Professional Documents
Culture Documents
(Download PDF) Using Financial Accounting Information The Alternative To Debits and Credits 10Th Edition Gary A Porter Full Chapter PDF
(Download PDF) Using Financial Accounting Information The Alternative To Debits and Credits 10Th Edition Gary A Porter Full Chapter PDF
(Download PDF) Using Financial Accounting Information The Alternative To Debits and Credits 10Th Edition Gary A Porter Full Chapter PDF
https://ebookmass.com/product/using-financial-accounting-
information-the-alternative-to-debits-and-credits-10th-edition-
ebook-pdf-version/
https://ebookmass.com/product/financial-accounting-10th-
edition-10th-edition-ebook-pdf/
https://ebookmass.com/product/financial-accounting-information-
for-decisions-9th-edition-ebook-pdf/
https://ebookmass.com/product/financial-accounting-for-decision-
makers-10th-edition-book-and-mylab-accounting-pack-peter-atrill/
Accounting Information Systems Jr
https://ebookmass.com/product/accounting-information-systems-jr/
https://ebookmass.com/product/managing-and-using-information-
systems-a-strategic-approach/
https://ebookmass.com/product/financial-managerial-
accounting-18th-edition/
https://ebookmass.com/product/it-auditing-using-controls-to-
protect-information-assets-third-edition/
https://ebookmass.com/product/financial-and-managerial-
accounting-9th-edition-john-wild/
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
10e
Using Financial
Accounting Information
THE ALTERNATIVE TO
DEBITS AND CREDITS
Gary A. Porter
DRAKE UNIVERSITY
Curtis L. Norton
ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
Using Financial Accounting Information: ª 2018, 2015 Cengage Learning¤
The Alternative to Debits and Credits,
10th edition ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this work covered by the copyright herein
Gary A. Porter, Curtis L. Norton may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, except as
permitted by U.S. copyright law, without the prior written permission of the
Vice President, General Manager, copyright owner.
Social Science & Qualitative Business:
Erin Joyner
For product information and technology assistance, contact us at
Executive Product Director: Mike Schenk Cengage Learning Customer & Sales Support, 1-800-354-9706
Product Director: Jason Fremder For permission to use material from this text or product,
Senior Product Manager: Matt Filimonov submit all requests online at www.cengage.com/permissions
Further permissions questions can be emailed to
Content Development Manager: Daniel Celenza permissionrequest@cengage.com
Content Developer: Jonathan Gross
Senior Digital Production Project Manager: Unless otherwise noted, all items are ª Cengage Learning.
Sally Nieman
Screenshots are used with permission from Microsoft Corporation. Microsoft
Executive Marketing Manager: Robin LeFevre
Excel¤ is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. ª 2016 Microsoft.
Senior Content Project Manager: Tim Bailey
Manufacturing Planner: Doug Wilke The financial statements are included for illustrative and education purposes
only. Nothing herein should be construed as financial advice.
Production Service: Cenveo Publisher Services
Senior Art Director: Michelle Kunkler Library of Congress Control Number: 2016954444
Cover and Internal Designer: Red Hanger Design Student Edition ISBN: 978-1-337-27633-7
Cover Image: iStockPhoto.com/Piotr Krzeslak Loose-Leaf Edition ISBN: 978-1-337-27639-9
Connection Design Image:
ª Toria/Shutterstock.com Cengage Learning
20 Channel Center Street
Intellectual Property
Boston, MA 02210
Analyst: Brittani Morgan USA
Project Manager: Betsy Hathaway
Cengage Learning is a leading provider of customized learning solutions with
employees residing in nearly 40 different countries and sales in more than
125 countries around the world. Find your local representative at
www.cengage.com.
Purchase any of our products at your local college store or at our preferred
online store www.cengagebrain.com
Printed in Canada
Print Number: 01 Print Year: 2016
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
To those who really ‘‘count’’
Melissa
Kathy, Amy, Andrew
In memory of
Sophie
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
Brief Contents
Contents v
Preface xi
CHAPTER 1 Accounting as a Form of Communication 2
CHAPTER 8 Operating Assets: Property, Plant, and Equipment, and Intangibles 356
CHAPTER 9 Current Liabilities, Contingencies, and the Time Value of Money 402
CHAPTER 10 Long-Term Liabilities 454
Glossary G-1
Index I-1
iv
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
Contents
MODULE 4 Reading and Using the MODULE 1 Accrual Accounting Principles 150
Annual Report 70 Recognition 150
Panera Bread’s Balance Sheet 70 Measurement 150
Panera Bread’s Income Statement 72 Choice 1: The Attribute to Be Measured 150
Choice 2: The Unit of Measure 151
Making Business Decisions: Panera Bread 73 Summary of Recognition and Measurement in
Other Elements of an Annual Report 76 Financial Statements 151
Report of Independent Accountants (Auditors’ Report) 76
The Accrual Basis of Accounting 152
The Ethical Responsibility of Management and the Auditors 76
Management Discussion and Analysis 77 Comparing the Cash and Accrual Bases of Accounting 152
What the Income Statement and the Statement of
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements 78
Cash Flows Reveal 154
Accrual Accounting and Time Periods 155
CHAPTER 3
The Revenue Recognition Principle 155
Processing Accounting Information 100
Expense Recognition and the Matching
Vail Resorts, Inc.: Making Business Decisions 101 Principle 155
MODULE 1 Transactions and the Accounting MODULE 2 Adjustments 158
Equation 102 Types of Adjustments 158
External and Internal Events 102 (1) Cash Paid Before Expense Is Incurred
(Deferred Expense) 159
The Role of Source Documents in Recording (2) Cash Received Before Revenue Is Recognized
Transactions 102 (Deferred Revenue) 161
Analyzing the Effects of Transactions on the (3) Expense Incurred Before Cash Is Paid (Accrued
Accounting Equation 103 Liability) 162
The Cost Principle 105 (4) Revenue Recognized Before Cash Is Received
Balance Sheet and Income Statement for Glengarry (Accrued Asset) 165
Health Club 105 Accruals and Deferrals 166
What Is an Account? 107 Summary of Adjustments 166
Comprehensive Example of Adjustments 167
Chart of Accounts 107 Income Statement and Balance Sheet for
The General Ledger 107 Duffy Transit 170
Identify and Analyze 108 Ethical Considerations for a Company on the
MODULE 2 Debits and Credits 111 Accrual Basis 171
Accounting Tools: The Double-Entry System 111 MODULE 3 The Accounting Cycle 172
The T Account 111 The Use of a Work Sheet 173
Debits and Credits 112 The Closing Process 174
Interim Financial Statements 174
Debits Aren’t Bad, and Credits Aren’t Good 113
Debits and Credits for Revenues, Expenses, and
Dividends 113
Revenues 113
CHAPTER 5
Expenses 113
Dividends 113 Inventories and Cost of Goods Sold 208
Summary of the Rules for Increasing and Decreasing
Accounts 113 Gap Inc.: Making Business Decisions 209
Normal Account Balances 113
Debits and Credits Applied to Transactions 114 MODULE 1 Sales, Cost of Goods Sold,
Transactions for Glengarry Health Club 114 and Gross Profit 210
MODULE 3 Journal Entries and Trial Balances 117 Three Types of Inventory Costs and Three Forms of
The Journal: The Firm’s Chronological Record of Inventory 210
Transactions 117 Three Types of Manufacturing Costs 210
Three Forms of Inventory 210
The Trial Balance 119
Net Sales of Merchandise 211
CHAPTER 4 Sales Returns and Allowances 212
Credit Terms and Sales Discounts 212
Income Measurement and Accrual
Cost of Goods Sold 213
Accounting 148
The Cost of Goods Sold Model 213
Inventory Systems: Perpetual and Periodic 214
Nordstrom, Inc.: Making Business Decisions 149
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
Contents vii
Beginning and Ending Inventories in a Periodic System 215 Control Over Cash 278
Cost of Goods Purchased 216 Cash Management 279
Purchases 216 Reading a Bank Statement 279
Purchase Discounts 216 The Bank Reconciliation 281
Purchase Returns and Allowances 217 The Need for Adjustments to the Records 282
Shipping Terms and Transportation Costs 217 Establishing a Petty Cash Fund 283
Shipping Terms and Transfer of Title to Inventory 218
MODULE 2 Internal Control 284
The Gross Profit Ratio 218 The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 284
Making Business Decisions: Gap Inc. 219 The Control Environment 287
The Accounting System 287
MODULE 2 Inventory Costing Methods 222
Internal Control Procedures 287
Inventory Costs: What Should Be Included? 222
Proper Authorizations 287
Inventory Costing Methods with a Periodic Segregation of Duties 287
System 223 Independent Verification 288
Specific Identification Method 224 Safeguarding of Assets and Records 288
Weighted Average Cost Method 225 Independent Review and Appraisal 288
First-In, First-Out Method (FIFO) 226 Design and Use of Business Documents 288
Last-In, First-Out Method (LIFO) 227 Limitations on Internal Control 289
Selecting an Inventory Costing Method 227 Computerized Business Documents and Internal
Costing Methods and Cash Flow 227 Control 289
LIFO Liquidation 228 Control Over Cash Receipts 289
The LIFO Conformity Rule 229 Cash Received Over the Counter 289
The LIFO Reserve: Estimating LIFO’s Effect on Cash Received in the Mail 290
Income and on Taxes Paid for Winnebago Industries 229 Cash Discrepancies 290
Costing Methods and Inventory Profits 230 The Role of Computerized Business Documents in
Changing Inventory Methods 231 Controlling Cash Disbursements 290
Inventory Valuation in Other Countries 231 Purchase Requisition 290
MODULE 3 Other Inventory Issues 232 Purchase Order 292
Invoice 292
Inventory Errors 232 Receiving Report 293
Valuing Inventory at Lower of Cost or Market 235 Invoice Approval Form 294
Why Replacement Cost Is Used as a Measure of Market 235 Check with Remittance Advice 294
Application of the LCM Rule 236
Lower-of-Cost-or-Market under International Standards 237
CHAPTER 7
MODULE 4 Inventory Management and Receivables and Investments 310
Cash Flow Issues 237
Making Business Decisions: Gap Inc. 238 Apple Inc.: Making Business Decisions 311
How Inventories Affect the Cash Flows Statement 240 MODULE 1 Accounting for Accounts Receivable 312
Appendix: MODULE 5 Inventory Costing The Use of a Subsidiary Ledger 312
Methods with a Perpetual System 242 The Valuation of Accounts Receivable 313
Two Methods to Account for Bad Debts 313
FIFO Costing with a Perpetual System 242 Two Approaches to the Allowance Method of
LIFO Costing with a Perpetual System 243 Accounting for Bad Debts 315
Percentage of Net Credit Sales Approach 315
Moving Average with a Perpetual System 244
Percentage of Accounts Receivable Approach 316
Aging of Accounts Receivable 317
CHAPTER 6 The Accounts Receivable Turnover Ratio 319
Cash and Internal Control 276 Making Business Decisions: Apple 319
Regal Entertainment Group: Making Business MODULE 2 Accounting for Notes Receivable 322
Decisions 277 Important Terms Connected with Promissory Notes 323
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
viii Contents
Capital versus Revenue Expenditures 366 Present Value and Future Value: Single Amounts 417
Future Value of a Single Amount 417
