Question

Under the accrual basis of accounting, many of the account balance in the ledger at the end of the accounting period are reported in the financial statement without change. Some accounts require updating, though. When preparing financial statements, the economic life of the business is divided into time periods. The matching principle states that:___________.
1. A purchase made by a business is matched with the actual cost of the item
2. The accounting records and reports are matched with objective evidence
3. The transactions of a business are matched with the transactions of hs owner, creditors and other bussiness
4. The expenses incurred during a period are matched with the reverse that those expenses generated.

Answer 1

Answer: 4. The expenses incurred during a period are matched with the revenues that those expenses generated.

Explanation:

The accrual basis of accounting works by matching accounting transactions to the period that they occur in. For instance, if revenue is sold in year 1 but the cash for it is only received in year 2, the revenue will be recorded for year 1.

The matching principle falls under the accrual basis and matches the expenses in a period to the revenue that the expenses generated in that same period. This is why the expenses in the income statement are only those that occurred in the current period and expenses for future periods are put in the balance sheet.