Chapter 13 In a Set of Financial Statements, What Information Is Conveyed about Current and Contingent Liabilities?

Current and Noncurrent Liabilities

Question: The June 30, 2011, consolidated balance sheet for The Procter & Gamble Company reports total liabilitiesProbable future sacrifices of economic benefits arising from present obligations; the debts of an organization. of over $70 billion, including current liabilities of approximately $27 billion. In contrast, the business held only $2.8 billion in cash and cash equivalents.

For reporting purposes, Procter & Gamble divided its current liabilitiesDebts that will be satisfied within one year from the date of a balance sheet. into several specific categories:

• Accounts payable ($8.0 billion)
• Accrued and other liabilities ($9.3 billion)
• Debt due within one year ($10.0 billion)

When creating a balance sheet, what is reported as a liability? Why are some of these liabilities shown as current whereas others are not? How does an accountant draw a distinction between liabilities that are labeled as current and those that are reported as noncurrent?

 

Answer: A liability is an obligation owed to a party outside the reporting organization—a debt that can be stated in monetary terms. Liabilities normally require the payment of cash but might at times be settled by the conveyance of other assets or the delivery of services. Some reported liabilities are for definite amounts, although a significant number are no more than estimations.

The distinction between current and noncurrent liabilitiesDebts that will not be satisfied within one year from the date of a balance sheet. is a function of time. A debt that is expected to be satisfied within one year from the balance sheet date is normally classified as a current liability.In upper-level accounting courses, the definition of a current liability is refined a bit. It refers to any liability that will require the use of a current asset or the creation of another current liability. However, the one-year standard presented in this textbook is sufficient in a vast majority of cases. Amounts owed for rent, insurance, utilities, inventory purchases, and the like usually fall into this category. If payment will not be made until after that one-year interval, the liability is reported as noncurrent. Bonds and notes payable are common examples of noncurrent debts as are liabilities for employee pensions, long-term leases, and deferred income taxes. Current liabilities are listed before noncurrent liabilities on a balance sheet.

The Importance of Information about Liabilities

Question: Figure 13.1 "Liability Section of Balance Sheet, Johnson & Johnson as of January 2, 2011" is the liability section of the balance sheet reported by Johnson & Johnson as of January 2, 2011. Note that additional information about many of these liabilities is available in the notes to the company’s financial statements.

Investors and creditors (and other interested parties) who analyze an organization such as Johnson & Johnson usually spend considerable time studying the data that is provided about liabilities, often focusing on current liabilities. Why is information about liabilities, especially the size and composition of current liabilities, considered so important when assessing the financial position and economic health of a business?

 

Answer: Liabilities represent claims to a company’s assets. Debts must be paid as they come due or the entity risks serious consequences. Missed payments might damage a company’s ability to obtain additional credit in the future. Unfortunately, even bankruptcy can quickly become a possibility if obligations are not met.

To stay viable, organizations have to manage their liabilities carefully. They must be able to generate sufficient cash on an ongoing basis to meet all required payments. Virtually no other goal can be more important, both to company officials and external decision makers.

In general, the larger a liability total is in comparison to the reported amount of assets, the riskier the financial position. The future is always cloudy for a business when the size of its debts begins to approach the total of its assets. The amount reported as current liabilities is especially significant because those debts must be satisfied in the near future. Cash has to be available quickly, often within weeks or months.

Not surprisingly, decision makers become concerned when the reported total for current liabilities is high in comparison with current assets. The essential question is obvious: will the organization be able to meet those obligations as they come due? In a newspaper account about the financial difficulties of Advanced Cell Technology, the following warning was issued: “It reported $17 million in current liabilities, but only $1 million in cash and other current assets, an indication it could be forced to file for bankruptcy protection.”Todd Wallack, “Fame-courting biotech running short of cash,” The Boston Globe, July 17, 2008, A-1.