Environmental Aspects of Operating Assets 368
Present Value of a Single Amount 419
Disposal of Property, Plant, and Equipment 368
Present Value and Future Value of an Annuity 420
Gain on Sale of Assets 369
Future Value of an Annuity 420
Loss on Sale of Assets 370
Present Value of an Annuity 421
IFRS and Property, Plant, and Equipment 370
Solving for Unknowns 421
MODULE 3 Intangible Assets 372
Appendix: Accounting Tools: Using
Balance Sheet Presentation 372 Excel¤ for Problems Involving Interest
Acquisition Cost of Intangible Assets 372
Research and Development Costs 372
Calculations 427
Amortization of Intangibles 373
Intangibles with Finite Life 373
Intangibles with Indefinite Life 374 CHAPTER 10
Goodwill and Impairments 374 Long-Term Liabilities 454
IFRS and Intangible Assets 375
MODULE 4 Cash Flow and Analysis Issues 376 Coca-Cola: Making Business Decisions 455
Analyzing Long-Term Assets for Average MODULE 1 Long-Term Liabilities Including
Life and Asset Turnover 378 Bonds Payable 456
Making Business Decisions: Nike 378
Bonds Payable: Characteristics 457
Collateral 458
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
Contents ix
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
x Contents
Salaries and Wages Expense and Salaries and Wages Take Care When Making Comparisons 624
Payable 572 Understand the Possible Effects of Inflation 624
Depreciation Expense 572
Analysis of Comparative Statements: Horizontal
Insurance Expense and Prepaid Insurance 572
Analysis 625
Interest Expense 573
Income Taxes Expense and Income Taxes Payable 573 Analysis of Common-Size Statements: Vertical
Loss on Retirement of Bonds 573 Analysis 629
Compare Net Income with Net Cash Flow from MODULE 2 Liquidity Analysis 632
Operating Activities 573
Step 3: Determine the Cash Flows from Investing Working Capital 632
Activities 575 Current Ratio 633
Long-Term Investments 575 Acid-Test Ratio 633
Land 575 Cash Flow from Operations to Current Liabilities 634
Property and Equipment 575 Accounts Receivable Analysis 635
Step 4: Determine the Cash Flows from Financing Inventory Analysis 636
Activities 576 Cash Operating Cycle 636
Notes Payable 576 MODULE 3 Solvency Analysis 638
Bonds Payable 576
Debt-to-Equity Ratio 638
Capital Stock 576
Times Interest Earned 638
Retained Earnings 577 Debt Service Coverage 639
Using the Three Schedules to Prepare a Statement of Cash Flow from Operations to Capital
Cash Flows 577 Expenditures Ratio 640
MODULE 3 Preparing the Statement of MODULE 4 Profitability Analysis 641
Cash Flows Using the Indirect Method 579
Rate of Return on Assets 641
Net Income 579 Components of Return on Assets 642
Accounts Receivable 579 Return on Common Stockholders’ Equity 643
Gain on Sale of Machine 579 Return on Assets, Return on Equity, and Leverage 643
Inventory 580 Earnings per Share 644
Accounts Payable 580 Price/Earnings Ratio 645
Salaries and Wages Payable 580 Dividend Ratios 646
Depreciation Expense 580 Summary of Selected Financial Ratios 646
Prepaid Insurance 580
Income Taxes Payable 580
Loss on Retirement of Bonds 580 APPENDIX A
Summary of Adjustments to Net Income under the International Financial Reporting
Indirect Method 580 Standards A-1
Comparison of the Indirect and Direct Methods 581
MODULE 4 Cash Flow Analysis 582
APPENDIX B
Creditors and Cash Flow Adequacy 582
Excerpts from Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.
Making Business Decisions: Nordstrom 583 Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended
Stockholders and Cash Flow per Share 585 December 31, 2015 B-1
Appendix: MODULE 5 A Work Sheet Approach
to Preparing the Statement of Cash Flows 586 APPENDIX C
Excerpts from Panera Bread Company Form
CHAPTER 13 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended December 29,
Financial Statement Analysis 622 2015 C-1
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
Preface
This integrated form of notation has benefits for both students and instructors:
• It provides a clear view of how transactions affect the balance sheet.
• Its separation of balance sheet and income statement sides differentiates these two
equations and shows how the income statement elements are affected.
xi
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
xii Preface
• Its arrow format better communicates the relationship between net income and
stockholders’ equity.
• When a transaction includes a contra account, this form explains clearly the effect of
this account on the equation.
This model is extended into the end-of-chapter material and CengageNOWv2. In
CengageNOWv2, students are also expected to demonstrate that they understand the
link between transactions and financial statements—consistent with the text.
Other features throughout the book help students make the connection and see the
big picture:
• Focus on highly recognizable companies such as Chipotle, Panera Bread, Nike, and
many others draws students into the chapter.
• Financial statements and notes from Chipotle and Panera Bread allow students to
apply the accounting models they’re learning to real financial data from two compa-
nies in the same industry.
The real-world flavor that demonstrates how accounting can be used to make
decisions continues in the end-of-chapter activities. Decision Cases ask students to
read and interpret financial statements:
• Each chapter highlights a focus company and real company information is used
throughout the narrative and end-of-chapter activities to help students develop their
analytical skills.
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
Preface xiii
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
xiv Preface
The Business Decision Model moves a step beyond ratios by formulating a question
as a user of financial information, gathering and analyzing the necessary information,
making a decision, and then monitoring that decision. This framework, integrated
throughout the text, provides students with models for honing their analysis and deci-
sion-making skills using real company information in a relevant, applicable context.
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
Preface xv
• New to this edition, the unique modular organization breaks the chapter into
logical groupings of concepts, allowing students to absorb the chapter content in
smaller sections for better retention.
• Test Yourself reviews, at the end of each module, provide students with an oppor-
tunity to check their understanding, answer questions, and work brief exercises to
build confidence. Solutions to Test Yourself, located at the end of the chapter, allow
students to check their answers.
• Study Tips in the margins alert students to be on the lookout for certain things.
This could be the similarities between two different concepts or a warning to
watch out for a common pitfall.
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
Preface xvii
Students don’t want to waste time going over concepts that they have already mastered.
With the NEW Adaptive Study Plan, they can focus on learning new topics and fully
understanding difficult concepts.
NEW Adaptive Study Plan in CengageNOWv2 is an assignable/gradable study
center that adapts to each student’s unique needs and provides a remediation path-
way to keep students progressing. With the NEW Adaptive Study Plan, they can
focus on learning new topics and fully understanding difficult concepts.
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
xviii Preface
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
Preface xix
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
xx Preface
Chapter-by-Chapter Changes
Chapter 1
• Introduced modular approach to chapter topics, including Test Yourself with
Review, Question, and Apply at the end of each module.
• Introduced one of two new flagship companies, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., as the
focus company for Chapter 1.
• Revised Exhibits 1-1, 1-3, 1-7, and 1-8 to reflect new flagship company, Chipotle
Mexican Grill, Inc.
• Introduced new feature: How Will I Use Accounting?
• Revised ‘‘Connect to the Real World’’ feature (Real World Practice in prior edition)
to reflect new flagship company.
• Updated end-of-chapter material: E1-9, E1-16, P1-8, P1-9, P1-8A, and P1-9A.
• Revised DC1-1 and DC1-2 to reflect new flagship company, Chipotle Mexican
Grill, Inc.
• Revised DC1-3 to reflect new flagship companies, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., and
Panera Bread Company.
• Added Answers to ‘‘Questions’’ and ‘‘Apply’’ at the end of the chapter for all modules.
• Added Answers to ‘‘Connect to the Real World’’ at the end of the chapter.
Chapter 2
• Introduced modular approach to chapter topics, including Test Yourself with
Review, Question, and Apply at the end of each module.
• Introduced one of two new flagship companies, Panera Bread Company, as the
focus company for Chapter 2.
• Introduced new feature: How Will I Use Accounting?
• Revised Exhibits 2-1, 2-2, and 2-3 to reflect new flagship company, Panera Bread
Company.
• Revised ‘‘Connect to the Real World’’ feature (Real World Practice in prior edition)
to reflect new flagship company.
• Revised Ratio Decision and Business Decision Models for the Current Ratio to
reflect new flagship company.
• Revised Ratio Decision Model for the Profit Margin Ratio to reflect new flagship
company.
• Revised Exercise 2-3 to reflect Regal Entertainment Group.
• Updated end-of-chapter material: P2-10 and P2-10A.
• Revised DC2-1 to reflect new flagship companies, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., and
Panera Bread Company.
• Revised DC2-2 to reflect new flagship company, Panera Bread Company.
• Added Answers to ‘‘Questions’’ and ‘‘Apply’’ at the end of the chapter for all modules.
• Added Answers to ‘‘Connect to the Real World’’ at the end of the chapter.
Chapter 3
• Introduced modular approach to chapter topics, including Test Yourself with
Review, Question, and Apply at the end of each module.
• Introduced Vail Resorts, Inc., as the new focus company for Chapter 3.
• Revised ‘‘Connect to the Real World’’ feature (Real World Practice in prior edition)
to reflect new focus company, Vail Resorts, Inc.
• Revised E3-8 and E3-17 to reflect new focus company, Vail Resorts, Inc.
• Revised DC3-1 to reflect new flagship companies, Chipotle Mexican Grill and
Panera Bread Company.
• Revised DC3-2 to reflect new flagship company, Panera Bread Company.
• Updated end-of-chapter material: DC3-3.
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
Preface xxi
• Added Answers to ‘‘Questions’’ and ‘‘Apply’’ at the end of the chapter for all modules.
• Added Answers to ‘‘Connect to the Real World’’ at the end of the chapter.
Chapter 4
• Introduced modular approach to chapter topics, including Test Yourself with
Review, Question, and Apply at the end of each module.
• Updated the chapter opener with the most current information available and replaced
the financial statements from Nordstrom as the focus company for Chapter 4.
• Introduced new feature: How Will I Use Accounting?
• Revised section on the revenue recognition principle to conform to new accounting
standard.
• Updated ‘‘Connect to the Real World’’ (Real World Practice in prior edition) for
new information for Nordstrom, Inc.
• Updated end-of-chapter material: DC4-2 and DC4-3.
