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Chapter 2: Q14Q. (page 61)

What is the basic accounting problem created by the monetary unit assumption when there is significant inflation? What appears to be the FASB position on a stable monetary unit?

Short Answer

Expert verified

The basic accounting problem created by the monetary unit assumption is that it does not account for the outcome of inflation or increase in price and the corresponding decrease in purchasing power of people. The FASB expects unadjusted dollar amounts to be used for determining items listed in financial statements.

Step by step solution

01

Meaning of Monetary Unit Assumption

The monetary unit assumption is also termed a money measurement concept. This assumption implies that only those business activities are noted in the accounting books which can be stated in cash. At the same time, non-monetary events like labor-management relations, sales policy, labor unrest, the effectiveness of competition, and so on, which are of vital importance to the business concern, do not find a place in accounting. This is because their effect is not estimable and quantifiable in terms of money.

02

Basic accounting problem created by the monetary unit assumption

The monetary unit assumption presumes that the measuring unit (the dollar) stays the same so that dollars of various years can be accumulated without any modification. When the dollar value changes significantly with time, the monetary unit assumption decreases its effectiveness.

03

FASB position on a stable monetary unit

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) in Concept No. 5 shows that it anticipates the dollar not adjusted for inflation or deflation to be used for the purpose of evaluating items identified in financial statements. Except if the situation changes considerably, will the Board account for the steadier unit of measurement.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

ETHICS (Expense Recognition Principle) Anderson Nuclear Power Plant will be "mothballed" at the end of its useful life (approximately 20 years) at great expense. The expense recognition principle requires that expenses be recognized as assets are used up or liabilities are incurred. Accountants Ana Alicia and Ed Bradley argue whether it is better to allocate the expense of mothballing over the next 20 years or ignore it until mothballing occurs.

Instructions

Answer the following questions.

(a) What stakeholders should be considered?

(b) What ethical issue, if any, underlies the dispute?

(c) What alternatives should be considered?

(d) Assess the consequences of the alternatives.

(e) What decision would you recommend?

Identify which basic assumption of accounting is best described in each item below.

a)The economic activities of FedEx Corporation are divided into 12-month periods for the purpose of issuing annual reports.

b)Solectron Corporation, Inc. does not adjust amounts in its financial statements for the effects of inflation.

c)Walgreen Co. reports current and non-current classifications in its balance sheet.

d)The economic activities of General Electric and its subsidiaries are merged for accounting and reporting purposes.

The life of a business is divided into specific time periods, usually, a year, to measure results of operations for each such time period and to portray financial conditions at the end of each period.

  1. This practice is based on the accounting assumption that the life of the business consists of a series of time periods and that it is possible to measure accurately the results of operations for each period. Comment on the validity and necessity of this assumption.
  2. What has been the effect of the practice on accounting? What is its relation to the accrual system? What influence has it had on accounting entries and methodology?

Question: William Murray achieved one of his life-long dreams by opening his own business, The Caddie Shack Driving Range, on May 1, 2017. He invested \(20,000 of his own savings in the business. He paid \)6,000 cash to have a small building constructed to house the operations and spent \(800 on golf clubs, golf balls, and yardage signs. Murray leased 4 acres of land for \)1,000 per month. (He paid the first month’s rent in cash.) During the first month, advertising costs totaled \(750, of which \)150 was unpaid at the end of the month. Murray paid his three nephews \(400 for retrieving golf balls. He deposited in the company’s bank account all revenues from customers (\)4,700). On May 15, Murray withdrew \(800 in cash for personal use. On May 31, the company received a utility bill for \)100 but did not immediately pay it. On May 31, the balance in the company bank account was \(15,100.

Murray is feeling pretty good about results for the first month, but his estimate of profitability ranges from a loss of \)4,900 to a profit of \(1,650.

Accounting

Prepare a balance sheet at May 31, 2017. Murray appropriately records any depreciation expense on a quarterly basis. How could Murray have determined that the business operated at a profit of \)1,650? How could Murray conclude that the business operated at a loss of \(4,900?

Analysis

Assume Murray has asked you to become a partner in his business. Under the partnership agreement, after paying him \)10,000, you would share equally in all future profits. Which of the two income measures above would be more useful in deciding whether to become a partner? Explain.

Principles

What is income according to GAAP? What concepts do the differences in the three income measures for The Caddie Shack Driving Range illustrate?

E2-3 (L03,7) GROUPWORK (Qualitative Characteristics) SFAC No. 8 identifies the qualitative characteristics that make accounting information useful. Presented below are a number of questions related to these qualitative characteristics and underlying constraint.

(a) What is the quality of information that enables users to confirm or correct prior expectations?

(b) Identify the pervasive constraint developed in the conceptual framework.

(c) The chairman of the SEC at one time noted, “If it becomes accepted or expected that accounting principles are determined or modified in order to secure purposes other than economic measurement, we assume a grave risk that confidence in the credibility of our financial information system will be undermined.” Which qualitative characteristic of accounting information should ensure that such a situation will not occur? (Do not use faithful representation.)

(d) Muruyama Corp. switches from FIFO to average-cost to FIFO over a 2-year period. Which qualitative characteristic of accounting information is not followed?

(e) Assume that the profession permits the savings and loan industry to defer losses on investments it sells because immediate recognition of the loss may have adverse economic consequences on the industry. Which qualitative characteristic of accounting information is not followed? (Do not use relevance or faithful representation.)

(f) What are the two fundamental qualities that make accounting information useful for decision-making?

(g) Watteau Inc. does not issue its first-quarter report until after the second quarter’s results are reported. Which qualitative characteristic of accounting is not followed? (Do not use relevance.)

(h) Predictive value is an ingredient of which of the two fundamental qualities that make accounting information useful for decision-making purposes?

(i) Duggan, Inc. is the only company in its industry to depreciate its plant assets on a straight-line basis. Which qualitative characteristic of accounting information may not be followed?

(j) Roddick Company has attempted to determine the replacement cost of its inventory. Three different appraisers arrive at substantially different amounts for this value. The president, nevertheless, decides to report the middle value for external reporting purposes. Which qualitative characteristic of information is lacking in these data? (Do not use relevance or faithful representation.)
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