As mentioned in an earlier chapter, one vital sign monitored by decision makers in judging the present level of risk posed by a company’s liability requirements is the current ratioFormula measuring an organization’s liquidity (the ability to pay debts as they come due); calculated by dividing current assets by current liabilities.: current assets divided by current liabilities. The current ratio is a simple benchmark that can be easily computed using available balance sheet information. Although many theories exist as to an appropriate standard, any current ratio below 1.00 to 1.00 signals that the company’s current liabilities exceed its current assets. Figure 13.2 "Sample of Recent Current Ratios as of January 29, 2011" presents recent current ratios for three well-known companies: Target, Dillard’s, and Aeropostale.

Characteristics of a Liability

Question: In the real world of business, organizations are not inclined to report more liabilities than necessary because of potential damage to the image being portrayed. The inclusion of debts usually makes a company look riskier to creditors and investors. Thus, the danger that officials will report an excessive amount of liabilities seems slight. Balance sheets look better to decision makers if fewer obligations are present to drain off financial resources. Consequently, where possible, officials probably have a tendency to limit the debts that are reported. At what point does an entity have to recognize a liability? How does U.S. GAAP ensure that all liabilities are appropriately included on a balance sheet?

 

Answer: FASB Statement of Financial Accounting Concepts No. 6 defines many of the elements found in a set of financial statements. According to this guideline, a liability should be recognized when all of the following characteristics exist:

1. There is a probable future sacrifice
2. This sacrifice involves the reporting entity’s assets or services.
3. The sacrifice arises from a present obligation that is the result of a past transaction or event.

To understand the reporting of liabilities, several aspects of these characteristics are especially important to note. First, the obligation does not have to be absolute before recognition is required. A future sacrifice only has to be “probable.” This standard leaves open a degree of uncertainty. As might be expected, determination as to whether a potential payment is probable or not can be a point of close scrutiny when independent CPAs audit a set of financial statements. The line between “probable” and “not quite probable” is hardly an easily defined benchmark.

Second, for reporting to be required, a debt must result from a past transaction or event.

• An employee works for a company and is owed a salary. The work previously performed is the past event that creates the obligation.
• A vendor delivers merchandise to a business. Receipt of these purchased goods is the past event that creates the obligation.

Third, the past transaction or event must create a present obligation. In other words, an actual debt must exist and not just a potential debt. Ordering a piece of equipment is a past event but, in most cases, no liability has yet been incurred. In contrast, the delivery of this equipment probably does obligate the buyer and, thus, necessitates the reporting of a debt. Often, in deciding whether a liability should be recognized, the accountant must address two key questions: what event actually obligates the company, and when did that event occur?

Determining all of the liabilities to be included on a balance sheet often takes considerable thought and analysis. Accountants for the reporting company produce a list of debts that meet the characteristics listed above. The independent auditor then spends considerable time and energy searching for any other obligations that might have been omitted, either accidentally or on purpose.

Recognizing All of a Company’s Current Liabilities

Question: Current liabilities often include rent payable, salary payable, insurance payable, and the like. These debts are incurred in connection with day-to-day operations. The amounts are known and payment will be made within a relatively short period of time.

Liabilities that result from physical events such as the purchase of inventory or supplies are often reported under the generic title “accounts payable.” Other current debts (interest payable or rent payable, for example) are sometimes grouped together as accrued liabilitiesLiabilities that grow gradually because of the passage of time; common examples include salaries, rent, and interest. because they grow gradually in size over time rather than through a specific transaction. How does an organization determine the amount of current liabilities to be reported on its balance sheet?

 

Answer: As discussed in a previous chapter, the timing for the recognition of a purchase is guided by the FOB point specified by the seller or negotiated by the parties. If marked “FOB shipping point,” the liability is reported by the buyer when the goods leave the seller’s place of business. “FOB destination” delays recording until the merchandise is received by the buyer. Unless goods are damaged during transit or a dispute arises over payment for transportation charges, the FOB point is only relevant near the end of the fiscal year as the accountant attempts to separate transactions between one period and the next.