• Revised DC4-1 to reflect new flagship companies, Chipotle Mexican Grill and
Panera Bread Company.
• Added Answers to ‘‘Questions’’ and ‘‘Apply’’ at the end of the chapter for all modules.
• Added Answers to ‘‘Connect to the Real World’’ at the end of the chapter.
Chapter 5
• Introduced modular approach to chapter topics, including Test Yourself with
Review, Question, and Apply at the end of each module.
• Updated the chapter opener with the most current information available and replaced
the financial statements from Gap Inc. as the focus company for Chapter 5.
• Introduced new feature: How Will I Use Accounting?
• Revised Net Sales of Merchandise section to conform to new FASB standard on rev-
enue recognition, ‘‘Revenue from Contracts with Customers.’’
• Revised coverage of purchase returns and allowances to conform to coverage of sales
returns and allowances.
• Revised coverage of purchase discounts to illustrate the net method of recording.
• Updated Example 5-14 for Winnebago Industries’ LIFO reserve.
• Revised Exhibit 5-9, substituting a partial statement of cash flows for Chipotle Mex-
ican Grill, Inc.
• Updated ‘‘Connect to the Real World’’ (Real World Practice in prior edition) for
new information for Gap Inc.
• Updated Ratio Model for the Gross Profit Ratio for new information available.
• Updated Ratio Model for the Inventory Turnover Ratio for new information available.
• Deleted Exercise requiring detailed analysis for purchase discounts, returns, and
allowances.
• Updated end-of-chapter material: E5-15, P5-2, P5-5, P5-8, P5-14, P5-2A, P5-5A,
P5-8A, P5-14A, DC5-2, and DC5-3.
• Revised DC5-1 to reflect new flagship companies, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. and
Panera Bread Company.
• Deleted Decision Case on sales returns and allowances.
• Revised DC5-9 to integrate the concept of ethics in accounting with the practice of
modeling ethical decision making.
• Added Answers to ‘‘Questions’’ and ‘‘Apply’’ at the end of the chapter for all modules.
• Added Answers to ‘‘Connect to the Real World’’ at the end of the chapter.
Chapter 6
• Introduced modular approach to chapter topics, including Test Yourself with
Review, Question, and Apply at the end of each module.
• Introduced Regal Entertainment Group as the new focus company for Chapter 6.
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
xxii Preface
• Updated ‘‘Connect to the Real World’’ (Real World Practice in prior edition) for
new flagship company, Panera Bread Company.
• Revised Exhibits 6-1, 6-3, and 6-4 to illustrate statements and reports for new focus
company, Regal Entertainment Group.
• Revised DC6-1 to reflect new flagship companies, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., and
Panera Bread Company.
• Updated end-of-chapter material: DC6-2.
• Added Answers to ‘‘Questions’’ and ‘‘Apply’’ at the end of the chapter for all
modules.
• Added Answers to ‘‘Connect to the Real World’’ at the end of the chapter.
Chapter 7
• Introduced modular approach to chapter topics, including Test Yourself with
Review, Question, and Apply at the end of each module.
• Updated the chapter opener with the most current information available and replaced
the financial statements from Apple Inc. as the focus company for Chapter 7.
• Introduced new feature: How Will I Use Accounting?
• Updated ‘‘Connect to the Real World’’ (Real World Practice in prior edition) for
new information for Apple Inc.
• Updated Ratio Decision Model for the Accounts Receivable Turnover Ratio with
new information available.
• Revised E7-5 to reflect Nike.
• Updated end-of-chapter material: P7-3, P7-3A, DC7-1, DC7-2, and DC7-3.
• Added Answers to ‘‘Questions’’ and ‘‘Apply’’ at the end of the chapter for all
modules.
• Added Answers to ‘‘Connect to the Real World’’ at the end of the chapter.
Chapter 8
• Introduced modular approach to chapter topics, including Test Yourself with
Review, Question, and Apply at the end of each module.
• Updated the chapter opener with the most current information available and
replaced the financial statements from Nike as the focus company for Chapter 8.
• Introduced new feature: How Will I Use Accounting?
• Updated Ratio Decision Model with new information for Nike and Foot Locker.
• Updated end-of-chapter material: DC8-1 features Panera Bread Company, and
DC8-2 reflects Panera Bread Company and Chipotle.
• Added Answers to ‘‘Questions’’ and ‘‘Apply’’ at the end of the chapter for all
modules.
• Added Answers to ‘‘Connect to the Real World’’ at the end of the chapter.
Chapter 9
• Introduced modular approach to chapter topics, including Test Yourself with
Review, Question, and Apply at the end of each module.
• Updated the chapter opener with the most current information available and replaced
the financial statements from Starbucks as the focus company for Chapter 9.
• Introduced new feature: How Will I Use Accounting?
• Changed Exhibit 9-4 concerning contingent liabilities.
• Updated P9-2 for Burger King, P9-3 for Brinker, P9-2A for McDonald’s, and
P9-3A for Darden Restaurants.
• Changed DC9-1 to Panera Bread Company and Chipotle.
• Updated DC9-2 for Caribou Coffee, DC9-3 for Walmart, and DC9-4 for
Hewlett-Packard.
• Added Answers to ‘‘Questions’’ and ‘‘Apply’’ at the end of the chapter for all modules.
• Added Answers to ‘‘Connect to the Real World’’ at the end of the chapter.
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
Preface xxiii
Chapter 10
• Introduced modular approach to chapter topics, including Test Yourself with
Review, Question, and Apply at the end of each module.
• Updated the chapter opener with the most current information available and replaced the
financial statements from Coca-Cola and Pepsi as the focus companies for Chapter 10.
• Updated Ratio Decision Model with new information for Coca-Cola and Pepsi.
• Eliminated references to extraordinary items because of FASB pronouncement.
• Updated P10-9 on Walgreens and P10-9A on Boeing.
• Retained the section on leasing but noted pending FASB pronouncement. This module
can be skipped by instructors and it will not affect other portions of the chapter.
• DC10-1 features Panera Bread Company, and DC10-2 reflects Panera Bread Com-
pany and Chipotle. DC10-3 has been updated for Pepsi.
• Added Answers to ‘‘Questions’’ and ‘‘Apply’’ at the end of the chapter for all modules.
• Added Answers to ‘‘Connect to the Real World’’ at the end of the chapter.
Chapter 11
• Introduced modular approach to chapter topics, including Test Yourself with
Review, Question, and Apply at the end of each module.
• Updated the chapter opener with the most current information available and replaced
the financial statements from Southwest Airlines as the focus company for Chapter 11.
• Introduced new feature: How Will I Use Accounting?
• Updated end-of-chapter material: P11-7 for Southwest Airlines and P11-7A for Costco.
• DC11-1 features Panera Bread Company and Chipotle, and DC11-2 highlights
Panera Bread Company.
• Made substantial changes to Interactive Problem to eliminate leasing as one of the
alternatives. Problem is now more straigtforward.
• Added Answers to ‘‘Questions’’ and ‘‘Apply’’ at the end of the chapter for all modules.
• Added Answers to ‘‘Connect to the Real World’’ at the end of the chapter.
Chapter 12
• Introduced modular approach to chapter topics, including Test Yourself with
Review, Question, and Apply at the end of each module.
• Updated the chapter opener with the most current information available and replaced
the financial statements of the focus company for Chapter 12.
• Deleted exhibit detailing cash flow and net income differences for four companies.
• Updated ‘‘Connect to the Real World’’ (Real World Practice in prior edition) for
new flagship company Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., and for new information for
Walgreens Boots Alliance.
• Updated Ratio Decision Model for the Cash Flow Adequacy Ratio with new
information available.
• Updated end-of-chapter material: E12-4, DC12-2, and DC12-3.
• Revised DC12-1 to reflect new flagship companies, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.,
and Panera Bread Company.
• Added Answers to ‘‘Questions’’ and ‘‘Apply’’ at the end of the chapter for all modules.
• Added Answers to ‘‘Connect to the Real World’’ at the end of the chapter.
Chapter 13
• Introduced modular approach to chapter topics, including Test Yourself with
Review, Question, and Apply at the end of each module.
• Updated the chapter opener with the most current information available and
replaced the financial statements from lululemon athletica inc. as the focus
company for Chapter 13.
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
xxiv Preface
• Updated Exhibit 13-1, with the most current information available for lululemon
athletica inc.
• Updated ‘‘Connect to the Real World’’ (Real World Practice in prior edition) for
new information for lululemon athletica inc. and for new flagship company Chipotle
Mexican Grill, Inc.
• Deleted Appendix on Reporting and Analyzing Other Income Statement Items and
end-of-chapter material to conform to new accounting standard to no longer allow
recognition of extraordinary items on the income statement.
• Updated Review Problem for the most current information available for lululemon
athletica inc.
• Updated end-of-chapter material: E13-5, E13-6, E13-7, E13-8, and E13-11.
• Revised DC13-1 and DC13-2 to reflect new flagship company, Chipotle Mexican
Grill, Inc.
• Revised DC13-3 to reflect new flagship companies, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.,
and Panera Bread Company.
• Revised DC13-4 to reflect new flagship company, Panera Bread Company.
• Added Answers to ‘‘Questions’’ and ‘‘Apply’’ at the end of the chapter for all modules.
• Added Answers to ‘‘Connect to the Real World’’ at the end of the chapter.
Solutions Manual
The Solutions Manual, by the text authors, consists of solutions to all the end-of-chapter
material keyed to learning objectives and using the transaction effects equation found in
the text. (Available on the Instructor Companion website.)
Test Bank
The Test Bank contains a comprehensive set of test items to meet every assessment need
from brief exercises to problems and decision cases. The Test Bank is offered in Cognero.
Cengage Learning Testing Powered by Cognero is a flexible, online system that
allows instructors to:
• author, edit, and manage test bank content from multiple Cengage Learning solutions
• create multiple test versions in an instant
• deliver tests from your LMS, your classroom, or wherever you want
Excel¤ Templates
Selected problems in each chapter may be solved on a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet to
increase awareness of basic software applications. Just download the Excel spreadsheets
for homework items that are identified by icons in the text. (Excel templates are available
on the Student Resources page of the product website. Password-protected Instructor
solutions are available on the Instructor Companion website.)
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
Preface xxv
PowerPoint¤ Slides
Student PowerPoint Slides, a smaller version of the Instructor PowerPoint Lectures,
allow students to get ready for upcoming lectures, quizzes, homework, and exams with
core material needed for chapter study. (Student PowerPoint Slides are available on the
Student Resources page of the product website. More detailed, password-protected
Instructor PowerPoint Slides are available on the Instructor Companion website.)
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
xxvi Preface
Acknowledgments
Among those who have served as reviewers for this text are the following, to whom we are grateful for their insights:
Throughout previous editions, many other individuals have contributed helpful suggestions that have resulted in many
positive changes. Although they are not cited here, we remain grateful for their assistance.
