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Chapter 11: Q11-5CA (page 597)

(Depreciation Choice鈥擡thics) Jerry Prior, Beeler Corporation鈥檚 controller, is concerned that net income may be lower this year. He is afraid upper-level management might recommend cost reductions by laying off accounting staff, including him.

Prior knows that depreciation is a major expense for Beeler. The company currently uses the double-declining-balance method for both financial reporting and tax purposes, and he鈥檚 thinking of selling equipment that, given its age, is primarily used when there are periodic spikes in demand. The equipment has a carrying value of \(2,000,000 and a fair value of \)2,180,000. The gain on the sale would be reported in the income statement. He doesn鈥檛 want to highlight this method of increasing income. He thinks, 鈥淲hy don鈥檛 I increase the estimated useful lives and the salvage values? That will decrease depreciation expense and require less extensive disclosure, since the changes are accounted for prospectively. I may be able to save my job and those of my staff.鈥�

Instructions

Answer the following questions.

  1. Who are the stakeholders in this situation?
  2. What are the ethical issues involved?
  3. What should Prior do?

Short Answer

Expert verified

Answer

  1. The taxation agency and the accounting team member are some of the stakeholders in this situation.
  2. Ethical values are being used to improve the current year's profits.
  3. Prior can predict depreciation costs and the possibility of prolonging an asset's useable life based on available data.

Step by step solution

01

Step-by-Step SolutionStep 1: Meaning of Depreciation

Depreciation is an accounting term used to indicate the expense in the books of accounts for the assets whose value declines over time. It is computed at the end of the year or whenever an asset is sold.

02

(a) Explaining the stakeholders in the given situation

The parties involved in this lawsuit are Jerry Prior, other accounting team personnel, Beeler Corporation, and the taxation agency.

Jerry Prior is responsible for reducing depreciation expenses and generating net profitability. Any changes in the two criteria mentioned above would have a big influence on him.

Beeler Corporation has a negative impact on depreciation costs and accumulated non-cash revenue.

Beeler Corporation's increased tax revenue would have an impact on the taxing agency.

03

(b) Explaining the ethical issues

In order to enhance the current year's revenues, the case incorporates ethical concerns such as enhancing the equipment's useable life and residual value. Manipulation of depreciation expenses will provide non-real income in the short term, but it will have a negative impact on the firm in the long run.

04

(c) Explaining the situation of Prior

Prior can predict depreciation costs and the possibility of prolonging an asset's useable life based on real-world data. If there is no option to extend the machinery's usable life, Prior can sell it for fair market value. Although it is not recommended, selling machinery to improve current-year profitability is still acceptable.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Explain how gains or losses on impaired assets should be reported in income.

(Book vs. Tax (MACRS) Depreciation) Shimei Inc. purchased computer equipment on March 1, 2017, for \(31,000. The computer equipment has a useful life of 10 years and a salvage value of \)1,000. For tax purposes, the MACRS class life is 5 years.

Instructions

a. Assuming that the company uses the straight-line method for book and tax purposes, what is the depreciation expense reported in

  1. the financial statements for 2017 and
  2. the tax return for 2017?

b. Assuming that the company uses the double-declining-balance method for both book and tax purposes, what is the depreciation expense reported in

  1. the financial statements for 2017 and
  2. the tax return for 2017?

c. Why is depreciation for tax purposes different from depreciation for book purposes even if the company uses the same depreciation method to compute them both?

(Depreciation and Error Analysis) A depreciation schedule for semi-trucks of Ichiro Manufacturing Company was requested by your auditor soon after December 31, 2018, showing the additions, retirements, depreciation, and other data affecting the income of the company in the 4-year period 2015 to 2018, inclusive. The following data were ascertained.

Balance of Trucks account, Jan. 1, 2015

Truck No. 1 purchased Jan. 1, 2012, cost

\(18,000

Truck No. 2 purchased July 1, 2012, cost

22,000

Truck No. 3 purchased Jan. 1, 2014, cost

30,000

Truck No. 4 purchased July 1, 2014, cost

24,000

Balance, Jan. 1, 2015

\)94,000

The Accumulated Depreciation鈥擳rucks account previously adjusted to January 1, 2015, and entered in the ledger, had a balance on that date of \(30,200 (depreciation on the four trucks from the respective dates of purchase, based on a 5-year life, no salvage value). No charges had been made against the account before January 1, 2015.

Transactions between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2018, which were recorded in the ledger, are as follows.

