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The following information is available for Murphy Company: Allowance for doubtfu

ID: 2362561 • Letter: T

Question

The following information is available for Murphy Company:

Allowance for doubtful accounts at December 31, 2009 $8,000

Credit sales during 2010 400,000

Accounts receivable deemed worthless and written off during 2010 9,000

As a result of a review and aging of accounts receivable in early January 2011, however, it has been determined that an allowance for doubtful accounts of $5,500 is needed at December 31, 2010. What amount should Murphy record as "bad debt expense" for the year ended December 31, 2010?

Explanation / Answer

The Allowance for Doubtful Accounts is at Cr balance at the BEGINNING of the year at an amount of $8,000 Write offs is a Debit to the All for D.A. for $ 9,000 Therefore BEFORE the provision, the account has a DR bal of $1,000 The company wants to record $5,500 of the All for D.A. Since it has a debit of 1,000 we need an amount to have an allowance of 5,500, so we do the entry: Bad debt expense 6,500 (DR) Allowance for doubtful accounts (6,500). Answer: 6,500