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
Preface xxvii
We also wish to thank Domenic Tavella, Carlow University. His help with supplements and verification aided us greatly.
We are grateful to Cenveo Publisher Services for their invaluable production assistance. Finally, we are grateful to the editorial,
marketing, media, and production staffs at Cengage Learning, primarily Matt Filimonov, Danny Celenza, Jonathan Gross,
Andrea Meyer, Robin LeFevre, Sally Nieman, and Tim Bailey for their extensive help with the tenth edition and its
supplements.
Gary A. Porter
Curtis L. Norton
September 2016
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
About the Authors
xxviii
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
10e
Using Financial
Accounting Information
THE ALTERNATIVE TO
DEBITS AND CREDITS
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
1 Accounting
as a Form of
Communication
Accounting • You need to know how revenue and net income relate to a
and Financial LO5 Explain the purpose of each of the financial state- company’s assets. (See pp. 12–13.)
Statements ments and the relationships among them and
prepare a set of simple statements. • You need to know where the various items appear on a
company’s financial statements. (See pp. 12–15.)
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
MAKING BUSINESS DECISIONS
Revenue
Year ended December 31, % increase
(decrease) % increase
2015 over 2014 over
2015 2014 2013 2014 2013
(dollars in millions)
Revenue $4,501.2 $4,108.3 $3,214.6 9.6% 27.8%
Average restaurant sales $ 2.424 $ 2.472 $ 2.169 (1.9%) 14.0%
Comparable restaurant sales increases 0.2% 16.8% 5.6%
Number of restaurants as of the end of the period 2,010 1,783 1,595 12.7% 11.8%
Number of restaurants opened in the period, net of relocations 227 188 185
Source: Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.: website and Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2015.
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
4 Chapter 1 Accounting as a Form of Communication
Supplier:
Daisy’s Dairy
milk
Product
Companies
cheddar cheddar
cheese cheese
Forms of Organization
One convenient way to categorize the many different types of organizations in our society
LO2 Distinguish among the forms
of organization. is to distinguish between those that are organized to earn money and those that exist for
some other purpose. Although the lines can become blurred, business entities such as
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
Module 1 The Nature of Business 5
Chipotle generally are organized to earn a profit, whereas nonbusiness entities generally
exist to serve various segments of society. Both types are summarized in Exhibit 1-2.
Business Entities
Business entities are organized to earn a profit. Legally, a profit-oriented company is Business entity
one of three types: a sole proprietorship, a partnership, or a corporation. An organization operated to earn a
profit.
Sole Proprietorships This form of organization is characterized by a single
owner. Many small businesses are organized as sole proprietorships, often owned and Sole proprietorship
operated by the same person. Because of the close relationship between the owner and A form of organization with a single
the business, the affairs of the two must be kept separate. This is one example in owner.
accounting of the economic entity concept, which requires that a single, identifiable Economic entity concept
unit of organization be accounted for in all situations. For example, assume that Bernie The assumption that a single,
Berg owns a neighborhood grocery store. In paying monthly bills such as utilities and identifiable unit must be accounted
for in all situations.
supplies, Bernie must separate his personal costs from the costs associated with the gro-
cery business. In turn, financial statements prepared for the business must not intermin-
gle Bernie’s personal affairs with the company affairs.
Unlike the distinction made for accounting purposes between an individual’s per-
sonal and business affairs, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) does not recognize the
separate existence of a proprietorship from its owner. That is, a sole proprietorship is not
a taxable entity; the business’s profits are taxed on the individual’s return.
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
6 Chapter 1 Accounting as a Form of Communication
Nonbusiness Entities
Nonbusiness entity Most nonbusiness entities are organized to serve the needs of various segments of
An organization operated for some society. For example, a hospital provides health care to its patients. A municipal govern-
purpose other than to earn a profit. ment is operated for the benefit of its citizens. A local school district meets the educa-
tional needs of the community’s youth.
None of these entities has an identifiable owner. The lack of an identifiable owner
and of the profit motive changes the type of accounting used by nonbusiness entities.
This type, called fund accounting, is discussed in advanced accounting courses. Regard-
less of the lack of a profit motive in nonbusiness entities, they still need the information
provided by an accounting system. For example, a local government needs detailed cost
breakdowns in order to levy taxes. A hospital may want to borrow money and will need
financial statements to present to the prospective lender.
Financing Activities
All businesses must start with financing. Steve Ells needed money in the 1990s to
open his first Chipotle restaurant, so he went to his parents for a modest loan. The com-
pany needed additional financing later and thus made the decision in 2006 to sell stock
to the public. Most companies not only sell stock to raise money but also borrow from
various sources to finance their operations. These financing activities bring up two im-
portant accounting terms: liabilities and capital stock.
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
Module 1 The Nature of Business 7
Capital stock is the term used by accountants to indicate the dollar amount of Capital stock
stock sold to the public. Capital stock differs from liabilities in one very important respect. Indicates the owners’ contributions
Those who buy stock in a corporation are not lending money to the business, as are those to a corporation.
who buy bonds in the company or make a loan in some other form. One who buys stock in a
company is called a stockholder, and that person is providing a permanent form of financing Stockholder
to the business. In other words, there is no due date when the stockholder must be repaid. One of the owners of a corporation.
Normally, the only way for a stockholder to get back his or her original investment from buying Alternate term: Shareholder.
stock is to sell it to someone else. One who buys bonds in a company or in some other way
makes a loan to it is called a creditor. A creditor does not provide a permanent form of fi- Creditor
nancing to the business. That is, the creditor expects repayment of the amount loaned and, in Someone to whom a company or
many instances, payment of interest for the use of the money. person has a debt.
Alternate term: Lender.
Investing Activities
Once funds are generated from creditors and stockholders, money is available to invest
in assets. An asset is a future economic benefit to a business. For example, cash is an Asset
asset to a company. To Chipotle, its restaurants are assets, as is its inventory of ingre- A future economic benefit.
dients on hand for use in making menu items. However, not all assets are tangible in na-
ture, as are buildings, equipment, and inventory.
Notice the tie between assets and liabilities. Although there are some exceptions,
most liabilities are settled by transferring assets. The asset most often used to settle a
liability is cash.
Operating Activities
Once funds are obtained from financing activities and investments are made in
productive assets, a business is ready to begin operations. Every business is organized
with a purpose in mind. The purpose of some businesses, such as Chipotle, is to sell a
product. Other companies provide services. Service-oriented businesses are becoming an
increasingly important sector of the U.S. economy. Some of the largest corporations in
this country, such as banks and airlines, sell services rather than products.
Revenue is the inflow of assets resulting from the sale of products and services. Revenue
When a company makes a cash sale, the asset it receives is cash. When a sale is made on An inflow of assets resulting from
credit, the asset received is an account receivable. Revenue represents the dollar amount the sale of goods and services.
of sales of products and services for a specific period of time.
An expense is the outflow of assets resulting from the sale of goods and services. Expense
Expenses must be incurred to operate a business. An outflow of assets resulting from
the sale of goods and services.
• Chipotle must pay its employees salaries and wages.
• Suppliers must be paid for purchases of inventory, and the utility company has to be
paid for heat and electricity.
• The government must be paid the taxes owed it.
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
8 Chapter 1 Accounting as a Form of Communication
Financing
Activities
Raising money to
start the business
• Business consists of all activities necessary to provide members of an economic system with
LO1 Explain what business is goods and services. Suppliers, manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers are examples of
about. product companies.
• Some entities are organized to earn a profit, while others are organized to serve various seg-
LO2 Distinguish among the ments of society.
forms of organization.
• The three forms of business entities are sole proprietorships, partnerships, and corporations.
Review • All business activities can be categorized as operating, investing, or financing activities.
• Financing activities involve raising money from contributions made by the owners of a busi-
ness as well as obtaining loans from outsiders.
LO3 Describe the various
types of business activities. • Companies invest the amounts raised from financing activities in various types of assets,
such as inventories, buildings, and equipment.
• Once funds are obtained and investments are made in productive assets, a business can
begin operations. Operating activities involve providing goods and services to customers.
4. Business entities are organized as one of three distinct forms. What are these three forms?
1. What does it mean when you own a share of stock in a company rather than one of its bonds?
2. Consider your own situation in terms of assets and liabilities. Name three of your financial assets. Name three of your financial
liabilities.
Apply
3. What are the three distinct types of business activity in which companies engage? Assume that you start your own company to
rent bicycles in the summer and skis in the winter. Give an example of at least one of each of the three types of business
activities in which you would engage.
1
American Accounting Association, A Statement of Basic Accounting Theory (Evanston, Ill.: American Accounting Asso-
ciation, 1966), p. 1.
2
Technically, stockholders are insiders because they own stock in the business. In most large corporations, however, it
is not practical for stockholders to be involved in the daily affairs of the business. Thus, they are better categorized here
as external users because they normally rely on general-purpose financial statements, as do creditors.
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
10 Chapter 1 Accounting as a Form of Communication
individuals and corporations. Every year, a company prepares a tax return to report to the
IRS the amount of income it earned. Another government agency, the Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC), was created in the aftermath of the Great Depression. This
regulatory agency sets the rules under which financial statements must be prepared for cor-
porations that sell their stock to the public on organized stock exchanges. Companies oper-
ating in specialized industries submit financial reports to other regulatory agencies such as
the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
Increasingly, global companies must consider the reporting requirements in foreign
countries where they operate. For example, a company might be listed on a stock
exchange in the United States as well as in Tokyo or London. Additionally, companies
often need to file tax returns in other countries.
Other External Users Many other individuals and groups rely on financial informa-
tion. A supplier of raw material needs to know the creditworthiness of a company before
selling it a product on credit. To promote its industry, a trade association must gather fi-
nancial information on the various companies in the industry. Other important users are
stockbrokers and financial analysts. They use financial reports in advising their clients on
investment decisions. All of these users rely to a large extent on accounting information
provided by management. Exhibit 1-4 summarizes the various users of financial informa-
tion and the types of decisions they must make.
Internal Management Should we add another restaurant to our chain? How much will it cost to build the restaurant?
External Stockholder Should I buy shares of Chipotle’s stock? How much did the company earn last year?
Banker Should I lend money to Chipotle? What debts or liabilities does the company have?
Employee Should I ask for a raise? How much are the company’s revenues, and
how much is it paying out in salaries and
wages? Is the compensation it is paying
reasonable compared to its revenues?
Supplier Should I allow Chipotle to buy What is the current amount of the company’s
chicken from me and pay me later? accounts payable?
Use the following decision process to help you make an investment decision about
Chipotle or any other public company.
