Which account typically has a balance of $0 at the beginning of each new accounting period?

Study for the Intuit Bookkeeping Professional Certificate Exam. Prepare with diverse interactive questions, hints, and detailed explanations. Get ready for your certification exam!

The correct choice is that revenue accounts typically have a balance of $0 at the beginning of each new accounting period due to the nature of how revenues are recognized in accounting. At the end of each accounting period, the revenue earned during that period is closed out to the retained earnings account as part of the closing entries process. This means that the revenue account starts anew with a balance of zero at the beginning of the next period.

In contrast, expense accounts also undergo a closing process, but they do not maintain a balance as long as revenue accounts do because they are treated differently in terms of reporting. Asset and liability accounts, by their nature, can carry balances forward from one period to the next. Hence, these accounts do not reset to zero at the beginning of each new period. Keeping revenue accounts reset ensures clarity in tracking earnings and understanding performance for each unique period, thereby making financial analysis more straightforward.

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