When undergoing an audit, one question the auditors may ask is “does the company have a fixed asset capitalization policy?” While having a written capitalization policy in place will make your auditor happy, it will also help simplify the accounting for fixed asset purchases. Establishing a capitalization policy helps keep the treatment of property additions, …
Under the accrual basis of accounting, interest is capitalized in association with the financing of assets an organization constructs for internal use or for assets that are constructed with the intent to sell or lease upon completion. Interest is only capitalized during the period under which the asset is being prepared for its intended use. …
In April 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2014-08 Presentation of Financial Statements (Topic 205) and Property, Plant, and Equipment (Topic 360): Reporting Discontinued Operations and Disclosures of Disposals of Components of an Entity that changed the requirements for reporting discontinued operations. Under the new standards, a disposal of …
The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued new guidance that is aimed to make goodwill impairment testing easier for companies, and this guidance is effective for annual and interim goodwill impairment tests performed for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2011. How will the new standard impact my company? The new standard modifies the previous …
It is common as an accountant to see a business void an un-cashed check after a while or to write off an over-payment from a customer who hasn’t returned in a couple years. It seems that few people know that it is required by Arizona law to report and remit unclaimed property to the Arizona …
Stock compensation to employees and other suppliers of goods or services can take many forms, including the stock option grants, awards of restricted and non-restricted stock, cash payments based upon the company’s share price, and employee stock ownership plans, amongst many others. The one common attribute of the many varying forms of stock compensation is …
When accounting for property and equipment additions, it can be confusing to know exactly what should be capitalized or expensed when the asset is initially purchased. Often times, I see clients capitalize the equipment’s purchase price but then expense the sales tax and transportation costs associated with acquiring the asset. So to set the record …
Over the past year, there seems to be some increase in activity related to mergers and acquisitions (“M&A”). When times are tough you typically see an increase in M&A activity as strong companies will act to buy other companies to create a more competitive, cost-efficient company. M&A’s can come in various forms. They can be …
If you are a business owner and your business is growing you may be looking into hiring additional help. The question then may be whether you should hire this person as an employee or as an independent contractor. Like most business owners, you will probably start by weighing those costs associated with each classification. Hiring …