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
12 Chapter 1 Accounting as a Form of Communication
The term stockholders’ equity, or shareholders’ equity, is used to refer to the owners’ eq-
Stockholders’ equity uity of a corporation. Stockholders’ equity is the difference between a corporation’s
The owners’ equity in a corporation. assets and its obligations, or liabilities. That is, after the amounts owed to bondhold-
Alternate term: shareholders’ equity. ers, banks, suppliers, and other creditors are subtracted from the assets, the amount
remaining is the stockholders’ equity, the amount of interest or claim that the owners
have on the assets of the business.
Stockholders’ equity arises in two distinct ways.
1. It is created when a company issues stock to an investor. It represents the amounts
contributed by the owners to the company.
2. As owners of shares in a corporation, stockholders have a claim on the assets of a
Retained earnings business when it is profitable. Retained earnings represents the owners’ claims
The part of stockholders’ equity that to the company’s assets that result from its earnings that have not been paid
represents the income earned less out in dividends. It is the earnings accumulated or retained by the company.
dividends paid over the life of an
entity.
The Balance Sheet
Balance sheet The balance sheet (sometimes called the statement of financial position) is the fi-
The financial statement that nancial statement that summarizes the assets, liabilities, and owners’ equity of a
summarizes the assets, liabilities, company. It is a snapshot of the business at a certain date. A balance sheet can be pre-
and owners’ equity at a specific
point in time. pared on any day of the year, although it is most commonly prepared on the last day of a
Alternate term: Statement of
month, quarter, or year. At any point in time, the balance sheet must be ‘‘in balance.’’
financial position. That is, assets must equal liabilities and owners’ equity.
The financial statements for real companies can be quite complex. Therefore, before
we attempt to read Chipotle’s statements, we will start with a hypothetical company.
Two items should be noted in the heading of the statement. First, the company chose a date other than December 31, the calendar
year-end, to finish its accounting, or fiscal, year. Although December 31 is the most common year-end, some companies choose a dif-
ferent year-end date. Often, this choice is based on when a company’s peak selling season is over. For example, Gap Inc. ends its
accounting year on the Saturday closest to January 31, after the busy holiday season. By June 30, Top of the World’s ski season has
ended and the company can devote its attention to preparing its financial statements. The second item to note in the heading of the
statement is the last line: ‘‘in thousands of dollars.’’ This means, for example, that rather than cash being $200, the amount is actually
1,000 $200, or $200,000.
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
Module 2 Accounting and Financial Statements 13
Exhibit 1-5 summarizes the relationship between the accounting equation and the
items that appear on a balance sheet.
Terminology Note: Exhibit 1-5 refers to Owners’ Equity, while Example 1-4 refers to
Income statement
Stockholders’ Equity. Owners’ equity is the general term by which we refer to ownership. A statement that summarizes
“Stockholders’ equity” refers only to ownership of a corporation by shareholders. revenues and expenses.
Because we emphasize corporations in this book, we will use the term Alternate term: Statement of
Stockholders’ equity. income.
Net income
The Income Statement The excess of revenues over
An income statement, or statement of income, summarizes the revenues and expenses.
expenses of a company for a period of time. Alternate term: Profits, earnings.
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
14 Chapter 1 Accounting as a Form of Communication
Recall that stockholders’ equity consists of two parts: capital stock and retained earnings.
In lieu of a separate statement of retained earnings, many corporations prepare a comprehen-
sive statement to explain the changes both in the various capital stock accounts and in
retained earnings during the period. Chipotle for example, presents the more comprehensive
statement.
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
Module 2 Accounting and Financial Statements 15
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
16 Chapter 1 Accounting as a Form of Communication
Assets:
Cash $ 200 $0
Accounts receivable 600 0
Land 4,000 0
Lodge, lifts, and equipment 2,500 0
Total assets $7,300 $0
Liabilities $4,100 $0
Capital stock 2,000 0
Retained earnings 1,200 0
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity $7,300 $0
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
threatened with the evils of foreign invasion. A Saracen fleet, well
manned and equipped, descended upon the defenceless Spanish
coast, ravaged the fields, plundered the villages, and carried the
inhabitants into captivity. To provide against this new danger a naval
expedition was fitted out, and entrusted to the command of
Theodomir, an officer of approved experience, and a noble of the
highest rank. Setting sail, the Gothic admiral lost no time in
encountering the hostile fleet. A bloody engagement took place; two
hundred of the enemy’s vessels were destroyed or taken; and the
embryotic maritime power of the Moslems was swept from the seas.
In the following year a war with the Franks, the cause of which is
unknown, was carried on for several months with the indecisive
results characteristic of the operations of desultory warfare. Egiza,
being advanced in years and conscious of his infirmities, was
desirous of associating his son Witiza with him in the administration,
and of securing to him the succession at his decease. A council
having been convoked for this purpose, his wishes were realized
without opposition, and Witiza was raised to the regal dignity. The
following year the old King died, leaving to his young and
inexperienced successor the sole responsibility of government, and
a series of difficulties and embarrassments such as no other
monarch of his time had hitherto been forced to contend with, and
which involved both the stability of the Visigothic empire and the
preservation of the Christian faith. The accession of Witiza promised
a happy and prosperous future to the country afflicted with so many
calamities. His youth had been distinguished by the practice of the
virtues of temperance, generosity, justice, and filial reverence. As
soon as he attained to absolute power, he evinced a disposition to
win the attachment of the people by making amends for the
pecuniary exactions and oppressive laws which had been imposed
by the avarice and extortions of his family. A general amnesty was
proclaimed. The forged documents by which the wealthy had been
plundered were destroyed. All taxes, except such as were absolutely
necessary to the support of the government, were remitted. Great
numbers of exiles were invited to return, and their possessions were
surrendered. The Jews were restored to partial favor; but, as the
popular prejudice was still bitter and universal, a politic appearance
of severity was maintained, which, however, it was evident would be
entirely removed in time. Under such favorable auspices began the
reign of Witiza, whose magnanimity, tact, and affable demeanor had
already won the hearts of his subjects. The opinion of the latter was
at first confirmed by the mild disposition and virtuous behavior of
their youthful sovereign. But this fair promise of future greatness was
fallacious, for Witiza soon plunged into excesses which awakened
the horror of his subjects, and provoked the censures of the clergy,
ever disposed to be lenient towards such transgressions except
when they threatened their influence or their revenues. The whole
court was soon abandoned to indiscriminate licentiousness. Not only
was the violation of the most sacred traditions of the Church
permitted, but polygamy and concubinage were openly encouraged
by sacerdotal authority and example. The pious instructors of the
people were the first to improve the opportunities afforded by these
impolitic enactments, and the feelings of the devout were outraged
by excesses which did not respect even the sacred precincts of the
altar and the confessional. No scandals, however, aroused such
indignation as the indulgence which was manifested towards the
Jews. Every ecclesiastic, especially, considered any moderation of
the condition of this down-trodden race an affront to his order, and a
crime worse than sacrilege. Enraged by the contempt with which
Witiza treated their remonstrances, the clergy lost no occasion of
increasing the prevailing discontent, and, with a view to
strengthening their position by enlisting the aid of the Holy See, they
secretly despatched an embassy to Rome. The ire of the Pope was
excited by the representations of the envoys of the Spanish Church,
whose prelates, though not acknowledging his supreme jurisdiction,
did not disdain to solicit his intervention as an affair which seemed to
involve the interests of Christendom. Elated by the hope of
establishing his authority in the Peninsula, the Holy Father
Constantine, without delay, sent a message to the recalcitrant
monarch threatening him with the loss of his kingdom, unless he at
once revoked the offensive edicts and permitted the unrestricted
persecution of the Jews. To this Witiza retorted with contempt that if
the Pope did not cease intermeddling with what did not concern him,
he would drive him from the Vatican; and he forthwith published an
edict that no attention should be paid to the mandates of the Papacy
under penalty of death. These proceedings further embittered the
prejudices of both the clergy and the people, and the popular clamor
became so loud that Witiza began to tremble for both his crown and
his life. Agitated by his fears, and resolved to afford as little
encouragement as possible to any treasonable undertaking, he
dismantled the principal fortresses, and razed the walls of every city
in the kingdom, excepting those of Toledo, Astorga, and Lugo; an act
of folly which not only failed of its object, but in the end directly
contributed to the overthrow of the monarchy. The Jews, on the other
hand, now placed in positions of profit and responsibility, far from
appreciating the honors with which they were invested and the
confidence which was reposed in them, with characteristic treachery
and ingratitude, availed themselves of their power for the destruction
of their royal benefactor. Aided by their intrigues, a formidable
conspiracy broke out. The majority of the clergy and a considerable
body of the nobles joined the insurgents; a rival king was elected;
and, after a short conflict, Witiza was deposed and probably
murdered, for history has preserved no record of his fate.
The new monarch, Roderick, although he had reached the great
age of eighty-two years, retained, in an unusual degree, the strength
and activity of early manhood. His life had been passed amidst the
athletic pastimes which exercised the leisure of the Gothic youth,
and, in occasional expeditions undertaken against the hardy
mountaineers of Galicia and Biscay, he had earned a well-merited
reputation for courage and military skill. Although not of royal blood,
his natural endowments, the dignity of his carriage, the apparent but
deceptive austerity of his manners, and the mildness of his temper,
gained for him the respect of all who were admitted to his presence.
In the elegant luxury of his palace, in the splendor of his retinue, in
the majestic pomp which distinguished every public ceremony over
which he presided, he far surpassed his predecessors, and
emulated, with no little success, the magnificence of the Roman
court in the age of imperial decadence.
The intriguing spirit which animated the subjects of a monarchy
essentially elective, but one where courtesy and real or apparent
merit occasionally made an exception in favor of hereditary descent,
had established, among the Visigoths, the custom of retaining near
the throne the children of powerful families; nominally for purposes of
education, but in fact to insure the fidelity of their relatives often
entrusted with the custody of frontier strongholds or important
military commands. The sons, until they attained to manhood, served
as pages in the royal household, and were trained in all the manly
and martial exercises of the time. The attendants of the queens were
recruited from the noble maidens, whom this prudent custom placed
and retained in the precincts of the court, and who were carefully
instructed in the few but graceful accomplishments indispensable to
the position of ladies of distinguished lineage. Among the latter, at
the court of Roderick, was the daughter of Count Julian, formerly a
vassal of the Byzantine Empire, and the commandant of the fortress
of Ceuta; whom political necessity, the isolation consequent upon the
subjugation of every Greek settlement in Africa, and the rapidly
increasing power of the Moors, had compelled to appeal to the
nearest Christian monarch for protection, and to transfer his
allegiance to the court of Toledo. This girl, who was of great beauty,
excited the licentious desires of the King, who, failing to accomplish
his object by fair means, in an evil hour resorted to force. Informed of
the injury which had been inflicted upon his family, Count Julian,
braving without hesitation the storms of winter, hastened to the
capital. Dissembling, with true Greek astuteness, his outraged
feelings, he asked permission to remove his daughter to the bedside
of her mother whom he represented as being dangerously ill.
