What Are Accounts Receivable (AR)?

Accounts receivable (AR) are the balance of money due to a firm for goods or services delivered or used but not yet paid for by customers. Accounts receivable are listed on the balance sheet as a current asset. Any amount of money owed by customers for purchases made on credit is AR.

Understanding Accounts Receivable

Accounts receivable refer to the outstanding invoices that a company has or the money that clients owe the company. The phrase refers to accounts that a business has the right to receive because it has delivered a product or service. Accounts receivable, or receivables, represent a line of credit extended by a company and normally have terms that require payments due within a relatively short period. It typically ranges from a few days to a fiscal or calendar year.

Companies record accounts receivable as assets on their balance sheets because there is a legal obligation for the customer to pay the debt. They are considered a liquid asset, because they can be used as collateral to secure a loan to help meet short-term obligations. Receivables are part of a company’s working capital.

Furthermore, accounts receivable are current assets, meaning that the account balance is due from the debtor in one year or less. If a company has receivables, this means that it has made a sale on credit but has yet to collect the money from the purchaser. Essentially, the company has accepted a short-term IOU from its client.

Accounts Receivable vs. Accounts Payable

When a company owes debts to its suppliers or other parties, these are accounts payable. Accounts payable are the opposite of accounts receivable. To illustrate, imagine Company A cleans Company B’s carpets and sends a bill for the services. Company B owes them money, so it records the invoice in its accounts payable column. Company A is waiting to receive the money, so it records the bill in its accounts receivable column.

Benefits of Accounts Receivable

Accounts receivable are an important aspect of a business’s fundamental analysis. Accounts receivable are a current asset, so it measures a company’s liquidity or ability to cover short-term obligations without additional cash flows. 

Fundamental analysts often evaluate accounts receivable in the context of turnover, also known as accounts receivable turnover ratio, which measures the number of times a company has collected on its accounts receivable balance during an accounting period. Further analysis would include assessing days sales outstanding (DSO), the average number of days that it takes to collect payment after a sale has been made.

Example of Accounts Receivable

An example of accounts receivable includes an electric company that bills its clients after the clients received the electricity. The electric company records an account receivable for unpaid invoices as it waits for its customers to pay their bills. 

Most companies operate by allowing a portion of their sales to be on credit. Sometimes, businesses offer this credit to frequent or special customers that receive periodic invoices. The practice allows customers to avoid the hassle of physically making payments as each transaction occurs. In other cases, businesses routinely offer all of their clients the ability to pay after receiving the service.

What Is Accelerated Depreciation?

Accelerated depreciation is any method of depreciation used for accounting or income tax purposes that allows greater depreciation expenses in the early years of the life of an asset. Accelerated depreciation methods, such as double-declining balance (DDB), means there will be higher depreciation expenses in the first few years and lower expenses as the asset ages. This is unlike the straight-line depreciation method, which spreads the cost evenly over the life of an asset.

Understanding Accelerated Depreciation

Accelerated depreciation methods tend to align the recognized rate of an asset’s depreciation with its actual use, although this isn’t technically required. This alignment tends to occur because an asset is most heavily used when it’s new, functional, and most efficient. 

Because this tends to occur at the beginning of the asset’s life, the rationale behind an accelerated method of depreciation is that it appropriately matches how the underlying asset is used. As an asset age, it is not used as heavily, since it is slowly phased out for newer assets.

Special Considerations

Using an accelerated depreciation method has financial reporting implications. Because depreciation is accelerated, expenses are higher in earlier periods compared to later periods. Companies may utilize this strategy for taxation purposes, as an accelerated depreciation method will result in a deferment of tax liabilities since income is lower in earlier periods.

Alternatively, public companies tend to shy away from accelerated depreciation methods, as net income is reduced in the short-term.

Types of Accelerated Depreciation Methods

Double-Declining Balance Method  

The double-declining balance (DDB) method is an accelerated depreciation method. After taking the reciprocal of the useful life of the asset and doubling it, this rate is applied to the depreciable base—also known as the book value, for the remainder of the asset’s expected life.

For example, an asset with a useful life of five years would have a reciprocal value of 1/5 or 20%. Double the rate, or 40%, is applied to the asset’s current book value for depreciation. Although the rate remains constant, the dollar value will decrease over time because the rate is multiplied by a smaller depreciable base each period.

Sum of the Years’ Digits (SYD)

The sum-of-the-years’-digits (SYD) method also allows for accelerated depreciation. To start, combine all the digits of the expected life of the asset. For example, an asset with a five-year life would have a base of the sum-of-the-digits one through five, or 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 = 15. 

In the first depreciation year, 5/15 of the depreciable base would be depreciated. In the second year, only 4/15 of the depreciable base would be depreciated. This continues until year five depreciates the remaining 1/15 of the base.

What Is the Accumulation/Distribution Indicator (A/D)?

