Earlier we defined accounting as the process of measuring, identifying and communicating economic information to permit informed judgments and decisions by the users of the information. In this segment we focus on the measurement procedure of accounting. Accountants measure a business entity's liabilities, assets and stockholders' equity and any changes that occur in them. By assigning the result of these changes to particular time periods (periodicity) they can find the net income or else net loss of the accounting entity for those periods.
Accountants measure the variety of assets of a business in different ways. They measure cash at its specific amount. Explains how they measure claims to cash such like accounts receivable at their expected cash inflows taking into consideration possible uncollectible. They measure prepaid expenses, inventories, plant assets and intangibles at their historical costs (actual amounts paid). After the acquisition date they carry a few items such as inventory at the lower-of-cost-or market value. Subsequent to the acquisition date they carry plant assets and intangibles at original cost less accumulated depreciation or amortization. They calculate liabilities at the amount of cash that will be paid or the value of services that will be performed to satisfy the liabilities.