Without any misgivings Roderick granted the request, and,
manifesting every appearance of respect and loyalty, the veteran
officer left the court and retraced his steps. No sooner had he arrived
at his post, than he began to carry out the plan of vengeance which
he had already fully matured. The castle of Ceuta was the key of
Europe. Impregnable to all the resources of military engineering in
an age when gunpowder was unknown, its value as an obstacle to
foreign invasion was not understood by the Visigoths. The immunity
of centuries; the contempt for barbarians; the ignorance of the
mighty and unexampled power of Islam; the inertia produced partly
by the influence of climate, but principally by an abuse of all the
pleasures of unbridled luxury, had disposed the sovereigns of Toledo
to consider their kingdom inaccessible to attack, and their empire
eternal. As has already been mentioned, this haughty and corrupt
nation was constantly agitated and its integrity menaced by a score
of discordant factions. Its recent monarchs had bent all their
energies to the abrogation of the statesmanlike measures
inaugurated by their forefathers. The nobles and the clergy, inflamed
with mutual animosity, suspicious of their partisans, and arrayed
against each other, were engaged in a mortal struggle for superiority.
The Jews, indulged and persecuted by turns, lived in a continual
state of apprehension and despair. All the salutary restraints of
religion were apparently removed; the Church was regarded as a
convenient instrument for the attainment of political power; the
priesthood were devoted to the practice of nameless vices; the
people to indiscriminate libertinage. A large body of slaves, who,
under the lash of brutal masters, still preserved the traditions of
liberty, were ripe for revolt, and longed for the day of their
deliverance. A disastrous famine, followed by its usual successor the
pestilence, and whose effects were still apparent in untilled fields
and deserted hamlets, had contributed to increase the popular
suffering and discontent. Fortified on one side against the incursions
of the Franks by the natural rampart of the Pyrenees, and isolated on
the others by the Mediterranean and the ocean, the inhabitants of
the Peninsula, in the enjoyment of a salubrious climate and fruitful
soil, rested in fancied security, and had long since laid aside the
armor whose weight had become oppressive, and abandoned those
warlike exercises whose preservation was their only safeguard.
Incited by a spirit of desperation which considered neither the
consequences of his acts nor the means by which they were to be
accomplished, Count Julian sought the presence of Musa. He found
the Moslem general at Kairoan, which had been selected as the seat
of the viceregal government of Western Africa. The intrepid
character of his visitor was not unknown to the great Arab soldier
whose designs upon Ceuta had been twice frustrated, by the valiant
Greek, after the employment of all the resources at the command of
the Khalif, and Count Julian was received with every token of honor
and respect. Unfolding his project, he descanted long and earnestly
upon the riches of the Gothic monarchy and the facility of its
conquest. He explained the feuds and bitter feelings engendered by
disappointed ambition, by religious persecution, by the seizure of
hereditary estates, by the sufferings of wounded pride. He expatiated
on the sense of injury experienced by the advocates of hereditary
descent, who considered the reigning monarch of foreign lineage
and inferior rank that had justly incurred the odium of usurpation. He
portrayed in glowing terms the innumerable attractions of the
country, its productive valleys, its crystal streams, the medicinal
value of its herbs and plants to which magical virtues were attributed
by popular report, its mines, its fisheries, the precious spoil which
awaited the hand of the invader, the transcendent beauty of its
women. He described the effeminate character of the inhabitants,
enervated by idleness, luxury, and sensual indulgence. Much of this
information was already familiar to Musa, but hitherto the impassable
barrier of the fortress defended by the stubborn courage of the
governor of Ceuta had checked the aspirations of the Moslem
commander; nor had it been possible to even confirm the accuracy
of the wonderful tales which had been related concerning Ghezirah-
al-Andalus, or the Vandal Peninsula, as Spain was known to the
Arabs.
Thoroughly appreciating the importance of the proposal, the
magnitude of the interests involved, and the uncertainty which would
attend the issue of the expedition, and, at the same time, distrusting
the good faith of the Goth, Musa determined to obtain the consent of
the Khalif before returning a definite answer. Despatches, with
complete information, were accordingly sent to Damascus. The reply
of Al-Walid, who then occupied the throne of the khalifate, was
favorable; but he strongly advised the exercise of caution, a
recommendation entirely superfluous in the case of a man of Musa’s
suspicious and crafty disposition. Sending for Count Julian, Musa
informed him that he would be required to prove his fidelity by
heading a reconnaissance into the enemy’s country. The count
accepted the condition with alacrity; crossed the strait with a small
detachment of soldiers belonging to his garrison; ravaged the coast
in the neighborhood of Medina Sidonia; burned several churches;
destroyed the growing harvests, and returned with considerable
booty. Knowing his ally to be now compromised beyond all hope of
pardon, and the trifling resistance encountered having apparently
demonstrated the feasibility of the enterprise, Musa announced his
willingness to negotiate. The conditions of the compact which
disposed of one of the richest kingdoms of Europe have escaped the
notice of history. There is reason to believe, however, that Count
Julian was promised substantial pecuniary remuneration in addition
to the gratification of revenge; and that their hereditary estates were
to be restored to the family of Witiza, whose sons were present at
the conference, and whose brother Oppas was not only privy to the
conspiracy but was one of its principal promoters. The keys of Ceuta
were surrendered, and Count Julian, having sworn allegiance to the
Khalif, was invested with a command in the Moslem army.
The wary old veteran Musa was not yet satisfied, and determined
to send a second expedition, under one of his own captains, to
explore the Spanish coast. He selected for this purpose one of his
trusty freed-men, Abu-Zarah-Tarif by name, who, embarking with one
hundred cavalry and three hundred infantry, landed at Ghezirah-al-
Khadra, now Algeziras, in July, 710. The incursion of Tarif differed
little in its results from that of his predecessor, but confirmed the
representations of the latter, and proved beyond doubt the
defenceless condition of the Visigothic kingdom. Preparations for
war were now made upon a larger scale, but one which still could not
contemplate the overthrow of the monarchy in the incredibly short
period required to accomplish it, and which, indeed, was designed
only as a predatory expedition. The command of the troops was
given to Tarik-Ibn-Zeyad, a Berber, whose red hair and light
complexion disclosed his descent from the Vandals. The similar
names of these two officers, both of whom were freed-men of Musa,
have led to a confusion and mistaken identity, which has greatly
embarrassed the narratives of both ancient chroniclers and modern
historians. Tarik was a soldier of approved experience, extraordinary
enterprise, and unflinching courage. His army was one of the most
motley forces which had ever been assembled under the Moslem
standard. The number was comparatively insignificant, amounting to
only seven thousand, of whom but few were cavalry. The bulk of the
troops was composed of Berbers—fierce savages of the Atlas
Mountains, proselytes reclaimed from fetichism by the policy and
eloquence of Musa—among them being representatives of the tribes
of Ghomarah, Masmoudah, and Zenetah, names destined to a cruel
celebrity in the subsequent history of Spain. Every nation whose
types chance, misfortune, the love of plunder, or the spirit of
adventure had impelled upon the African coast, was represented in
the ranks of the invaders; descendants of the Vandals and the
Goths; Bedouins from the Hedjaz; political exiles from the far Orient;
conspirators from Syria; apostate Byzantines who had renounced
allegiance to the Emperor of Constantinople; and a considerable
body of Jews, whose relations with their Spanish brethren rendered
them valuable auxiliaries, swelled the command of Tarik. In the latter
were adherents of every form of religion,—the adorer of fire, the
worshipper of the stars, the Pagan votary of the gods of Olympus,
the orthodox and the heretic Christian. Each tribe was marshalled
under its respective banner, and the varied nationality of the rank
and file was equally displayed in the widely diverse origin of the
subordinate officers—Count Julian the renegade Greek, Tarik the
Berber, Mugayth-al-Rumi the Goth, and Kaula-al-Yahudi the Jew.
Vessels for the passage of the strait were furnished by Count Julian,
who impressed such merchantmen as lay at anchor in the ports
under his jurisdiction, the only ones obtainable; the number of these,
however, was so insufficient that the transportation of the army
consumed several days. The Moslems finally disembarked at the
foot of an immense promontory known to the ancient world as Calpe,
but which, rechristened by the Arabs Gebal-al-Tarik, the Mountain of
Tarik, has transmitted its new appellation, almost unchanged, to
future ages as the famous Gibraltar. Scarcely had the invaders
landed, when they were attacked by the Goths under Theodomir,
that chieftain whose successful conduct of the naval expedition
during the reign of Egiza had induced Roderick to invest him with the
command of the forces at his disposal. The ill-equipped and
undisciplined troops of the Gothic general at once disclosed their
inability to withstand the onset of the fiery horsemen of the Desert,
and Theodomir was compelled to retreat. He sent, without delay, the
alarming news of the invasion to the King, revealing the universal
dismay with which this strange enemy was regarded, in the following
language: “Our land has been invaded by people whose name,
country, and origin are unknown to me. I cannot even tell thee
whence they came, whether they fell from the skies or sprang from
the earth.” This ominous despatch reached Roderick before the walls
of Pampeluna, which had recently revolted against his authority.
Whatever were his faults, the Gothic monarch was certainly not
deficient in courage and resolution. Raising the siege, he hastened
to Cordova, and devoted all his energies to the assembling of an
immense army for the defence of the kingdom. Every resource was
employed,—promises of amnesty, threats, bounties, and
conscription, until a hundred thousand men had been mustered
under the royal standard. But this great host was formidable only in
appearance. The levies of which it was composed were wholly
wanting in discipline and unaccustomed to the perils of warfare.
Their weapons were mainly implements whose use was familiar in
the practice of the peaceful arts of husbandry. The rank and file, a
tumultuous rabble of slaves and hirelings, marched on foot. Horses
were few and expensive in the Peninsula; only the nobles were
mounted; and to the deficiency of cavalry among the Goths the Arab
historians have largely attributed the crushing reverses sustained by
their arms. To the unwieldy and disorderly character of the Gothic
army was added the secret and fatal influence of treason.
Thousands had been enrolled to defend the imperilled crown of
Roderick, whose chief desire was the transfer of that crown to a rival
dynasty. Others, high in rank, had tendered their services with the
hope that, amidst the general confusion, they might push their
political fortunes and gratify an inordinate ambition. The imperative
necessity of the occasion had compelled the enlistment of the
leaders of the hostile faction who had been injured beyond
reparation, and whom it was equally dangerous to trust or further to
offend. At the head of these were the sons and brothers of Witiza,
who, while they repulsed the conciliatory overtures of Roderick,
eagerly accepted a command which might promote their schemes of
vengeance. Scores of those belonging to the noble and
ecclesiastical orders, and the Jews to a man, inflamed with revenge
and hatred, were in daily communication with the head-quarters of
the enemy. The jealousy of rival commanders tended still further to
impair the efficiency of the Christians, whose feuds and discontent
being well known to their adversaries had a tendency to inspire the
latter with a well-grounded hope of victory.
