Debit、Credit 和 Double Entry

Debit 和credit 就是会计复式记帐法中常用的两个记帐符号"借"和"贷"。

Debit 的意义比较单纯，就是簿记上的"借方""。但是，很容易与另一个词debt 混淆。debt比debit只少一个字母I，而且意思也相近，有"借款"的意思，如the national debt（国债）。

Credit 的汉语意思比较多，有"信用、信誉、名声、名誉"的意思，还有"挂帐、赊帐"的意思，在簿记上就是"贷方"意思。

由于这两个词汇在会计学上总是一起出现，就把他们放到一起来举例说明，加深印象。

1.When an amount is entered on the left of an account，it is a debit，and the account is said to be debited . The abbreviation for debit is Dr.
当一个数额记在帐户的左边，它就是借方记录，称这个帐户被借记。“借方”的缩写是“Dr.”。

2.When an amount is entered on the right side ，it is a credit，and the account is said to be credited. The abbreviation for credit is Cr.
当一个数额记在帐户的右边，它就是贷方记录，称这个帐户被贷记。“贷方”的缩写是“Cr.”。

3.Making an entry in the"amount" column on the left hand side of an account means "Debit"（abbreviated Dr.）and to the contrast, means "Credit"(abbreviated Cr.).记入帐户的左边"金额"栏称为“借记”该帐户（简写为Dr），与此相反，则为“贷记”该帐户（简写为Cr.）。

4.By convention ,assets and expense increases are recorded as debits while liability, capital and income increases are recorded as credits.
根据惯例，资产和费用的增加被记为借项，而负债、资本和收入的增加被记为贷项。

5.Assets and expense decreases are recorded as credits, while liability、capital and income decreases are recorded as debits.
资产和费用的减少被记为贷项，而负债、资本和收入的减少被记为借项。

6.Where there are only two accounts affected, the debit and credit amounts are equal. If more than two accounts are affected, the total of the debit entries must equal the total of the credit entries.
在只有两个帐户被影响时，借贷双方的数额是相等的，如果涉及两个以上帐户时，借项的总数必须与记入贷项的总数相等。

Double entry（复式记帐）是会计学上的专有词汇。例如：

In double entry accounting，which is in almost universal use, there are equal debit and credit entries for every transaction.
在复式记帐会计（几乎普遍使用）中，每笔交易的借方和贷方记入的数字相等。

Ledgers 和 Journals

Ledgers 在簿记上是分类帐的意思，可以和其他词汇搭配，构成许多会计词汇。如ledger accounts（分类帐户）、general ledger（总分类帐）、subsidiary ledger（明细分类帐）等。例如：

1. Ledger accounts are used to record business transactions' effect on an accounting entity.
分类帐户被用来记录交易对会计主体的影响。

2.A ledger account is simply a record of changes （increase and decrease）and balances in value of a specific accounting item.
分类帐户不过是特定会计项目价值的变动（增加与减少）和结余的记录。

3.The general ledger is the book used to list all the accounts established by an organization.
总分类帐是一本列出一个单位所设立的全部帐户的帐本。

4.Further simplification of the general ledger is brought about by the use of subsidiary ledger.
使用明细分类帐使总分类帐更加简化明了。

5.The advantages of subsidiary ledger are as following：（1）reduces ledger detail ；（2）permits better division of labor；（3）permits a different sequence of accounts；（4）permits better internal control。
明细分类帐的优点如下；（1）减少分类帐的细节；（2）使劳动分工更合理；（3）允许不同的帐户排序（4）便于更好地内部控制。

Journal 比较常用的意思是"日记、日志；杂志、刊物"，如keep a journal （记日志）、a ship's journal (航海日志)，a monthly journal (月刊)，单词 diary 也有"日记"的意思，但journal 比 diary 更强调"正式记录"。Journal 在会计词汇上的意思是"日记帐"。例如：

1.In a western accounting system ,the information about each business transaction is initially recorded in an accounting record called a Journal.
在西方会计体系中，有关每笔经济交易的资料最初是记在一本叫做“日记帐”的会计帐上。

2.A journal is a chronological(arrange in order of time ) record of business transactions.
日记帐是对经济交易的序时（即按时间的顺序）记录。

3.In a journal entry, the debits and credits for given transaction are recorded together, but when the transaction is recorded in the ledger, the debits and credits are entered in different accounts.
在日记帐上记帐时，既定交易的借方和贷方一起被记录，但在分类帐记录中，一笔交易的借方和贷方进入不同的帐户中。

4.A journal may be a general journal or it may be a group of special journals.
日记帐可以是一本通用日记帐，也可以是一组特种日记帐。

Current assets、fixed assets 和 Current liabilities

Current 是一个很有意思的词汇。它既可以是形容词，也可以是名词。

作为形容词，current 意思是“通用的、流通的，现在的”，如 current money（通货），current English（现代英语），current fashion（目前流行的风尚）；
作为名词，current 的意思是"水流、气流，电流，动向、潮流"，如 the current of a river （河的水流），the cold current （寒流），a direct current （直流电），the current of public opinion（舆论的动向）。

在这里，还要特别提到英国的两种存款 current account （活期存款，也相当于美国银行中的 checking account ）和deposit account （储蓄存款，也相当于美国银行中的 savings account ）。如果你到英国银行对柜员说："Could you tell me what sorts of accounts there are ？"（您能告诉我有几种什么存款吗？）银行柜员就会说："Well，there are basically two types of accounts .There's a current account and a deposit account. With the current account you can pay for things by cheque, but you don't earn any interest . With the deposit account ,you earn interest ,but you can't pay for things by cheque.."（基本上有两种存款，一种活期存款，一种储蓄存款；活期存款你可以用支票支付，但没有利息；储蓄存款可以挣到利息，但不能用支票支付。）

Current assets 就是“流动资产”。例如：

1.Current assets are the assets reasonably expected to be converted into cash or used in the current operation of the business.(The current period is generally taken as one year.) Examples are cash, notes receivable, accounts receivable, inventory , and prepaid expenses.
流动资产指的是有充分理由认为在当期经营活动中转换成现金或被使用的资产(一般是一年期)。现金、应收票据、应收帐款、存货以及预付的费用都属于流动资产。

说到流动资产，就不能不提到另一个词汇 fixed assets（固定资产）。例如：

2.Fixed assets are the long-lived assets used in the production of goods or services. These assets, sometime called non-current assets, are used in the operation of business rather than being held for sale.
固定资产是在产品和服务的生产过程中使用的寿命较长的资产。这些资产有时称为非流动资产，是公司经营中为了使用而不是为销售而置备的资产。

Current liabilities 就是"流动负债"。例如：

3.Current liabilities . Debts which must be satisfied from current assets within the next operating period, usually one year. Examples are accounts payable, notes payable, the current portion of long-term debt, and various accrued items such as salaries payable and taxes payable.

流动负债。在下一个经营期间，通常是一年内必须用流动资产偿还的债务。应付帐款、应付票据、长期债务的当期分摊额，以及诸如应付工资和应付税款等种种应计项目都是流动负债。