An example of an expense, as defined in the Conceptual Framework, is:

A) Payment to a supplier for purchases made on credit.
B) Dividends paid to shareholders.
C) Cash purchase of office equipment.
D) Wages paid on a weekly-basis to employees.

Expenses are outflows or depletions of assets or incurrences of liabilities that result in decreases in equity, other than those relating to distributions to equity participants. Wages paid to employees for their services are a direct example of an expense because they decrease the company's equity by reducing its assets (cash) in exchange for the service provided, which is consumed within the accounting period. Payments to suppliers on credit (A) are not expenses but rather the creation of a liability (accounts payable), dividends (B) are distributions to shareholders and not expenses, and the cash purchase of office equipment (C) is classified as a capital expenditure, not an expense.