Many other liabilities are not created by a specific event but rather grow gradually day by day. Interest and rent are common examples but salaries, payroll taxes, and utilities also accrue in the same manner. They increase based on the passage of time. Interest on a loan or the amount due to an employee gets larger on a continual basis until paid. Adjusting entries are required at the end of a period to recognize any accrued liabilities that have been omitted from the general ledger.

To illustrate, assume a large group of employees earns total wages of $10,000 per day. They work Monday through Friday with payment made on the final day of each week. If the company’s fiscal year ends on a Wednesday, an adjustment is necessary so that both the expense on the income statement and the liability on the balance sheet are presented fairly for the three days that passed without payment. The adjustment shown in Figure 13.3 "Year-End Adjusting Entry to Recognize Debt to Employees for Three Days’ Work" is made for $30,000 ($10,000 per day for three days) so that the debt incurred for salaries prior to the end of the year is reported. The expense is recognized in this period to match the cost with the revenues that were earned during these three days by the employees.

As a second example, assume a company borrows $100,000 from a bank on December 1 with payment to be made in six months. The bank has to earn a profit and charges a 6 percent annual interest rate. By the end of that year, the company owes interest but only for the one month that has passed. As of December 31, interest expense has grown to $500 ($100,000 principal × 6 percent × 1/12 year). This accrued liability is recognized through the adjusting entry shown in Figure 13.4 "Year-End Adjusting Entry to Recognize Interest for One Month".

Reporting the Sale of Gift Cards as a Liability

Question: The February 26, 2011, balance sheet for Best Buy Co. Inc. shows several typical current liability accounts such as accounts payable and accrued liabilities. However, a $474 million figure also appears titled “Unredeemed Gift Card LiabilitiesAn obligation arising when a business accepts cash and issues a card that can be redeemed in the future for a specified amount of assets or services..”

Over the last decade or so, the importance of gift cards has escalated dramatically as a source of revenue for many businesses. By purchasing such cards, customers obtain the right to a specified amount of goods or services. From Starbucks to McDonald’s to Amazon.com, these cards are sold to serve as gifts or merely as a convenient method for handling future payments. How does a company such as Best Buy account for the thousands of gift cards that it sells each year?

 

Answer: As stated previously, a liability represents a probable future sacrifice of an asset or service. By selling a gift card, a company has created an obligation to the customer that must be reported. Businesses such as Best Buy or Barnes & Noble accept cash but then have to be willing to hand over inventory items such as cameras or books whenever the gift card is presented. Or, perhaps, some service is due to the cardholder such as the repair of a computer or a massage. To the seller, a gift card reflects a liability but one that is not normally settled with cash. Undoubtedly, the most common type of gift card in the world is a postal stamp. When bought, the stamp provides a person with the right to receive a particular service, the mailing of a letter or package.

To illustrate, assume that a company sells ten thousand gift cards with a redemption value of $50 each. Revenue cannot be reported at the time of sale; the earning process is not yet substantially complete. No asset or service has been conveyed to the customer. Rather, as shown in Figure 13.5 "Sale of Ten Thousand $50 Gift Cards for Cash", a liability (labeled as “unearned revenue” or “gift card liability”) is recognized to indicate that the company has an obligation to the holder of the card.

Over time, customers will present their gift cards for selected merchandise. To complete this illustration, assume that a person uses one of the $50 cards to acquire goods that had originally cost the company $32. Upon redemption, the liability is satisfied and the revenue is recognized. This exchange is reported in Figure 13.6 "Redemption of Gift Card". A perpetual inventory system is used in this example to demonstrate the impact on inventory and cost of goods sold.

Accounting for Gift Cards That Are Never Redeemed

Question: Some gift cards are never redeemed. They might be lost or just forgotten by their owners. Does the liability for a gift card remain on a company’s balance sheet indefinitely if it is unlikely that redemption will ever occur?

 

Answer: One reason that gift cards have become so popular with businesses is that some percentage will never be redeemed. They will be misplaced, stolen, or the holder will move away or die. Perhaps the person simply does not want the merchandise that is available. In such cases, the seller received money but has never had to fulfill the obligation. The entire amount of cash from the sale of the gift card is profit.

