5.1 Describe and Prepare Closing Entries for a Business

Closing entries: Closing entries prepare a company for the next period and zero out balance in temporary accounts.
Purpose of closing entries: Closing entries are necessary because they help a company review income accumulation during a period, and verify data figures found on the adjusted trial balance.
Permanent accounts: Permanent accounts do not close and are accounts that transfer balances to the next period. They include balance sheet accounts, such as assets, liabilities, and stockholder’s equity
Temporary accounts: Temporary accounts are closed at the end of each accounting period and include income statement, dividends, and income summary accounts.
Income Summary: The Income Summary account is an intermediary between revenues and expenses, and the Retained Earnings account. It stores all the closing information for revenues and expenses, resulting in a “summary” of income or loss for the period.
Recording closing entries: There are four closing entries; closing revenues to income summary, closing expenses to income summary, closing income summary to retained earnings, and close dividends to retained earnings.
Posting closing entries: Once all closing entries are complete, the information is transferred to the general ledger T-accounts. Balances in temporary accounts will show a zero balance.

5.2 Prepare a Post-Closing Trial Balance

Post-closing trial balance: The post-closing trial balance is prepared after closing entries have been posted to the ledger. This trial balance only includes permanent accounts.

Cash-basis versus accrual-basis system: The cash-basis system delays revenue and expense recognition until cash is collected, which can mislead investors about the daily operations of a business. The accrual-basis system recognizes revenues and expenses in the period in which they were earned or incurred, allowing for an even distribution of income and a more accurate business of daily operations.
Classified balance sheet: The classified balance sheet breaks down assets and liabilities into subcategories focusing on current and long-term classifications. This allows investors to see company position in both the short term and long term.
Liquidity: Liquidity means a business has enough cash available to pay bills as they come due. Being too liquid can mean that a company is not using its assets efficiently.
Working capital: Working capital shows how efficiently a company operates. The formula is current assets minus current liabilities.
Current ratio: The current ratio shows how many times over a company can cover its liabilities. It is found by dividing current assets by current liabilities.

The comprehensive accounting cycle is the process in which transactions are recorded in the accounting records and are ultimately reflected in the ending period balances on the financial statements.
Comprehensive accounting cycle for a business: A service business is taken through the comprehensive accounting cycle, starting with the formation of the entity, recording all necessary journal entries for its transactions, making all required adjusting and closing journal entries, and culminating in the preparation of all requisite financial statements.