Accrued expenses
Ordinary service costs already incurred under a present obligation but not yet recognised in the ledger.
Ordinary service costs already incurred under a present obligation but not yet recognised in the ledger.
Recognising service already received
Reviewed · Current · Sterling explanation · From 6 April 2008
For an ordinary service cost already incurred under a present obligation, an Expense and Accrued expenses liability can be recognised even though no invoice or payment has arrived.
From a ledger starting point where none of the cost is recognised, the review-only adjustment debits the relevant expense and credits Accrued expenses. An independently known amount is used directly; otherwise the supplied allocation policy must represent consumption.
Exceptions and branches
- Accounts payable, provisions, contingent liabilities, disputed obligations, and specialist standards require separate classification.
Worked example
A supplier confirms that £750 of an ordinary service has been received by the reporting date, but none is recognised in the ledger. Sterling uses that independently known amount without inventing service dates.
The review-only journal is Debit Relevant expense £750 and Credit Accrued expenses £750. It records an expense and current liability, changes no cash, and never posts automatically.
Related concepts
Linked from
Sources
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The Small Companies and Groups (Accounts and Directors' Report) Regulations 2008 — Schedule 1, Part 2, paragraph 14. Primary authority.
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The Large and Medium-sized Companies and Groups (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 — Schedule 1, Part 2, paragraph 14. Primary authority.
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FRS 102 (September 2024 edition) — Paragraphs 2.33 to 2.64, especially paragraph 2.48. Accounting standard. Link-and-cite; publisher-hosted.
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FRS 105 (September 2024 edition) — Paragraphs 2.9 to 2.34, especially paragraph 2.24. Accounting standard. Link-and-cite; publisher-hosted.
Knowledge version: sterling-knowledge@2026-09-11.7. Last checked 11 September 2026.