Question: In 2017, Ghostbusters Corp. spent $420,000 for “goodwill” visits by sales personnel to key customers. The purpose of these visits was to build a solid, friendly relationship for the future and to gain insight into the problems and needs of the companies served. How should this expenditure be reported?

Short Answer

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Answer

Goodwill cannot be capitalized.

Step by step solution

01

Meaning of Goodwill

Goodwill is the fraction of the purchase price that is greater than the net fair value of all the assets and liabilities sold. When a firm buys a new business, it obtains goodwill, which is an intangible asset (one that isn't tangible but has a long-term worth).

02

Explaining the reporting of expenditures

The expenditure that is spent on visits by sales personnel to key customers as the goodwill of $42,000 cannot be capitalized. Self-developed, self-maintained, and self-created goodwill cannot be capitalized. These costs would almost certainly be represented as selling costs.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Explain how the investment account is affected by investee activities under the equity method.

Where are gains and losses related to cash flow hedges involving anticipated transactions reported?

The following is a list of items that could be included in the intangible assets section of the balance sheet.

1. Investment in a subsidiary company.

2. Timberland.

3. Cost of engineering activity required to advance the design of a product to the manufacturing stage.

4. Lease prepayment (6 months’ rent paid in advance).

5. Cost of equipment obtained.

6. Cost of searching for applications of new research findings.

7. Costs incurred in the formation of a corporation.

8. Operating losses incurred in the start-up of a business.

9. Training costs incurred in start-up of new operation.

10. Purchase cost of a franchise.

11. Goodwill generated internally.

12. Cost of testing in search for product alternatives.

13. Goodwill acquired in the purchase of a business.

14. Cost of developing a patent.

15. Cost of purchasing a patent from an inventor.

16. Legal costs incurred in securing a patent.

17. Unrecovered costs of a successful legal suit to protect the patent.

18. Cost of conceptual formulation of possible product alternatives.

19. Cost of purchasing a copyright.

20. Research and development costs.

21. Long-term receivables.

22. Cost of developing a trademark.

23. Cost of purchasing a trademark.

Instructions:

(a) Indicate which items on the list above would generally be reported as intangible assets in the balance sheet.

(b) Indicate how, if at all, the items not reportable as intangible assets would be reported in the financial statements.

Stephan Curry, Inc., spent \(68,000 in attorney fees while developing the trade name of its new product, the Mean Bean Machine. Prepare the journal entries to record the \)68,000 expenditure and the first year’s amortization, using an 8-year life.

In 2016, Austin Powers Corporation developed a new product that will be marketed in 2017. In connection with the development of this product, the following costs were incurred in 2016: research and development costs \(400,000, materials and supplies consumed \)60,000, and compensation paid to research consultants $125,000. It is anticipated that these costs will be recovered in 2019. What is the amount of research and development costs that Austin Powers should record in 2016 as a charge to expense?

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