucial for accurate expense reporting. Failure to do so can result in a mismatch between income and expenses, leading to the omission of expenses incurred in the previous accounting period. Unreported expenses and unaccounted revenue may distort financial statements, violating the revenue recognition principle.  Adjusting entries rectifies these discrepancies, ensuring the proper recording of revenue for the relevant time period.
   
   
   
2. Ensures accurate expense tracking Recognizing revenue correctly is vital, but equally important is the meticulous tracking of expenses. Adjusting entries play a pivotal role in accounting for all incurred expenses during the month, especially for accruing payroll and un-invoiced expenses.  These entries accommodate situations where expenses are paid in a period, but their value is experienced over time, enhancing the accuracy of expense tracking.
   
   
3. Rectifying errors identified during account reconciliation During the reconciliation process, errors in balance sheets or income statements may surface. Adjusting entries provides a mechanism to correct these errors without altering the original entries. This ensures that financial records are accurate and reliable, maintaining the integrity of the accounting system.
   
   
4. Ensuring financial statements accuracy At the end of each month, running financial statements is a standard practice. Adjusting entries are essential for making closing entries and ensuring that these statements reflect the true financial position of the company. They contribute to the accuracy and completeness of financial records, aligning with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and the rules governing the recording and reporting of financial information.
   
   
5. Analysis of financial performance Regularly reviewing and adjusting financial records through adjusting entries allows a company to analyze its financial performance effectively. This process helps identify underperforming areas, enabling corrective action to improve the company’s financial health and overall chances of success. Adjusting entries thus serves as a proactive tool for financial management and strategic decision-making.

10 Steps to Prepare Adjusting Entries 

Adjusting entries are recorded at the end of an accounting period, just before compiling financial statements. The adjusted trial balance’s account balances transfer into the business’s financial statements making it essential to journalize the adjusting entries depending on when the financial statements are prepared. Here are the steps to make adjusting entries.

1. Review the trial balance Most adjusted journal entries are made following the preparation of the unadjusted trial balance and precede the creation of the adjusted trial balance. Adjusting journal entries may occasionally stem from findings during account reconciliations, such as the comparison of GL cash account activity with bank statements. The adjustment process commences with a thorough examination of the trial balance to pinpoint accounts in need of corrections. This entails identifying any discrepancies between actual cash transactions and the revenue or expenses that should be recognized for the specified period.
   
   
2. Identify types of adjusting entries Next firms need to distinguish between various types of adjusting entries by categorizing them into six primary classifications: accrued revenues, accrued expenses, deferred revenue, deferred expenses, provisions, and accumulated depreciation. This categorization aids in the systematic organization of financial adjustments for a comprehensive and accurate representation of the company’s financial status.
   
   
3. Prepare adjusting journal entries Firms should then create adjusting journal entries according to the specific adjustment needs. These entries usually involve at least one income statement account and one balance sheet account, ensuring accurate financial reporting that reflects the company’s financial position and performance.
   
   
4. Prepare accrual adjusting entry Organizations need to adjust accrued revenues or expenses by preparing necessary adjustments. Accrued revenue adjustments acknowledge earned revenue not yet recorded, while accrued expense adjustments recognize incurred expenses not yet reflected, ensuring a precise representation of financial transactions and obligations.
   
   
5. Prepare deferral adjustments Organizations need to handle deferral adjustments by acknowledging recorded revenue or expenses not yet earned or incurred. Examples include adjusting prepaid expenses and unearned revenue, ensuring accurate financial reporting that aligns with the timing of economic activities.
   
   
6. Prepare estimate and provisions adjustments Certain adjusting entries involve estimating amounts for expenses such as depreciation or bad debt. The methods used for estimation are straight-line depreciation or a percentage of sales for bad debt.
   
   
7. Enter adjusting entries in the general journal Some adjusting entries entail estimating amounts for expenses like depreciation or bad debt. Organizations must comprehend estimation methods, like straight-line depreciation or a percentage of sales for bad debt and implement required adjustments to ensure accurate financial representation.
   
   
8. Post to the general ledger Transfer information from the general journal to the general ledger, updating account balances with the amounts from the adjusting entries.
   
   
9. Prepare adjusted trial balance Once all adjusting entries are made organizations need to post data from the general journal to the general ledger, incorporating amounts from adjusting entries to update account balances. This process ensures that the ledger accurately reflects the financial adjustments made through adjusting entries, maintaining precision in financial record-keeping.
   
   
10. Generate financial statements Organizations then should leverage the adjusted trial balance to formulate comprehensive financial statements, covering the income statement, balance sheet, and statement of cash flows. This step ensures that financial reporting accurately reflects the company’s financial position, performance, and cash flow dynamics.

Examples of Adjusting Entries 

Now that we know the importance of adjusting entries and the steps involved in preparing them – it’s time to take a look at some examples to make it easier to understand. With that in mind, here are some examples of different types of adjusting entries.

Accrued revenue 

Suppose, a consulting firm provided services to a client for a service fee of $8000. However, the payment for these services was not received until January. Despite not receiving the payment yet, the consulting firm must still recognize the revenue for December since they have already provided the service during that period. Therefore, the accrued revenue for the firm in this case is $8000.