The accumulation/distribution indicator (A/D) is a cumulative indicator that uses volume and price to assess whether a stock is being accumulated or distributed. The A/D measure seeks to identify divergences between the stock price and the volume flow. This provides insight into how strong a trend is. If the price is rising but the indicator is falling, then it suggests that buying or accumulation volume may not be enough to support the price rise and a price decline could be forthcoming.

The Accumulation/Distribution Indicator (A/D) Formula

$\begin{aligned}&\text{MFM} = \frac {(\text{Close} – \text{Low} ) – ( \text{High} – \text{Close} ) } {\text{High} – \text{Low} } \\&\textbf{where:}\\&\text{MFM} = \text{Money Flow Multiplier} \\&\text{Close} = \text{Closing price} \\&\text{Low} = \text{Low price for the period} \\&\text{High} = \text{High price for the period} \\ \end{aligned}$​MFM=High−Low(Close−Low)−(High−Close)​where:MFM=Money Flow MultiplierClose=Closing priceLow=Low price for the periodHigh=High price for the period​

$\begin{aligned}&\text{Money Flow Volume} = \text{MFM} \times \text{Period Volume} \\ \end{aligned}$​Money Flow Volume=MFM×Period Volume​

$\begin{aligned}&\text{A/D} = \text{Previous A/D} + \text{CMFV}\\&\textbf{where:}\\&\text{CMFV} = \text{Current period money flow volume} \\ \end{aligned}$​A/D=Previous A/D+CMFVwhere:CMFV=Current period money flow volume​

How to Calculate the A/D Line

1. Start by calculating the multiplier. Note the most recent period’s close, high, and low to calculate.
2. Use the multiplier and the current period’s volume to calculate the money flow volume.
3. Add the money flow volume to the last A/D value. For the first calculation, use money flow volume as the first value.
4. Repeat the process as each period ends, adding/subtracting the new money flow volume to/from the prior total. This is A/D.

What Does the Accumulation/Distribution Indicator (A/D) Tell You?

The A/D line helps to show how supply and demand factors are influencing price. A/D can move in the same direction as price changes or in the opposite direction.

The multiplier in the calculation provides a gauge for how strong the buying or selling was during a particular period. It does this by determining whether the price closed in the upper or lower portion of its range. This is then multiplied by the volume. Therefore, when a stock closes near the high of the period’s range and has high volume, it will result in a large A/D jump. Alternatively, if the price finishes near the high of the range but volume is low, or if the volume is high but the price finishes more toward the middle of the range, then the A/D will not move up as much.

The same concepts apply when the price closes in the lower portion of the period’s price range. Both volume and where the price closes within the period’s range determine how much the A/D will decline.

The A/D line is used to help assess price trends and potentially spot forthcoming reversals. If a security’s price is in a downtrend while the A/D line is in an uptrend, then the indicator shows there may be buying pressure and the security’s price may reverse to the upside. Conversely, if a security’s price is in an uptrend while the A/D line is in a downtrend, then the indicator shows there may be selling pressure, or higher distribution. This warns that the price may be due for a decline.

In both cases, the steepness of the A/D line provides insight into the trend. A strongly rising A/D line confirms a strongly rising price. Similarly, if the price is falling and the A/D is also falling, then there is still plenty of distribution and prices are likely to continue to decline.

The Accumulation/Distribution Indicator (A/D) vs. On-Balance Volume (OBV)

Both of these technical indicators use price and volume, albeit somewhat differently. On-balance volume (OBV) looks at whether the current closing price is higher or lower than the prior close. If the close is higher, then the period’s volume is added. If the close is lower, then the period’s volume is subtracted.

The A/D indicator doesn’t factor in the prior close and uses a multiplier based on where the price closed within the period’s range. Therefore, the indicators use different calculations and may provide different information.

Limitations of Using the Accumulation/Distribution Indicator (A/D)

The A/D indicator does not factor in price changes from one period to the next, and focuses only on where the price closes within the current period’s range. This creates some anomalies.

Assume a stock gaps down 20% on huge volume. The price oscillates throughout the day and finishes in the upper portion of its daily range, but is still down 18% from the prior close. Such a move would actually cause the A/D to rise. Even though the stock lost a significant amount of value, it finished in the upper portion of its daily range; therefore, the indicator will increase, likely dramatically, due to the large volume. Traders need to monitor the price chart and mark any potential anomalies like these, as they could affect how the indicator is interpreted.

Also, one of the main uses of the indicator is to monitor for divergences. Divergences can last a long time and are poor timing signals. When divergence appears between the indicator and price, it doesn’t mean a reversal is imminent. It may take a long time for the price to reverse, or it may not reverse at all.

The A/D is just one tool that can be used to assess strength or weakness within a trend, but it is not without its faults. Use the A/D indicator in conjunction with other forms of analysis, such as price action analysis, chart patterns, or fundamental analysis, to get a more complete picture of what is moving the price of a stock.