Asked by McGwire Midkiff on May 26, 2024

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Allowance for Doubtful Accounts has a debit balance of $600 at the end of the year (before adjustment) , and an analysis of accounts in the customers ledger indicates uncollectible receivables of $13,000. Which of the following entries records the proper adjusting entry for bad debt expense?

A) debit Bad Debt Expense, $600; credit Allowance for Doubtful Accounts, $600
B) debit Bad Debt Expense, $12,400; credit Allowance for Doubtful Accounts, $12,400
C) debit Allowance for Doubtful Accounts, $600; credit Bad Debt Expense, $600
D) debit Bad Debt Expense, $13,600; credit Allowance for Doubtful Accounts, $13,600

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

An estimate of the receivables that may not be collected, reducing gross receivables to a more realistic net value.

Uncollectible Receivables

Accounts receivable that a company has determined are unlikely to be collected and thus are written off as a bad debt expense.

Bad Debt Expense

An expense reported on the income statement, reflecting the cost of debts that are deemed uncollectible.

  • Identify the required modifications for the allowance for doubtful accounts provision.
  • Examine and modify the provision for doubtful debts following an analysis of an aging receivables report.
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Kyara BeatrizMay 27, 2024
Final Answer :
D
Explanation :
The correct adjusting entry is to debit Bad Debt Expense for $13,600 and credit Allowance for Doubtful Accounts for $13,600. This is because the Allowance for Doubtful Accounts needs to be adjusted to the desired balance of $13,000, but it already has a debit balance of $600, indicating it is underfunded. Therefore, the adjustment needs to increase the allowance by $13,600 ($13,000 desired balance + $600 existing debit balance) to both eliminate the debit balance and reach the desired allowance level.