

The adjusting journal entry will be between an expense and an asset account. Deferred expenses are an asset of the business. Deferral: Defer if the cash has been paid but the expense has not yet been incurred.The adjusting journal entry will be between an expense and a liability account. In other words, money has been spent on goods or services in the current period, but the goods and services have not been consumed in that period. The objective of the income statement is to report how profitable a company was during a time interval (period of time), such as a year, quarter. Definition: Deferred expense, also called a prepaid expense, is a cost that has been incurred but is recorded as an asset until the related goods or services are consumed. Accrued expenses are a liability of the business. Under the accrual basis of accounting, an expense is a cost that is used up, has expired, or is directly related to revenues reported on a company's income statement. Accrual: Accrue if the expense has been incurred but the cash has not yet been paid.The difference between expense accruals and deferrals are summarized in the table below. The adjusting journal entry will be between a revenue and a liability account. Deferred revenue is a liability of the business, and is sometimes referred to as unearned revenue. Deferral: Defer if the cash has been received but the revenue has not yet been earned (unearned).The adjusting journal entry will be between a revenue and an asset account. Accrued revenue is an asset of the business. Accrual: Accrue if the revenue has been earned but the cash has not yet been received.The difference between revenue accruals and deferrals are summarized in the table below.

Chartered accountant Michael Brown is the founder and CEO of Double Entry Bookkeeping. Last modified November 26th, 2019 by Michael Brown. The term accruals and deferrals applies equally to both revenue and expenses as explained below. Deferred Expenditure: XXX: Expense: XXX: Deferred expenditure is sometimes referred to as prepaid expenditure or simply prepayments.

Adjusting the accounting records for accruals and deferrals ensures that financial statements are prepared on an accruals and not cash basis and comply with the matching concept of accounting. The use of accruals and deferrals in accounting ensures that revenue and expenditure is allocated to the correct accounting period.
