PRACTICE TOPIC
Contra Accounts
Practice Contra Accounts with 9 accounting challenges on Accountely — instant IAS/IFRS-compliant scored feedback on every submission.
What contra accounts covers
A contra account carries a balance opposite to the account it is paired with, so both the gross amount and the deduction stay visible. Accumulated depreciation sits against the asset, allowance for doubtful accounts against receivables, and sales returns and discounts against sales revenue. The point is disclosure: netting the figures away would hide information a reader needs.
Challenges here ask you to present the gross amount, the contra balance and the resulting net figure in the right columns.
Where marks are usually lost
- Reducing the asset account directly instead of crediting the contra account.
- Showing only the net amount when the presentation calls for gross less contra.
- Giving a contra account the same normal balance as its parent.
9 Contra Accounts practice challenges
TitleTypeDifficulty
Bellview Retailers — Trial Balance as at 31 December 2025 Trial BalancemediumRiverside Wholesale - Allowance for Doubtful Accounts (US GAAP) US GAAPJournalmediumCrestwood Manufacturing — Trial Balance with Contra Accounts Trial BalancehardBradford Supply Co. - Aging of Receivables: Adjustment, Write-off and Recovery JournalmediumRiverton Supplies - Accounting for Bad Debts: Write-offs, Recovery and the Year-end Adjustment Multi-StatementmediumAshford Retail plc - Classified Statement of Financial Position with Inventory at Net Realizable Value Balance SheethardFairhaven Trading - Financial Statements with an Allowance for Doubtful Accounts Multi-StatementmediumPinehurst Logistics - Depreciation, Disposal and Retirement of Plant Assets JournalhardIronwood Corporation - Share Capital Transactions: Issues, Treasury Shares and Dividends Multi-Statementhard