Tag: Accounting Standards Compliance

Dependent branches are small units or offices of a business that operate under the full control and supervision of the head office. These branches are not allowed to maintain independent or complete sets of accounting records. Instead, they mainly focus on carrying out sales, delivering services, or managing local operations, while all major financial transactions and recordkeeping are handled by the head office.

In dependent branches, the head office sends goods, cash, and instructions regularly. The branch’s primary job is to carry out local activities, collect sales proceeds, and report back to the head office. The branch generally records only basic details like daily sales, expenses, and stock levels, but it does not prepare its own financial statements or maintain a full ledger system. The head office records all the important branch-related transactions in its own books.

Dependent branches are useful when the business wants centralized control over operations, ensuring consistency in pricing, policies, and customer service across different locations. This system helps simplify management for small or medium-sized branches.

Under the dependent branch, two types of branches are included, which is termed as service branch and retail branch.

• Service Branch: All the branches which are booking or executing orders on behalf of the head office are called service branches. These are the branches that are busy in executing all the orders for the sake of head office.
• Retail Branch: Retail branches are also dependent branches, but they are concerned with the head office for selling goods, produced by the head office itself or purchased from outside in a bulky position and are sent to the retail selling branches for selling them out as like.

Features of Dependent Branches:

• Centralized Accounting System

A key feature of dependent branches is that they do not maintain separate accounting records. Instead, all accounting is centralized at the head office. The branch simply records basic information such as cash received or daily sales but does not prepare its own profit and loss or balance sheet. This ensures uniformity and control, as all major transactions are processed and recorded by the head office. This centralized system reduces the need for specialized accounting staff at the branch and simplifies overall financial management.

• Limited Financial Powers

Dependent branches have limited or no financial authority. They cannot make independent purchases, open bank accounts, or authorize large expenses without the approval of the head office. The head office supplies the goods, sets the prices, and provides the cash required for daily expenses. This limitation ensures the branch strictly follows company policies and reduces the risk of financial mismanagement. The branch’s main focus remains on sales and local operations, not on independent decision-making or financial control.

• Goods Supplied by Head Office

Another key feature is that dependent branches receive goods directly from the head office. These goods may be sent at cost price, invoice price, or selling price, depending on the company’s internal policies. The branch’s role is to sell these goods to customers and report back the sales details. The branch does not generally purchase goods from local suppliers. This system helps the head office maintain uniform product quality, consistent pricing, and control over inventory movements across all branch locations.

• Expenses Paid or Reimbursed by Head Office

Dependent branches either receive funds from the head office for their daily expenses or get their local expenses reimbursed later. Typical expenses include rent, salaries, electricity, and local marketing. Since the branch does not maintain a complete set of accounts, these expenses are reported back to the head office for proper accounting. This arrangement ensures the head office remains informed about all costs and can control or reduce unnecessary spending at the branch level, thereby maintaining overall financial discipline.

• Reporting to Head Office

Dependent branches regularly report their activities to the head office. They send sales summaries, daily cash collections, stock position reports, and lists of local expenses. This information allows the head office to prepare proper branch accounts and determine the profitability or performance of each branch. Reporting is usually done weekly or monthly, depending on the company’s internal system. This constant flow of information helps the head office monitor branch operations, detect issues early, and provide guidance or corrections when necessary.

• No Separate Final Accounts

Since dependent branches do not keep full accounts, they also do not prepare their own final accounts (profit and loss account or balance sheet). All financial results are compiled and calculated by the head office based on the data received from the branches. This eliminates the need for separate accounting staff at each branch, reducing operational costs. The head office consolidates the branch’s performance into the main accounts, ensuring that the business maintains a unified financial statement covering all its units.

• Cash Handling and Remittances

Dependent branches collect cash from sales and promptly send the cash to the head office, usually on a daily or weekly basis. They are not permitted to hold large sums of cash or use it for independent purposes. Any small cash needs are either funded by the head office or handled through petty cash, which is later reimbursed. This ensures that funds are not misused at the branch level and that the head office retains full control over the company’s financial resources.

• Simple Record-Keeping at Branch Level

The record-keeping system at dependent branches is simple and basic. The branch maintains sales registers, cash books, petty cash vouchers, and stock registers, but it does not keep complex accounts like ledgers or trial balances. All detailed accounting work is performed by the head office. This simplified system reduces administrative burdens at the branch and allows branch staff to focus more on sales and customer service rather than on accounting and bookkeeping tasks.

