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Chapter 2: QIFSAC (page 72)

Question: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. provided the following disclosure in a recent annual report.

New accounting pronouncement (partial) . . . the Securities and Exchange Commission issued Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 101—“Revenue Recognition in Financial Statements” (SAB 101). This SAB deals with various revenue recognition issues, several of which are common within the retail industry. As a result of the issuance of this SAB . . . the Company is currently evaluating the effects of the SAB on its method of recognizing revenues related to layaway sales and will make any accounting method changes necessary during the first quarter of [next year].

In response to SAB 101, Wal-Mart changed its revenue recognition policy for layaway transactions, in which Wal-Mart sets aside merchandise for customers who make partial payment. Before the change, Wal-Mart recognized all revenue on the sale at the time of the layaway. After the change, Wal-Mart does not recognize revenue until customers satisfy all payment obligations and take possession of the merchandise.

Instructions

(a) Discuss the expected effect on income (1) in the year that Wal-Mart makes the changes in its revenue recognition policy, and (2) in the years following the change.

(b) Evaluate the extent to which Wal-Mart’s previous revenue policy was consistent with the revenue recognition principle.

(c) If all retailers had used a revenue recognition policy similar to Wal-Mart’s before the change, are there any concerns with respect to the qualitative characteristic of comparability? Explain.

Short Answer

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Answer

  1. Change in recognition principle will only change the time of revenue recognition; it will not change the overall amount.
  2. Revenue policy of Walmart was inconsistent with the realization criteria.
  3. It isn’t easy to compare layaway transactions even if the revenue recognition principle is the same.

Step by step solution

01

Definition of Net Income

The net benefit earned by the business entity after deducting all expenses, including interest and tax expenses, is known as net income.

02

Effect on the income

  1. The revenue recognition principle will be reversed by Walmart in the year of change for all the incomplete sales of the Layaway in prior periods. This procedure will reduce the income of Walmart in the year of change.
  2. In the succeeding years, after making the adjustments in the year of change, the income level will come to the prior level as long as the level of layaway sales remains the same. It concludes that the change in accounting method only changes the time of revenue recognition but does not change the overall amount.
03

Consistency in the revenue policy

Walmart recognizes the revenue before the delivery of the product. It means that revenue is recognized before the completion of earning process. In such a case, if the customer does not pay the outstanding amount, the realization criteria are not met.

04

Qualitative characteristics of comparability

Even if each retailer uses the same revenue recognition criteria, it won’t be easy to compare the layaway transactions.

For example: If different retailers use different policies to determine the number of customers to be put down to set aside the merchandise.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Question: (Qualitative Characteristics) Recently, your uncle, Carlos Beltran, who knows that you always have your eye out for a profitable investment, has discussed the possibility of your purchasing some corporate bonds. He suggests that you may wish to get in on the “ground floor” of this deal. The bonds being issued by Neville Corp. are 10-year debentures which promise a 40% rate of return. Neville manufactures novelty/party items.

You have told Uncle Carlos that, unless you can take a look at Neville’s financial statements, you would not feel comfortable about such an investment. Believing that this is the chance of a lifetime, Uncle Carlos has procured a copy of Neville’s most recent, unaudited financial statements which are a year old. These statements were prepared by Mrs. Andy Neville. You peruse these statements, and they are quite impressive. The balance sheet showed a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10 and, for the year shown, the company reported net income of $2,424,240.

The financial statements are not shown in comparison with amounts from other years. In addition, no significant note disclosures about inventory valuation, depreciation methods, loan agreements, etc. are available.

Instructions

Write a letter to Uncle Carlos explaining why it would be unwise to base an investment decision on the financial statements that he has provided to you. Be sure to explain why these financial statements are neither relevant nor representationally faithful.

What is the primary objective of financial reporting?

E2-2 (L01,2,3) (Usefulness, Objective of Financial Reporting, Qualitative Characteristics) Indicate whether the following statements about the conceptual framework are true or false. If false, provide a brief explanation supporting your position.

  1. The fundamental qualitative characteristics that make accounting information useful are relevance and verifiability.
  2. Relevant information only has predictive value, confirmatory value, or both.
  3. (c)Information that is a faithful representation is characterized as having predictive or confirmatory value.
  4. Comparability pertains only to the reporting of information in a similar manner for different companies.
  5. Verifiability is solely an enhancing characteristic for faithful representation.
  6. In preparing financial reports, it is assumed that users of the reports have reasonable knowledge of business and economic activities.

The chairman of the company’s board of directors for which you are the chief accountant has told you that he has little use for accounting figures based on historical cost. He believes that replacement values are of far more significance to the board of directors than “out-of-date costs.” Present some arguments to convince him that accounting data should still be based on historical cost.

(Assumptions, Principles, and Constraint) Presented below are the assumptions, principles, and constraints used in this chapter.

1. Economic entity assumption 6. Measurement principle (fair value)2. Going concern assumption 7. Expense recognition principle3. Monetary unit assumption 8. Full disclosure principle4. Periodicity assumption 9. Cost constraint5. Measurement principle (historical cost) 10. Revenue recognition principle

Instructions

Identify by number the accounting assumption, principle, or constraint that describes each situation below. Do not use a number more than once

.(a) Allocates expenses to revenues in the proper period.

(b) Indicates that fair value changes subsequent to purchase are not recorded in the accounts. (Do not use revenue recognition principle.)

(c) Ensures that all relevant financial information is reported.

(d) Rationale why plant assets are not reported at liquidation value. (Do not use historical cost principle.)

(e) Indicates that personal and business record keeping should be separately maintained.(f) Separates financial information into time periods for reporting purposes.

(g) Assumes that the dollar is the “measuring stick” used to report on financial performance.
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