July 1, 2015 Truck No. 3 was traded for a larger one (No. 5), the agreed purchase price of which was \)40,000. Ichiro. paid the automobile dealer \(22,000 cash on the transaction. The entry was a debit to Trucks and a credit to Cash, \)22,000. The transaction has commercial substance.

Jan. 1, 2016 Truck No. 1 was sold for \(3,500 cash; entry debited Cash and credited Trucks, \)3,500.

July 1, 2017 A new truck (No. 6) was acquired for \(42,000 cash and was charged at that amount to the Trucks account. (Assume truck No. 2 was not retired.)

July 1, 2017 Truck No. 4 was damaged in a wreck to such an extent that it was sold as junk for \)700 cash. Ichiro received \(2,500 from the insurance company. The entry made by the bookkeeper was a debit to Cash, \)3,200, and credits to Miscellaneous Income, \(700, and Trucks, \)2,500.

Entries for straight-line depreciation had been made at the close of each year as follows: 2015, \(21,000; 2016, \)22,500; 2017, \(25,050; and 2018, \)30,400.

Instructions

  1. For each of the 4 years, compute separately the increase or decrease in net income arising from the company鈥檚 errors in determining or entering depreciation or in recording transactions affecting trucks, ignoring income tax considerations.
  2. Prepare one compound journal entry as of December 31, 2018, for adjustment of the Trucks account to reflect the correct balances as revealed by your schedule, assuming that the books have not been closed for 2018.

Companies following international accounting standards can revalue fixed assets above the assets鈥� historical costs. Such revaluations are allowed under various countries鈥� standards and the standards issued by the IASB. Liberty International, a real estate company headquartered in the United Kingdom (U.K.), follows U.K. standards. In a recent year, Liberty disclosed the following information on revaluations of its tangible fixed assets. The revaluation reserve measures the amount by which tangible fixed assets are recorded above historical cost and is reported in Liberty鈥檚 stockholders鈥� equity.

Liberty International

Completed Investment Properties

Completed investment properties are professionally valued on a market value basis by external valuers at the balance sheet date. Surpluses and deficits arising during the year are reflected in the revalution reserve.

Liberty reported the following additional data. Amounts for Kimco Realty (which follows GAAP) in the same year are provided for comparison.

Liberty

(pounds sterling, in thousands)

Kimco

(dollars, in millions)

Total revenues

拢 741

$ 517

Average total assets

5,577

4,696

Net income

125

297

Instructions

  1. Compute the following ratios for Liberty and Kimco.
    1. Return on assets.
    2. Profit margin on sales.
    3. Asset turnover.

How do these companies compare on these performance measures?

  1. Liberty reports a revaluation surplus of 拢1,952. Assume that 拢1,550 of this amount arose from an increase in the net replacement value of investment properties during the year. Prepare the journal entry to record this increase.
  2. Under U.K. (and IASB) standards, are Liberty鈥檚 assets and equity overstated? If so, why? When comparing Liberty to U.S. companies, like Kimco, what adjustments would you need to make in order to have valid comparisons of ratios such as those computed in (a) above?

(Depletion and Depreciation鈥擬ining) Khamsah Mining Company has purchased a tract of mineral land for \(900,000. It is estimated that this tract will yield 120,000 tons of ore with sufficient mineral content to make mining and processing profitable. It is further estimated that 6,000 tons of ore will be mined the first and last year and 12,000 tons every year in between. (Assume 11 years of mining operations.) The land will have a salvage value of \)30,000.

The company builds necessary structures and sheds on the site at a cost of \(36,000. It is estimated that these structures can serve 15 years but, because they must be dismantled if they are to be moved, they have no salvage value. The company does not intend to use the buildings elsewhere. Mining machinery installed at the mine was purchased secondhand at a cost of \)60,000. This machinery cost the former owner $150,000 and was 50% depreciated when purchased. Khamsah Mining estimates that about half of this machinery will still be useful when the present mineral resources have been exhausted, but that dismantling and removal costs will just about offset its value at that time. The company does not intend to use the machinery elsewhere. The remaining machinery will last until about one-half the present estimated mineral ore has been removed and will then be worthless. Cost is to be allocated equally between these two classes of machinery.

Instructions

  1. As chief accountant for the company, you are to prepare a schedule showing estimated depletion and depreciation costs for each year of the expected life of the mine.
  2. Also compute the depreciation and depletion for the first year assuming actual production of 5,000 tons. Nothing occurred during the year to cause the company engineers to change their estimates of either the mineral resources or the life of the structures and equipment.
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