For the accountant, a question arises as to the appropriate timing of revenue recognition from such anticipated defaults. The earning process is never substantially completed by a redemption. In theory, a company recognizes this revenue when reasonable evidence exists that the card will never be used by the customer. Practically, though, determining this precise point is a matter of speculation.

Companies typically report the revenue from unused gift cards at one of three possible times:

1. When the cards expire if a time limit is imposed.
2. After the passage of a specified period of time such as eighteen months or two years.
3. In proportion to the cards that are actually redeemed. To illustrate this final option, assume that a company sells thousands of cards. Based on historical trends, company officials believe that $8,000 of these gift cards will never be turned in by their owners. If 10 percent of the expected gift cards are redeemed this month, the company can also reclassify $800 (10 percent of $8,000) from unearned revenue to revenue to reflect the estimated portion of those cards that will never be presented.

Because of this accounting issue, a note to the financial statements produced by Best Buy explains, “We recognize revenue from gift cards when: (i) the gift card is redeemed by the customer, or (ii) the likelihood of the gift card being redeemed by the customer is remote (‘gift card breakage’), and we determine that we do not have a legal obligation to remit the value of unredeemed gift cards to the relevant jurisdictions. We determine our gift card breakage rate based upon historical redemption patterns.”

Commitments and Contingencies

Question: The December 31, 2010, balance sheet for E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (better known as DuPont) shows total liabilities of approximately $30.7 billion. Immediately following the liability section, a separate category titled “Commitments and Contingent Liabilities” is included but no monetary figure is presented. Note 19 to the company’s financial statements provides further details. In several pages of explanatory material, a number of future matters facing the company are described such as product warranties, environmental actions, litigation, and operating leases. In financial reporting, what is meant by the terms “commitments” and “contingencies?”

 

Answer:

Commitments. Commitments represent unexecuted contracts. A contract has been created (either orally or in writing) and all parties have agreed to the terms. However, the listed actions have not yet been performed.

For example, assume that a business places an order with a truck company for the purchase of a large truck. The business has made a commitmentAn unexecuted contract such as for the future purchase of inventory at a set price; amounts are not reported on the balance sheet or income statement because no transaction has yet occurred; disclosure of information within the financial statement notes is necessary. to pay for this new vehicle but only after delivery has been received. Although a cash payment will be required in the future, the specified event (conveyance of the truck) has not occurred. No transaction has taken place, so no journal entry is needed. The liability does not yet exist.

Information about such commitments is still of importance to decision makers because future cash payments will be required of the reporting company. However, events have not reached the point where all the characteristics of a liability are present. Thus, an extensive explanation about such commitments (as found in the notes for DuPont) is included in the notes to financial statements but no amounts are reported on either the income statement or the balance sheet. When a commitment is described, investors and creditors know that a step has been taken that will likely lead to a liability.

Contingencies. A contingencyA potential gain or loss that might eventually arise as a result of a past event; uncertainty exists as to the likelihood that a gain or loss will occur and the actual amount, if any, that will result. poses a different reporting quandary for the accountant. A past event has already occurred but the amount of the present obligation (if any) cannot yet be determined.

With a contingency, the uncertainty is about the ultimate outcome of an action that took place in the past. The accountant is not a fortune teller who can predict the future. To illustrate, assume Wysocki Corporation commits an act that is detrimental to the environment so that the federal government files a lawsuit for damages. The original action against the environment is the past event that creates the contingency. However, both the chance of losing the lawsuit and the possible amount of any penalties might not be known for several years. What, if anything, should be recognized in the interim?

Because companies prefer to avoid (or at least minimize) the recognition of losses and liabilities, authoritative guidelines are necessary to guide the appropriate reporting of contingencies. Otherwise, few if any contingencies would ever be reported.

