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Ending inventory is the amount of inventory a company has in stock at the end of its fiscal year. It is closely related with ending inventory cost, which is the amount of money spent to get these goods in stock. It should be calculated at the lower of cost or market.
Beginning Inventory (usually from a physical count) + receipts - shipments = Ending Inventory. Some accountants will add or subtract a value using an adjustment entry (journal voucher), however if all receipts (purchases) and shipments (invoices) are captured as transactions, this would never need to occur.
If the inventory has decreased in value below historical cost, then its carrying value is reduced and reported on the balance sheet. The criterion for reporting this is the current market value . Any loss resulting from the decline in the value of inventory is charged to " cost of goods sold " (COGS) if non-material, or "loss on the reduction ...
An example illustrates why. Fred buys auto parts and resells them. In 2008, Fred buys $100 worth of parts. He sells parts for $80 that he bought for $30, and has $70 worth of parts left. In 2009, he sells the remainder of the parts for $180. If he keeps track of inventory, his profit in 2008 is $50, and his profit in 2009 is $110, or $160 in total.
They can choose to report that the cheaper goods were sold first, thereby inflating the ending inventory cost and reducing the cost of goods sold, consequently boosting income. Alternatively, management could choose to report lower income to reduce the taxes they are required to pay.
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A periodic inventory system does not require day-to-day tracking of physical inventory. Purchases, cost of goods sold, and inventory on hand cannot be tracked until the end of the accounting time period when a physical inventory is performed and ending inventory is compared against the sum of beginning inventory and purchases.
With FIFO, the cost of inventory reported on the balance sheet represents the cost of the inventory purchased earliest. FIFO most closely mimics the flow of inventory, as businesses are far more likely to sell the oldest inventory first. Consider this example: Foo Co. had the following inventory at hand, in order of acquisition in November: