Certified Medical Administrative Assistants (CMAA) Practice Exam 2025 – Comprehensive All-In-One Guide to Exam Success!

The correct answer is credit. In accounting, a credit represents an entry that decreases assets or increases liabilities and equity. When you credit an asset account, this signifies that there is a reduction in that asset. For example, if a business sells equipment, the amount received from the sale would lead to a credit in the asset account for that equipment, reflecting a decrease in assets.

Although withdrawal and expense may also impact the financial position, they do not specifically categorize the action of decreasing assets in the same fundamental way that credit does. A withdrawal typically refers to the removal of funds from an owner’s equity account, and expenses are costs incurred that reduce net income but do not directly indicate a transaction associated with asset reduction. A debit, on the other hand, is used to record increases in assets, which also makes it not applicable in describing the action of decreasing assets.