• Suitable for Small or Medium Operations

The dependent branch system is most suitable for small or medium-sized operations where the volume of business is moderate, and centralized control is desirable. It helps businesses expand geographically without needing to set up complex and expensive accounting systems at each branch. Small retail outlets, sales counters, and local service centers often operate as dependent branches. This system is cost-effective and enables the company to maintain close control over its multiple locations without significantly increasing administrative overhead.

Types of Dependent Branches:

• Inland or Domestic Branches

These dependent branches operate within the same country as the head office. They are set up to extend the company’s reach in different cities or regions, helping capture new markets and serve customers locally. Inland branches rely heavily on the head office for supplies, pricing decisions, and policy directions. They usually do not maintain full accounting records, and most major financial transactions are routed through the head office. These branches focus mainly on sales, customer service, and local distribution.

• Foreign or Overseas Branches

Foreign dependent branches are located in other countries but are managed by the head office in the home country. They operate under the close supervision of the head office, which controls key business decisions, pricing, and financing. Despite operating in a foreign environment, they do not maintain separate accounting records, and all financial reporting flows back to the head office. Foreign dependent branches help expand international market presence, but they face additional challenges like currency exchange, local regulations, and cultural differences.

• Sales Branches

Sales branches focus solely on selling goods provided by the head office. They do not handle manufacturing or local purchasing; instead, they receive finished goods on consignment or at cost price from the head office and concentrate on marketing, sales, and customer interaction. These branches aim to increase market penetration and brand visibility. Their role is purely commercial, and they rely on the head office for supply chain management, inventory control, and pricing decisions, ensuring consistency across all sales points.

• Service Branches

Service branches provide services, not goods, to customers on behalf of the head office. Common examples include repair centers, customer support offices, or consulting units. While they engage directly with customers, they do not maintain full financial independence. Their expenses, payroll, and service fees are typically managed by the head office. Service branches help companies enhance customer experience and offer specialized services in local markets without the need for complex independent accounting or operations.

• Receiving Branches

Receiving branches are responsible for collecting cash or payments on behalf of the head office. They may not be involved in direct selling or service delivery but instead focus on the financial side, such as handling customer deposits, installment collections, or payments from local agents. The cash collected is periodically remitted to the head office. Receiving branches are heavily controlled by the head office, which maintains all the accounting records and reconciles the cash flows regularly.

• Transit or Forwarding Branches

Transit or forwarding branches act as logistical hubs or distribution points. Their main function is to receive goods from the head office and forward them to other branches, dealers, or customers. They do not engage in selling or generating revenue directly. Their role is operational, ensuring smooth and efficient movement of goods. The head office controls all accounting, inventory management, and transportation costs, while the branch focuses on logistics and maintaining accurate delivery schedules.

• Small Agencies or Commission Branches

These branches operate as small agents or commission points for the head office. They focus on bringing in new business, negotiating contracts, or securing deals on a commission basis. Since they are dependent, they don’t manage financial transactions or maintain separate accounts. The head office handles all invoicing, payments, and contracts. Commission branches are often used in new or remote markets where full-scale branch operations may not yet be feasible but where the company wants a presence.

• Departmental Branches

Some businesses divide their operations into departmental branches that focus on a specific product line or service within a larger geographic area. Each department functions as a dependent unit reporting back to the head office. For example, a retail store might have separate branches for electronics, clothing, or groceries, all under the same roof but treated as distinct branches for sales tracking. The head office consolidates all departmental records, controls pricing, and sets policies, ensuring consistency across departments.

Dependent Branch Maintained by:

The accounts of the dependent branch are maintained by the Head Office in any one of the following ways;

1. Debtors System
2. Stock and Debtors System
3. Final Account System
4. Wholesale Branch System

1. Debtors System

Under this system the Head Office opens one Branch Account to record various transactions with the Branch. Branch Account is maintained in the form of a Debtor Account. In the books of the Head Office, Branch Account is debited with the goods supplied and all expenses met by Head Office and credited with all remittances and returns, similar to Customers Account.