In the mean time, Tarik had seized and occupied the ancient town
of Carteja, and, fortifying himself securely, sent foraging expeditions
far and wide throughout the surrounding country. These were,
without exception, successful, and the rapid movements of the Arab
cavalry, their seemingly invincible character, and the valuable booty
they secured, not only struck terror into the astonished natives, but
greatly encouraged the main body of the invading army, encamped
under the shadow of Gibraltar. The emissaries and secret allies of
Tarik, who swarmed in the court and camp of Roderick, lost no time
in apprising him of the preparations being made for his destruction.
Alarmed by the accounts he received, he despatched a messenger
to Musa for reinforcements. A detachment of five thousand Berber
cavalry was sent to his aid, which with the remainder of his troops
amounted to twelve thousand veterans; a mere handful when
compared with the army of the Goths, but composed of warriors
inured to privation, accustomed to conquer, inflamed with religious
zeal, and bearing a devoted and unswerving attachment to their
commander.
On the morning of a beautiful July day, in the year 711, the
beginning of an era most notable in the annals of Spain, the hostile
armies faced each other near Lake La Janda, upon the rolling plains
of Medina-Sidonia. The Moors, flushed with the uniform success
which had hitherto attended their arms, relying upon the dissensions
of the enemy as much as upon their own valor, and impatient for the
conflict, appeared in glittering mail, wearing snowy turbans, and
equipped with sword and lance; while over their shoulders was
suspended the Arabian bow, whose shafts, like those of the
Parthian, made the archer all the more formidable in retreat. The
Moorish general, after performing the rites of his faith, addressed his
soldiers in a few stirring and well-chosen words. With consummate
skill, he availed himself of the strongest passions which control
humanity,—avarice, military glory, the love of woman, the priceless
rewards of religious constancy. He revealed to them a dream, in
which the Prophet had announced that the issue of the conflict would
be favorable to the adherents of Islam, and which portended the
confusion of the infidel. He placed before them their desperate
position, where defeat implied annihilation, and victory was the only
hope. He exhorted them to banish all thought of fear, and to rely
upon their courage tested upon many fields of battle. He pictured in
burning language the attractions of the country and the matchless
charms of the Gothic houris who inhabited it. He repeated the
passages of the Koran which promised that all the martyrs who fell in
battle would at once receive the reward of their devotion amidst the
ineffable delights of Paradise.
Upon the other hand, the bribes, the appeals, and the threats of
Roderick had brought together the entire available military power of
the Gothic monarchy. The King, surrounded by his nobles and
escorted by his guards, displayed all the pomp and splendor of the
Orient. He was borne to the front by white mules, upon a litter of
ivory richly inlaid with silver, and sheltered by a canopy of many-
colored silk; a purple cloak covered his shoulders, upon his head
was the royal diadem, and his robes of cloth of gold were enriched
with priceless jewels. The devices of the nobles marked the order of
the various divisions, and in the rear was led a train of many
thousand beasts of burden whose only loads were ropes with which
to bind the prisoners. The details of the battle which changed the
destiny of Western Europe are unusually meagre, even for the
unlettered and credulous age in which it occurred. It seems to have
consisted of a series of indecisive skirmishes which lasted eight
days, during which time the two armies traversed a distance of
twenty miles, to the neighborhood of the modern city of Jerez de la
Frontera. Here, with amazing ignorance, or with fatal disregard of the
elementary rules of military tactics, the Goths took up their position
with the river Guadalete in their rear. Upon the final charge of the
Arabs, the treason of the former partisans of Witiza became
apparent. A large body of nobles with their retainers openly
deserted; a panic ensued; and the vast array took to headlong flight.
Pressing forward with the shrill war-cry of the Moslem, which struck
terror into the defeated Goths, the Moorish squadrons drove the
enemy into the rapid waters of the Guadalete. The carnage was
terrible. Exasperated by days of fighting, and haunted by the
constant jeopardy of servitude and death, the soldiers of Tarik gave
no quarter. The ground was heaped with corpses. The channel of the
river was choked with the dead and dying, with horses, and chariots,
and camp equipage, with treasures which the fugitives vainly tried to
save. Of the invaders, three thousand are said to have fallen, but no
computation was made of the loss of the Goths. The remnants of the
army which escaped the swords of the Arabs were pursued to the
very gates of the neighboring cities. Many were cut to pieces before
they could reach a place of safety; and finally, satiated with blood,
the conquerors found upon their hands a great number of prisoners
whom the ropes which they themselves had provided now served to
secure. The war-horse of Roderick covered with trappings of great
value was taken, but no trace remained of the King. One of his
sandals, encrusted with rubies and emeralds, was found on the bank
of the river, which would seem to indicate that he perished by
drowning; but his body was never recovered, and his fate is a
mystery; notwithstanding that Spanish romance and monkish
credulity have invested his disappearance with many extravagant
legends, attested by a formidable array of ecclesiastical evidence.
The booty which fell into the hands of the Moslems was incalculable.
The number of horses taken was so large that the entire army was
mounted, thereby adding greatly to its efficiency. The housings of
these animals—whose possession among the Goths implied the
enjoyment of rank and fortune—were of the costliest description;
many of the finest chargers were shod with silver or gold. The Gothic
nobles, rather accustomed to vie with each other in the service of
their tables, the size of their retinues, and the magnificence of their
equipages than in valor and military knowledge, and little dreaming
of the result, had brought with them their most valuable possessions
in plate and jewels. Their love of ostentation caused them to
surround themselves with multitudes of slaves, whose daily broils
kept the camp in a continuous uproar, and between whom and the
enemy existed a secret understanding, whose effects were fearfully
manifested in the hour of disaster. All of this wealth, together with the
ornaments and insignia of the royal household, became the spoil of
the conqueror. The fifth, which according to the law of Islam
belonged to the Khalif, having been set aside, the remainder was
divided on the field, amidst the tumultuous acclamations of the
exultant soldiery.
The battle of the Guadalete is justly ranked with the great and
decisive victories of the world. Indeed, if we consider the relative
number of the combatants, the duration of the action, and the
importance of its results, it has no parallel in the annals of warfare.
While the intrigues of unscrupulous factions contributed largely to the
success of the Arabs, the fact must not be lost sight of, that the
numbers of the latter were scarcely appreciable when compared with
the vast masses of their antagonists, and that they labored under the
additional disadvantage of fighting in the enemy’s country. As to
generalship, none could have been displayed on either side. The
Moslems were little better than banditti, commanded by barbarians
and renegades whose sole military experience had been acquired by
predatory raids in the African Desert. The Goths, idle and effeminate
in life, debilitated in body, cowardly, debased, and wholly unused to
arms, were dominated by inordinate vanity and filled with contempt
for their opponents. The tyranny, excesses, and arbitrary acts of
Witiza having caused the exclusion of his posterity from the throne,
the partisans of the latter were willing to sacrifice their country and
their religion to insure the overthrow of the usurper and to satisfy
their insatiable cravings for revenge.
Thus fell the enfeebled and tottering monarchy of the Goths. It
had long survived its glory and its prestige. The severe political
maxims of its founders, suited to the frigid regions of the Baltic, had
been found incompatible with the physical and moral conditions
imposed by the voluptuous climate of Bætica and Lusitania.
Undermined by the vices of the nobility, by the turbulent ambition of
the priesthood, by the treasonable machinations of the Jews, and by
the supine indifference of the masses to any fate—provided only that
it involved a change of masters— the first shock of a determined
enemy swept it from the face of the earth. In its stead arose a new
empire and a strange dynasty of exotic origin, foreign alike in dress,
in laws, in customs, in constitution, in religion. Far from being
uncongenial, the meteorological conditions of the semi-tropical
Peninsula, which have insensibly determined the manners, the
policy, and the fate of so many races, were eminently favorable to
the highest intellectual development of its people. Through the wise
and noble ambition of its rulers was established that universal culture
which made Cordova the intellectual centre from whence diverged
those rays of light which illumined the darkness of the mediæval
world. From the genius of its statesmen, the skill of its generals, and
the prowess of its armies arose that constant apprehension of
impending disaster, a portentous shadow, which, hanging over
Europe like the imperfectly defined outlines of a gigantic spectre,
threatened for centuries the overthrow of the Seat of St. Peter, and
the destruction of that system of faith which had risen upon the ruins
of Pagan idolatry and superstition.
Great and wide-spread was the consternation which seized the
Goths after the rout of the Guadalete. The entire resources of the
kingdom had been staked and lost. The sovereign had mysteriously
disappeared. In the carnage of the field, and in that which had
accompanied the still more disastrous retreat, the nobility had
suffered so greatly that few, if any, of its members who were eligible
to the throne had survived or remained at liberty. The sacred
profession of the priesthood, which had encouraged by its presence
and exhortations the flagging spirits of the soldiery, had not been
able to protect them from the edge of the Moorish scimetar. The
hatred and fanaticism of the invaders were aroused to frenzy by the
sight of the vestments and insignia of the Church, and even the most
venerable prelates were massacred; for the ferocious Moslem gave
no quarter to the ministers of Christianity, and disdained even the
menial services of those who had denounced to eternal perdition the
followers of the Prophet. The accumulated wealth of generations,
which the vanity and ostentation of the palatines had exhibited at the
court, on the march, and in the camp, had been swept into the
coffers of the victor. The fugitives who were so fortunate as to
escape took refuge in the neighboring cities; whither they were soon
followed by the peasantry, who beheld with dismay the sight of their
burning homes and desolated fields. In one engagement, and
virtually in a single day, one of the most populous and opulent
countries of Europe had succumbed to the impetuous but desultory
attack of an unknown foe. For the space of two centuries, and under
far less favorable circumstances, the Carthaginian and Iberian
provinces of the Peninsula had successfully defied the resources
and the prestige of the Roman arms. For three centuries longer, the
Visigoths, relying upon the traditions and military fame of their
ancestors, had protected, without difficulty, their possessions
wrested from the feeble hands of the Cæsars, and had repeatedly
rolled back the tide of Frankish invasion from the slopes of the
Pyrenees.
With the advent of overwhelming national misfortune, there fell
upon the terror-stricken people the apathy of despair. The public
wretchedness was augmented by the censures of the clergy, who,
with characteristic effrontery, declared the invasion to be a divine
punishment for the crimes of the wicked; crimes in which they
themselves had not only participated, but by their shameless
conduct had obtained an infamous pre-eminence in an age of
unprecedented corruption.
