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Sebi bans Rajesh Exports' CMD for fin irregularities · 2 hours ago RBI rejects bids for treasury bills, move signals lower rates · 2 hours ago Interest in India strong despite volatility: Bank of America chief · 2 hours ago Govt sets aside Rs 10k crore to cap jet fuel price, keep air fares in check · 2 hours ago Exporters keep tabs on USTR probe, trade talks · 2 hours ago Tech stocks slide on AI fears, oil gives Dalal Street a headache · 2 hours ago BHEL secures order worth over Rs 2,000 crore from Nigerian firm · 5 hours ago District economy data: Govt issues uniform framework for district GDP estimates with 2022-23 base year · 5 hours ago Rupee slides 40 paise to 95.76 against dollar as tariff concerns, oil prices weigh on sentiment · 6 hours ago India’s 500 GW clean energy goal could create 44 lakh jobs, says study · 6 hours ago India's economy shows resilience amid geopolitical uncertainty, says RBI deputy governor · 7 hours ago Grid stability, large-scale integration of renewable energy discussed in Parl panel meet · 8 hours ago Sebi bans Rajesh Exports' CMD for fin irregularities · 2 hours ago RBI rejects bids for treasury bills, move signals lower rates · 2 hours ago Interest in India strong despite volatility: Bank of America chief · 2 hours ago Govt sets aside Rs 10k crore to cap jet fuel price, keep air fares in check · 2 hours ago Exporters keep tabs on USTR probe, trade talks · 2 hours ago Tech stocks slide on AI fears, oil gives Dalal Street a headache · 2 hours ago BHEL secures order worth over Rs 2,000 crore from Nigerian firm · 5 hours ago District economy data: Govt issues uniform framework for district GDP estimates with 2022-23 base year · 5 hours ago Rupee slides 40 paise to 95.76 against dollar as tariff concerns, oil prices weigh on sentiment · 6 hours ago India’s 500 GW clean energy goal could create 44 lakh jobs, says study · 6 hours ago India's economy shows resilience amid geopolitical uncertainty, says RBI deputy governor · 7 hours ago Grid stability, large-scale integration of renewable energy discussed in Parl panel meet · 8 hours ago
Thursday, 4 Jun 2026 · IST
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Accounts

Is an "account receivable" and "goodwill" real accounts in accounting?

Real accounts, i.e. Balance Sheet accounts are ongoing perpetual records and represent "real" items; cash, receivables, inventories, accounts payable, invested capital, etc., etc. Accounts receivable and goodwill therefore are both real accounts as they have value in and of themselves.

Nominal accounts represent items of income and expense. Nominal accounts have no balances at the beginning of an accounting period and change as various debits and credits are applied because of activity of income and expense throughout the accounting period. At the end of the accounting cycle, the nominal accounts are returned to zero by debiting them by an amount equal to their credit balance if such exists, or crediting an account if it has a debit balance. The offsetting entry of each of these is to a Profit or Loss Account. If after all accounts are zero, the P&L account has a debit balance then operations were profitable (income exceeded expenses), and conversely with a credit balance a loss was incurred. The P&L is then "closed" by either debited or crediting to bring it to zero, whichever is appropriate, with the offsetting entry going to "Retained Earnings", a real account, and bringing the Balance Sheet into balance and leaving all nominal accounts at zero.

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