According to U.S. GAAP, the recognition of a loss contingencyA potential loss resulting from a past event that must be recognized on an entity’s financial statements if it is deemed probable and the amount can be reasonably estimated. is required if the following are true:

1. The loss is deemed to be probable.
2. The amount of that loss can be reasonably estimated.

As soon as both of these criteria are met, the expected impact of the loss contingency must be recorded.

To illustrate, assume that the previous lawsuit for environmental damages was filed in Year One. Wysocki officials assess the situation. They believe that a loss is probable and that $800,000 is a reasonable estimation of the amount that will eventually have to be paid as a result of this litigation. Although this balance is only an estimate and the case may not be finalized for some time, the contingent loss is recognized, as can be seen in Figure 13.7 "Year One—Expected Loss from Lawsuit (Contingency)".

FASB has identified a number of examples of loss contingencies that are evaluated and reported in this same manner including:

• Collectability of receivables
• Obligations related to product warranties and product defects
• Risk of loss or damage of enterprise property by fire, explosion, or other hazards
• Threat of expropriation of assets
• Pending or threatened litigation
• Actual or possible claims and assessments
• Guarantees of indebtedness of others

Accounting Rules Used to Record Contingent Losses

Question: The likelihood of loss in connection with contingencies is not always going to be probable or subject to a reasonable estimation. These two criteria will be met in some but certainly not in all cases. What reporting is appropriate for a loss contingency that does not qualify for recording at the present time?

 

Answer: If a contingent loss is only reasonably possible (rather than probable) or if the amount of a probable loss does not lend itself to a reasonable estimation, only disclosure in the notes to the financial statements is necessary rather than actual recognition. Furthermore, a contingency where the chance of loss is viewed as merely remote can be omitted entirely from the financial statements.

Unfortunately, as discussed previously, official guidance provides little specific detail about what constitutes a probable, reasonably possible, or remote loss. At best, each of those terms seems vague. For example, within U.S. GAAP, “probable” is described as “likely to occur.” Thus, the professional judgment of the accountants and auditors must be relied on to determine the exact point in time when a contingent loss moves from reasonably possible to probable.

Not surprisingly, many companies contend that any future adverse effects from loss contingencies are only reasonably possible so that no actual amounts are reported on the balance sheet. Practical application of official accounting standards is not always theoretically pure, especially when the guidelines are nebulous.

Fixing an Incorrect Estimate

Question: Assume that a company recognizes a contingent loss because it is judged as probable and subject to a reasonable estimation. Eventually, most such guesses are likely to prove to be wrong, at least in some small amount. What happens when an estimate is reported in a set of financial statements and the actual total is later found to be different?

For example, as shown in Figure 13.7 "Year One—Expected Loss from Lawsuit (Contingency)", Wysocki Corporation recognized a loss of $800,000 in Year One because of a lawsuit involving environmental damage. Assume the case is eventually settled in Year Two for $900,000. How is the additional loss of $100,000 reported? It relates to an action taken in Year One but the actual amount is not finalized until Year Two. The difference is not apparent until the later date.

 

Answer: In Year One, because both criteria for reporting were met, an $800,000 loss was recognized on the income statement along with a corresponding liability. In addition, notes to the company’s financial statement will explain the nature of this lawsuit as well as the range of any reasonably possible losses. Decision makers analyzing the Wysocki Corporation should realize that the amount reported is not meant as a precise measure of the eventual loss. The same is true of all contingencies and other estimations. By the time that the exact amount of loss is determined, investors and creditors have already incorporated the original information into their decisions, including the uncertainty of the outcome. Restating the Year One loss to $900,000 does not allow them to undo and change decisions that were made in the past.

Consequently, no alteration is made in the $800,000 figure reported for Year One. The additional $100,000 loss is recorded in Year Two. The adjustment is recognized as soon as a better estimation (or final figure) is available. This approach is required to correct any reasonable estimate. Wysocki recognizes the updated balances through the journal entry shown in Figure 13.8 "Year Two—Settlement of Lawsuit at an Amount $100,000 More than Originally Reported" that removes the liability and records the remainder of the loss that has now been incurred.