Deferral revenue 

A pest control company is contracted to provide services to an organization for a duration of 12 months, commencing in January 2024. The organization has made a full upfront payment of $12,000 for the entire year. However, since the revenue has not been earned yet, it needs to be deferred and properly accounted for in the appropriate accounting period.

The per month revenue of the company is $1000. To account for this the pest control company needs to make adjusting entries. The journal entries would be as follows:

In this way the company will record revenue for the next 12 months till deferred revenue is nil. 

Depreciation

Imagine a scenario where a company acquires buses for $20,000. These buses are expected to last for 10 years without any salvage value. To calculate the accumulated depreciation expense, the company employs the straight-line method. At the end of the fiscal year, year end adjusting entries must be made to account for this depreciation expense.

The accumulated depreciation amount can be calculated as follows: Depreciation = $20,000 / 10 = $2,000 per year.

Assuming that the company’s fiscal year ends on December 31, the year end adjusting entries for depreciation would appear as follows:

Similarly at the end of each fiscal period the organization will make an adjusting entry for accumulated depreciation for the next ten years. 

How HighRadius Can Help to Automate Adjusting Journal Entries

HighRadius Record to Report (R2R) solution transforms bookkeeping, bringing automation to the forefront to significantly boost efficiency and precision. From data fetching to journal entry and analysis, HighRadius empowers organizations to achieve a groundbreaking 50% reduction in manual tasks through its no-code platform, LiveCube. Seamlessly combining the familiarity of an Excel-like interface with pre-configured bi-directional data integrations, LiveCube establishes a new standard in flexibility and user-friendly automation. 

The impact extends to the month-end close, where organizations experience a 30% faster close through the automation capabilities of Journal Entry Management. This feature offers automated posting options, significantly expediting the overall closing process while ensuring accuracy.

Furthermore, the solution enhances reconciliation practices by automating adjusted journal entry postings, minimizing manual efforts. HighRadius’s AI-driven Account Reconciliation introduces out-of-the-box matching rules, reducing reconciliation assignment time by an impressive 80%

HighRadius empowers organizations to seamlessly transition to modern accounting practices, leveraging the latest accounting technology to enhance efficiency and accuracy in financial processes. In essence, the R2R solution not only automates tasks but fundamentally reshapes how organizations approach and execute their accounting processes, driving efficiency and accuracy to new heights.

FAQs

1. What accounts are affected by an adjusting entry? Adjusting entries impacts both income statement and balance sheet accounts. They ensure accuracy by recognizing revenues and expenses in the correct accounting period, affecting items like prepaid expenses, accrued revenues, and accrued expenses.
2. Who needs to make adjusting entries? Companies employing accrual accounting need to journalize the adjusting entries. This ensures accurate financial statements and management analyses by aligning revenue and expenses with the accrual basis, recording them when earned or incurred, regardless of cash flow timing.
3. When are adjusting entries recorded? Adjusting entries are recorded at the end of an accounting period, typically before the preparation of financial statements. These entries help ensure that the company’s financial records accurately reflect the economic transactions and events of the specific time period.
4. What is the purpose of adjusting entries? The purpose of adjusting entries is to ensure accurate financial reporting. These entries update accounts, correct errors, and allocate revenues and expenses properly. They adhere to accrual accounting principles, providing a realistic portrayal of a company’s financial position before generating financial statements.
5. What is an adjusting journal entry? An adjusting journal entry is a financial accounting entry made to ensure accuracy by updating accounts, correcting errors, and reflecting proper revenue and expense allocations in compliance with accrual accounting principles.
6. What does adjusting entries affect? Adjusting entries impact financial statements, refining accuracy. They influence income statements by aligning revenues and expenses, while also adjusting balance sheets, modifying assets, liabilities, and owner’s equity. These entries ensure a true portrayal of a company’s financial position.
7. When are adjusting entries recorded? Adjusting entries are recorded at the end of an accounting period to ensure accurate financial reporting. Typically done before financial statements are prepared, they account for accrued and deferred items, aligning accounts with accrual accounting principles.
8. Where do you make adjusting entries? Adjusting entries are made in the general ledger of a business’s accounting system. They update accounts to reflect accurate financial information, ensuring compliance with accrual accounting principles before generating financial statements.
9. How to prepare adjusting entries? Prepare adjusting entries by identifying accrued or deferred items, like unrecorded revenues or expenses. Debit/credit relevant accounts, ensuring accuracy and adherence to accrual accounting principles. Document entries in the general ledger for precise financial reporting.
10. What is an accrual adjusting entry? An accrual adjusting entry recognizes revenues or expenses before cash transactions occur, aligning financial statements with accrual accounting principles for a more accurate portrayal of a company’s financial position. 
11. What is accumulated depreciation adjusting entry? Accumulated depreciation adjusting entry allocates the cost of an asset over its useful life. It records depreciation expense and updates the accumulated depreciation account, reflecting the asset’s diminishing value accurately on financial statements.
12. What are year end adjusting entries? Year end adjusting entries update accounts to ensure accurate financial statements. They address accruals, deferrals, and other adjustments, providing a true depiction of a company’s financial position before the end of the fiscal year.
13. When to make accounting adjustments? Accounting adjustments are made at the end of an accounting period, typically before the financial statements are prepared. These adjustments are necessary to ensure that the accounts accurately reflect the changes that have occurred during the period.