#cfa-level-1 #financial-reporting-and-analysis #reading-26-understanding-balance-sheets
Current Assets
Current assets are presented in the balance sheet in order of liquidity. The five major items found in the current assets section are:
Current Liabilities
Current liabilities are typically paid from current assets or by incurring new short-term liabilities. They are not reported in any consistent order. A typical order is: accounts payable, notes payable, accrued items (e.g., accrued warranty costs, compensation and benefits), income taxes payable, current maturities of long-term debt, unearned revenue, etc.
Tangible Assets
These are carried at their historical cost less any accumulated depreciation or accumulated depletion. See Reading 29 [Long-Lived Assets] for details.
Intangible Assets
Intangible assets are long-term assets that have no physical substance but have a value based on rights or privileges that belong to their owner. Generally, identifiable intangible assets are recorded only when purchased (at acquisition costs). The cost of internally developed identifiable intangible assets is typically expensed when incurred. For example, R&D costs are not in themselves intangible assets. They should be treated as revenue expenditures and charged to expense in the period in which they are incurred. One exception is that IFRS allows costs in the development stage to be capitalized if certain criteria (including technological feasibility) are met.
A company should assess whether the useful life of an intangible asset is finite or infinite and, if finite, the length of its life. The straight-line method is typically used for amortization.
Goodwill is an example of an unidentifiable intangible asset which cannot be acquired singly and typically possesses an indefinite benefit period. It stems from such factors as a good reputation, loyal customers, and superior management. Any business that earns significantly more than a normal rate of return actually has goodwill.
Goodwill is recorded in the accounts only if it is purchased by acquiring another business at a price higher than the fair market value of its net identifiable assets. It is not valued directly but inferred from the values of the acquired assets compared with the purchase price. It is the premium paid for the target company's reputation, brand names, customers or suppliers, technical knowledge, key personnel, and so forth.
Goodwill only has value insofar as it represents a sustainable competitive advantage that will result in abnormally high earnings. Analysts need to be aware of the possibility, however, that the goodwill recognized by accountants may, in fact, represent overpayment for the acquired company. Since goodwill is inferred rather than computed directly, it will increase as the payment price increases. It is only after the passage of time that analysts will be able to evaluate the extent to which the purchase price was justified.
Under U.S. GAAP SFAS No. 142, goodwill is no longer amortized, but is tested annually for impairment. It is not amortized. Impairment of goodwill is a non-cash expense which is charged against income in the current period.