One important exception to this handling does exist. If the initial estimate is viewed as fraudulent—an attempt to deceive decision makers—the $800,000 figure reported in Year One is physically restated. It simply cannot continue to appear. All amounts in a set of financial statements have to be presented in good faith. Any reported balance that fails this essential test cannot be allowed to remain. Furthermore, even if company officials made no overt attempt to deceive, restatement is still required if they should have known that a reported figure was materially wrong. Such amounts were not reported in good faith; officials have been grossly negligent in reporting the financial information.

From a journal entry perspective, restatement of a previously reported income statement balance is accomplished by adjusting retained earnings. Revenues and expenses (as well as gains, losses, and any dividends paid figures) are closed into retained earnings at the end of each year. Thus, this account is where the previous year error now resides.

Upon discovery that the actual loss from the lawsuit is $900,000, this amount is reported by one of the two approaches presented in Figure 13.9 "Two Ways to Correct an Estimate". However, use of the second method is rare because accounting mistakes do not often reach this level of deceit or incompetence. An announcement that a company has had to “restate its earnings” is never a good sign.

Gain Contingencies

Question: The previous discussion focused entirely on the accounting that is required for loss contingencies. Companies obviously can also have gain contingenciesA potential gain resulting from a past event that is not recognized in an entity’s financial statements until it actually occurs due to the conservatism inherent in financial accounting.. In a lawsuit, for example, one party might anticipate winning $800,000 but eventually collect $900,000. Are the rules for reporting gain contingencies the same as those applied to loss contingencies?

 

Answer: As a result of the conservatism inherent in financial accounting, the timing used in the recognition of gains does not follow the same rules applied to losses. Losses are anticipated when they become probable; that has long been a fundamental rule of financial reporting. The recognition of gains is delayed until they actually occur (or, at least until they reach the point of being substantially complete). Disclosure in the notes is still important but the decision as to whether the outcome is probable or reasonably possible is irrelevant in reporting a gain. As reflected in Figure 13.10 "Reporting a Gain Contingency", gains are not anticipated for reporting purposes.

Accounting for Embedded Product Warranties

Question: U.S. GAAP includes an embedded product warrantyAn obligation established by the sale of a product where the seller promises to fix or replace the product if it proves to be defective. as one type of loss contingency. A company sells merchandise such as a car or a microwave and agrees to fix certain problems if they arise within a specified period of time. The seller might promise, for example, to replace a car’s transmission if it breaks. Making the sale with this warranty attached is the past event that creates the contingency. However, the item acquired by the customer must break before the company has an actual loss. That outcome is uncertain.

In accounting for an embedded product warranty, several estimates are required:

• The approximate number of claims that can be expected
• The percentage of these claims will meet the requirements of the warranty
• The eventual cost from the average approved claim

As an example, General Electric reported on its December 31, 2010, balance sheet a liability for product warranties totaling over $1.5 billion. That is certainly not a minor obligation. In the notes to the financial statements, the company explains, “We provide for estimated product warranty expenses when we sell the related products. Because warranty estimates are forecasts that are based on the best available information—mostly historical claims experience—claims costs may differ from amounts provided.” How does a company record and report contingencies such as embedded product warranties?

 

Answer: In accounting for warranties, cash rebates, the collectability of receivables and other similar contingencies, the likelihood of loss is rarely an issue. These losses are almost always probable. For the accountant, the challenge is in arriving at a reasonable estimate of that loss. How many microwaves will break and have to be repaired? What percentage of cash rebate coupons will be presented by customers in the allotted time? How often will a car’s transmission need to be replaced?

Many companies utilize such programs on an ongoing basis so that data from previous offers will be available to help determine the amount of the expected loss. However, historical trends cannot be followed blindly. Officials still have to be alert for any changes that could impact previous patterns. For example, in bad economic periods, customers are more likely to take the time to complete the paperwork required to receive a cash rebate. Or, the terms may vary from one warranty program to the next. Even small changes in the wording of an offer can alter the expected number of claims.

To illustrate, assume that a retail store sells ten thousand compact refrigerators during Year One for $400 cash each. The product is covered by a warranty that extends until the end of Year Three. No claims are made in Year One but similar programs in the past have resulted in repairs having to be made on 3 percent of the refrigerators at an average cost of $90. Thus, the warranty on the Year One sales is expected to cost a total of $27,000 (10,000 units × 3 percent = 300 claims; 300 claims × $90 each = $27,000).

Although no repairs are made in Year One, the $27,000 liability is reported in that period. Immediate recognition is appropriate because the loss is both probable and subject to reasonable estimation. In addition, the matching principle states that expenses should be reported in the same period as the revenues they help generate. Because the revenue from the sale of the refrigerators is recognized in Year One (Figure 13.11 "Year One—Sale of Ten Thousand Compact Refrigerators for $400 Each"), the warranty expense resulting from those revenues is included at that time (Figure 13.12 "Year One—Recognize Expected Cost of Warranty Claims").

This warranty is in effect until the end of Year Three. Assume that repairs made in the year following the sale (Year Two) cost the company $13,000 but are made for these customers at no charge. When a refrigerator breaks, it is fixed as promised by the warranty. Because the expense has already been recognized in the year of sale (Figure 13.12 "Year One—Recognize Expected Cost of Warranty Claims"), these payments reduce the recorded liability as is shown in Figure 13.13 "Year Two—Payment for Repair Work Covered by Embedded Warranty". The actual costs create no additional impact on net income.

At the end of Year Two, the liability balance in the general ledger holds a balance of $14,000 to reflect the expected warranty costs for Year Three ($27,000 original estimation less the $13,000 payout made for repairs to date). Because the warranty has not expired, company officials need to evaluate whether this $14,000 liability is still a reasonable estimation of the remaining costs to be incurred. If so, no further adjustment is made.

However, the original $27,000 was merely an estimate. More information is now available, some of which might suggest that $14,000 is no longer the best number to be utilized for the final year of the warranty. To illustrate, assume that a flaw has been found in the refrigerator’s design and that $20,000 (rather than $14,000) is now a better estimate of the costs to be incurred in the final year of the warranty.

The $14,000 balance is no longer appropriate. The reported figure is updated in Figure 13.14 "December 31, Year Two—Adjust Warranty Liability from $14,000 to Newly Expected $20,000" to provide a fair presentation of the data that is now available. Estimates should be changed at the point where new information provides a clearer vision of future events.

In this adjusting entry, the change in the expense is not recorded in the period of the sale. As discussed earlier, no retroactive restatements are made to figures previously reported unless fraud occurred or an estimate was held to be so unreasonable that it was not made in good faith.

Accounting for Extended Product Warranties

Question: Not all warranties are built into a sales transaction. Many retailers also offer extended product warrantiesAn obligation whereby the buyer of a product pays the seller for the equivalent of an insurance policy to protect against breakage or other harm to the product for a specified period of time. for an additional fee. For example, assume a business sells a high-definition television with an automatic one-year warranty. The buyer receives this warranty as part of the purchase agreement. The accounting for that first year is the same as just demonstrated; an estimated expense and liability are recognized at the time of sale.

However, an additional warranty for three more years is also offered at a price of $50. If on January 1, Year One, a customer buys a new television and also chooses to acquire this additional three-year coverage, what recording is made by the seller? Is an extended warranty purchased by a customer reported in the same manner as an automatic product warranty embedded within a sales contract?

 

Answer: Extended warranties, which are quite popular in many industries, are simply insurance policies. If the customer buys the coverage, the product is insured against breakage or other harm for the specified period of time. In most cases, the company is making the offer in an attempt to earn an extra profit. The seller hopes that the money received for the extended warranty will outweigh the eventual repair costs. Therefore, the accounting differs here from the process demonstrated previously for an embedded warranty that was provided to encourage the sale of the product. In that earlier example, all of the revenue as well as the related (but estimated) expense were recorded immediately.