The Moslems under the lead of the enterprising Tarik, who
displayed the talents of a skilful general in his ability to profit by
every advantage, lost no time in securing the fruits of victory. From
the army—now a compact and active body of cavalry—were sent in
all directions detachments to cut off straggling parties of the enemy,
and to capture supplies destined for the overcrowded cities already
threatened with the horrors of starvation.
Tidings of the wonderful success upon the plains of Jerez soon
spread far and wide through the towns and provinces of Africa.
Animated by the hope of plunder and glory, the Moslems, many of
them abandoning their homes and making use of every available
craft to cross the strait, flocked by thousands to the standard of Tarik.
The latter, after thoroughly reorganizing his new recruits, and
appointing to the command officers of tried fidelity and experience,
took Sidonia. The strongly fortified city of Carmona next claimed his
attention. As its reduction by the slow process of a siege was out of
the question with the resources at his command, resort was had to
stratagem. A squadron of the retainers of Count Julian, headed by
that worthy in person, and apparently pursued by a body of the
enemy, appeared before the walls. Shelter was at once given the
fugitives, who in the dead of night killed the sentinels and opened the
gates to the enemy. Thence Tarik advanced upon Ecija, where the
greater portion of the survivors of the battle of the Guadalete had
taken refuge. The Goths, disdaining the protection of their defences,
and nerved to despair by their situation, which involved the
alternative of slavery or famine, boldly encountered the Moslems in
the field. The action was hotly contested, and although the loss
sustained by the invaders was greater, in proportion to the number of
combatants engaged, than any suffered during the Conquest, the
Goths were in the end defeated, and the city taken. Ecija swarmed
with members of the monastic orders, and the nuns, who largely
predominated, were famous for their beauty. The prospect of the
infidel harem filled these pious virgins with horror; and they adopted
the heroic expedient of mutilating their features, hoping by the
sacrifice of their charms to preserve both their honor and their lives.
The compassion of the Moslem freebooter, infuriated by this attempt
to deprive him of his prey, was not moved by the evidences of saintly
devotion; the sight of a conventual habit became the signal for
outrage; death followed fast upon violence; and many hundreds of
the self-mutilated spouses of Christ received the crown of
martyrdom.
In the mean time, Musa had forwarded despatches to Damascus
announcing the victory, but, actuated by the petty jealousy which
formed such a prominent feature of his character, he carefully
concealed from the Khalif the name of the successful commander.
Having formed the determination to cross over to Spain and conduct
the campaign in person, he sent peremptory orders to Tarik not to
advance farther until he arrived. But the hero of the Guadalete, fully
alive to the importance of affording the enemy no opportunity for rest
and reorganization, and advised by Count Julian to march at once on
Toledo, was of the opinion that the interests of his sovereign, as well
as his own fortunes, would be promoted by disobedience of the
commands of his superior. He therefore paraded his troops, and
after enjoining them to make war only upon those actually in arms, to
leave all non-combatants unmolested, and scrupulously to respect
the religious prejudices of the people, set out for Cordova at the
head of a numerous army. The latter city was strong and well
defended, and Tarik, after nine days, seeing that the siege would
probably be of long duration, left its conduct to his lieutenant,
Mugayth-al-Rumi, and moved without delay upon Toledo. The
governor of Cordova, who was of the royal blood of the Goths, and a
brave and determined officer, inspirited by the departure of the main
body of the enemy, made no question of his ability to defend the city
against a force not greatly exceeding his own in numbers. But the
good fortune which seemed to attend the Moslems upon every
occasion did not desert them in the present emergency. Information
was soon brought to Mugayth-al-Rumi of a weak point in the
fortifications which might be scaled. Aided by a dark night and the
noise made by a storm of hail, a detachment crossed the river under
the guidance of a shepherd, and reached the place which had been
indicated. A fig-tree which stood near the wall was mounted by an
active soldier, who, unrolling his turban, drew up several of his
comrades, who occupied the battlements without resistance; for the
severity of the tempest had driven the sentries from their posts.
Proceeding quietly and rapidly through the streets, the guard at the
gates was surprised and cut to pieces, the army was admitted, and
by daybreak the city was in the hands of the Moslems. The governor,
with four hundred of the garrison, fled to the church of St. George,
which stood outside the western wall, and being surrounded by a
moat and supplied with water by a subterranean conduit from a
spring in the neighboring mountains, offered all the obstacles of a
fortress whose towers and barbicans could bid defiance to an enemy
destitute of military engines and ignorant of the mode of conducting
a siege. For a considerable time the Goths repulsed the attacks of
the band of Mugayth-al-Rumi, until at last, after diligent search, the
source of the water-supply having been discovered and the
aqueduct cut, the besieged, reduced to extremity, were compelled to
surrender. The majority of the garrison were permitted to join their
countrymen in the North, but the officers and the governor—who was
a personage of too great importance to be set at liberty—were
retained in the camp of the victor.
Before leaving Ecija, Tarik had sent one of his officers, Zeyd-Ibn-
Kesade, at the head of a considerable force, to overrun the southern
portion of Andalusia. In this region, as elsewhere, the mysterious
terror which attended the exploits of the invaders had preceded
them. Baja, Antequera, Elvira, and the adjoining districts yielded
almost without resistance, but Granada, relying upon its fortifications,
refused to accept the proffered terms and was carried by storm. The
small number of the Moslems rendered it impossible for them to
leave garrisons in the captured towns, and the most important of the
latter were placed in charge of Arab governors, with whom the Jews,
who seemed to have thriven under persecution, engaged
themselves to co-operate. So numerous was the Hebrew element in
Granada that it was practically a Jewish community, and, with its aid,
a single company was sufficient to hold in subjection a city of nearly
a hundred thousand souls. Having accomplished the object of his
expedition with trifling loss, loaded with rich booty, and accompanied
by innumerable slaves of both sexes, Zeyd, sacking Jaen on his
way, hastened to join Tarik at Toledo.
Eight months had elapsed since the battle of the Guadalete
before the Moslem army appeared before the gates of the Visigothic
capital. Perched upon a lofty eminence, and almost surrounded by
the Tagus, whose current ran swiftly through a deep channel worn in
the living rock, art had combined with nature to render its position
impregnable. Walls built of stones of almost cyclopean dimensions
environed it, and rose to a great height even on the side towards the
river, where the precipitous cliffs themselves discouraged all
attempts at escalade. The approach from the north had been
protected by barbicans and outworks of double strength. These
defences had been designed and perfected by Wamba, the last of
the Gothic kings whose martial genius had, for a brief period, revived
the glorious traditions and long forgotten exploits of the ancient
dynasty. The imperial capital, a citadel in itself, where all the
resources of a vast monarchy had been lavished and all the
knowledge of military engineering of the age had been employed to
insure the safety of the court, now trembled in the presence of a few
thousand roving barbarians. The dread which was associated with
the unknown enemy was augmented by the rapidity of his
movements, which to the superstitious fears of the Visigoths made
him appear ubiquitous. A sufficient military force had been available
to defend this fortress, but the sentiments of patriotism, loyalty, and
courage, so essential to the preservation of obedience and
discipline, had disappeared. Instead of preparing for resistance,
each individual thought only of his own preservation, when news
arrived that the foe was approaching. The majority of the citizens,
leaving their possessions, fled to Galicia and the Asturias. The
lawless soldiers of the garrison pillaged the deserted houses, and
stripped without hindrance the defenceless fugitives. The clergy,
considering the evil as only temporary, walled up the treasures of
chapel and convent in crypts, where to-day the greater portion of
them still remain undiscovered. The primate, laden with the most
precious effects of the churches, and leaving his ecclesiastical
inferiors to contend for the prize of martyrdom offered by the infidel,
accompanied his terrified parishioners in their flight, nor did he arrest
his steps until safe within the walls of Rome. A disorderly rabble of
priests and monks, actuated either by faith or indolence, remaining
at their posts, endeavored to avert the impending calamity by fasting,
prayer, and pilgrimage to the innumerable shrines situated both
within and without the city. Unfortunately, however, no divine
response was vouchsafed to these last frantic efforts of a despairing
hierarchy. The waving pennons and sparkling lances of the Arab
cavalry appeared in the distance, and their light and active
squadrons swept around the walls. The fields were laid waste. The
convents and the villas which embellished the suburbs were razed to
the ground or burnt. Every unlucky straggler was compelled, at the
point of the sword, to renounce the religion of his fathers or submit to
the fate of a slave. In a town deserted by its garrison, half
depopulated, without provisions, deprived of every prospect of relief,
and principally occupied by non-combatants and Jews who were in
sympathy with the enemy, no idea of resistance could be
entertained. The usual conditions offered by the Moslems were
eagerly accepted. All had permission to retire who desired to do so,
with the understanding that such abandonment of their homes
involved a forfeiture of every description of property. Those who
preferred to remain were assured of protection, under payment of a
reasonable tribute. Both Jews and Christians were indulged in the
practice of their religious rites; but half of the churches were
confiscated for the use of Islam, and no new houses of worship
could be constructed without permission of the government. The
tributaries were left subject to their own laws, enforced by their own
tribunals, as long as these did not conflict with the policy of the
dominant power. No impediments to proselytism were tolerated, and
severe punishment was denounced against such as should offer
intimidation or insult to Christian renegades. Such were the terms
imposed upon the inhabitants of the Peninsula by the generous
policy of the conqueror; a pleasing contrast to the brutality of the
barbarians, the duplicity of Carthage, and the avarice and
selfishness of Rome.
Notwithstanding the most valuable treasures of the imperial
capital had been carried away by the fleeing population, the plunder
secured by the Moslems was immense, and even their rapacity,
ordinarily insatiable, was for once appeased. The variety and
number of the precious objects which met their bewildered gaze was
so great, that the rude warriors of the Atlas not infrequently turned
aside from the splendid vestments and jewel-studded furniture
destined for the service of the Church, to more portable and
gorgeous baubles which caught their momentary fancy. It is related
by the most accurate of the Christian and Moorish chroniclers, that
two Berbers, having found an altar-cloth of gold brocade enriched
with rows of hyacinths and emeralds which was too heavy for them
to carry, cut out that portion containing the jewels and rejected the
balance as worthless. Another, who had secured a golden vase filled
with pearls, kept the precious receptacle, but, ignorant of their value,
cast away its contents. In the cathedral were found many votive
crowns of gold, each inscribed with the name of a Gothic king. The
confusion incident to a hasty flight had left in the religious houses of
every description a vast amount of wealth, which fell into the hands
of the conqueror. An apartment was discovered in the palace
occupied by Tarik which was literally filled with the treasures and
royal insignia of the various dynasties which had for ages swayed
the fortunes of the Visigothic monarchy. Chains and diadems, urns
and uncut jewels, sceptres, richly decorated weapons, costly armor,
robes of cloth of gold, have been enumerated among the spoil by the