Question

Andrea works as an accountant at a law firm. Her annual gross pay is $48,000. Her deductions include mortgage interest and health expenses that amount to $7,500. What is Andrea’s adjusted gross pay? Andrea’s adjusted gross pay is $ .

Answer 1

Andrea's asset: $48,000
Assets is cash that she owns. Other assets include: property, equipment, furniture - which are all costs that she owns.

Deductions refers to her liabilities- Andrea's liabilities/ $7,500
which costs that she owes to companies, billing and Not that she owns. Such as: mortgage, bills, bank amount loans, expenses etc

Here is what Andrea as an accountant needs to do to find the annual gross: (steps are in order)

1) she lists all of the assets costs & total the assets
As for andrea she added all her assets costs which is $48,000

2) she then lists all the liabilities costs & totals the liabilities costs
Her liabilities costs which is $7,500

3) the last step- she must subtract the assets total & liabilities total

Ex. (Assets) $48,000 - (liabilities) $7,500 = 40,500

The answer is $ 40,500 is her gross pay.

Now you are probably thinking how can that be the answer?!?

An accountant always checks :)

Here is Andreas checking process in order..

1) the answer 40,500 is her gross pay which in accounting terms it's her owner's equity because it is her amount of cash that she owns not giving it away. Think of it as a safe that her storages the money in.

2) in order to determine the total liabilities & owner's equity she must add the total liabilities + the owner's equity that we found.

Ex (total liabilities) $7,500 + $40,500 = $48,000!!
That shows that our answer is correct we retraced our steps like an accountant and found that our answer equals (in accounting terms; balances) the total assets costs.

Here is how the balance sheets looks like: Andreas balance sheet

Assets Liabilities
Cash cost Bank loan costs
Furniture cost Mortgage costs
Property cost Health Costs
Expense costs
Assets total: Liabilities total:
$48,000 $ 7,500

Owners equity (Andrea's safe) $40,500 by
(Assets - liabilities)

Total liabilities & owner's equity (total liabilities + OE (owners equity for short) = $48,000

In accounting if your total assets which is for Andrea is $48,000 equals total liabilities & OE is $48,000 then your answer is correct. In accounting assets total Must equal total liabilities & OE

Hope this helps :)