By accepting money for an extended warranty, the seller agrees to provide services in the future. This contract is much like a gift card. The revenue cannot be recognized until the earning process is substantially complete. Thus, as shown in Figure 13.15 "January 1, Year One—Sale of Extended Warranty Covering Years Two through Four", the $50 received for the extended warranty on this television is initially recorded as “unearned revenue.” This balance is a liability because the company owes a specified service to the customer. As indicated previously, liabilities do not always represent future cash payments.

Note in Figure 13.15 "January 1, Year One—Sale of Extended Warranty Covering Years Two through Four" that no expense was estimated and recorded in connection with this warranty. As explained by the matching principle, expenses are not recognized until the related revenue is reported.

Because of the terms specified, this extended warranty does not become active until January 1, Year Two. The television is then covered for a three-year period. The revenue is recognized, most likely on a straight-line basis, over that time. Consequently, the $50 is reported at the rate of 1/3 per year or $16.66.

In any period in which a repair must be made, the expense is recognized as incurred because revenue from this warranty contract is also being reported. For example, assume that on August 8, Year Two, a slight adjustment must be made to the television at a cost of $9. The product is under warranty so the customer is not charged for this service. The Year Two expense shown in Figure 13.17 "August 8, Year Two—Repair of Television under Warranty Contract" is being matched with the Year Two revenue recognized in Figure 13.16 "December 31, Year Two (as well as Three and Four)—Recognition of Revenue from Extended Warranty".

Computing the Age of Accounts Payable

Question: Previously, the current ratio (current assets divided by current liabilities) and the amount of working capitalFormula measuring an organization’s liquidity (the ability to pay debts as they come due); calculated by subtracting current liabilities from current assets. (current assets minus current liabilities) were discussed. Do investors and creditors analyze any other vital signs when analyzing the current liabilities reported by a business or other organization? Should decision makers be aware of any specific ratios or amounts in connection with current liabilities that provide especially insightful information about a company’s financial health and operations?

 

Answer: In studying current liabilities, the number of days a business takes to pay its accounts payable is usually a figure of interest. If a business begins to struggle, the time of payment tends to lengthen because of the difficulty in generating sufficient cash amounts. Therefore, an unexpected jump in this number is often one of the first signs of financial distress and warrants concern.

To determine the age of accounts payableA determination of the number of days that a company takes to pay for the inventory that it buys; computed by dividing accounts payable by the average inventory purchases made per day during the period. (or the number of days in accounts payable), the amount of inventory purchased during the year is first calculated:

cost of goods sold = beginning inventory + purchases – ending inventory.

Thus,

purchases = cost of goods sold – beginning inventory + ending inventory.

Using this computed purchases figure, the number of days that a company takes to pay its accounts payable on the average can be determined. Either the average accounts payable for the year can be used or just the ending balance.

purchases/365 = average purchases per day accounts payable/average purchases per day = average age of accounts payable

As an illustration, the information presented in Figure 13.18 "Information from 2010 Financial Statements for Safeway Inc." comes from the 2010 financial statements for Safeway Inc.

The total amount of inventory purchased by Safeway during 2010 was over $29 billion:

purchases = cost of goods sold – beginning inventory + ending inventory purchases = $29.443 billion - $2.509 billion + $2.623 billion purchases = $29.557 billion.

The average purchases amount made each day during 2010 by Safeway was nearly $81 million:

purchases/365 $29.557/365 = $80.978 million.

The average age of the reported accounts payable for Safeway at the end of 2010 was between thirty-one and thirty-two days:

accounts payable/average daily purchases $2.533 billion/$80.978 million = 31.28 days.

To evaluate that number, a decision maker needs to compare it to (a) previous time periods for that company, (b) the typical payment terms for a business in that particular industry, and (c) comparable figures from other similar corporations. Interestingly, the same computation for 2008 showed that Safeway was taking 28.48 days to pay its accounts payable during that earlier period.