Therefore, the system can be called Debtors System or One Account System. The excess of the credit over its debit represents a profit or vice-versa, and is transferred to General Profit and Loss Account of Head Office. Branch Account is prepared in the books of Head Office and is a Nominal Account.

2. Stock and Debtors System

Under the Debtors System, the profit or Joss can be found out by preparing a Branch Account in the books of Head Office. The Branch Account has been treated as a customer, a personal account in an impersonal name. This type of accounting treatment works well in small Branches. When authorised to make credit sales also, the Debtors System proves inadequate. A detail of credit sales remains unaccounted in this system. To overcome this, Stock and Debtors System has been devised.

Under Stock and Debtors System, the Head Office maintains several accounts relating to each Branch.

The following are the accounts to record the branch transactions:

(A) When Goods are Supplied at Cost

• Branch Stock Account (Real Account): This account is a record of transactions relating to goods and discloses the gross profit or loss of a branch. Head Office can have effective control over the Branch stock.

• Branch Debtors Account (Personal Account): This account is maintained to keep the transac­tions relating to Branch Debtors.

• Branch Expense Account (Nominal Account): This account discloses all branch expenses and losses incurred by the Branch.

• Branch Profit and Loss Account (Nominal Account): This account incorporates the gross profit from Branch Stock Account and expenses from Branch Expense Account. Its balance repre­sents the net results.

• Goods Sent to Branch Account is prepared to know the goods supplied to and returns received from the Branch.
• Branch Cash Account reveals all the cash transactions with Branch.

(B) When Goods are Supplied at Invoice Price:

• Branch Stock Account: This account is maintained to record the transactions of goods at invoice price. This account will not disclose profit or loss, but discloses shortage, surplus or closing stock of goods.

• Branch Adjustment Account: This account is kept for finding out gross profit made at the Branch. All loadings in the goods sent to the Branch, Opening Balance, Closing Balance, Returns from the Branch, apart from shortages and surpluses etc., are recorded in this account.

• Branch Debtors Account,
• Branch Expense Account,
• Goods Sent to Branch Account, and
• Branch Profit and Loss Account are explained above.

3. Final Account System (Branch Trading and Profit and Loss Account)

The profit or loss of a dependent Branch can also be known by preparing a Memorandum Branch Trading and Profit and Loss Account. This Account is usually prepared in cost price. Besides the final accounts, Branch Account is also to be prepared. This Branch Account is different from the Branch Account prepared under the Debtors System.

The Branch Account, appearing under Debtors System, is a nominal account. But the Branch Account, appearing under Final Account System, is a personal Account. Generally the Branch Account, under this system, will have debit balance.

4. Wholesale System

There are many producers, now-a-days, who have their own retail shop (Branch). It deals in both retail and wholesale transactions. The profit rates earned by Branches differ between the retail sale and wholesale. Here, it is necessary to account the additional profit made by a Branch through retail trading over the wholesale trading. Wholesale price is always less than retail price.

For instance, the cost of a product is Rs 100, the wholesale price is Rs 140 and the retail price is Rs 160. If the Branch sells the product, the profit will be Rs 60; but the real profit earned by the Branch is Rs 20 (Rs 160 – 140), which is the contribution of Branch. The profit of Rs 40 (Rs 140 – Rs 100) would have been made by the Head Office by selling on wholesale basis to others.

Under this situation, to find out the real profit earned by a Branch, the Head Office charges the Branch with wholesale price. This facili­tates the Head Office to know the retail profit earned by a Branch. In other words, the difference between the wholesale price and selling price is the pure profit on retailing.

The Head Office sends the goods to Branch at wholesale price and in case all the goods have been sold, there is no problem. If not, the unsold goods lying with the Branch will be at invoice price and in such case adjustment for the unrealized profit of the Head Office Trading Account must be made through Branch Stock Reserve Account in order to find out true profit of the concern as a whole.

When goods are invoiced at cost price, the head office sends goods to its branches at their original cost, without any markup or profit margin. This ensures that the branch’s accounts reflect the actual cost of goods rather than an inflated price. The system simplifies inventory valuation and profit calculation, as the branch directly records transactions based on the cost price. It is commonly used in dependent branch accounting, where the head office maintains control over pricing and profit determination. This method offers transparency and accuracy in financial reporting but may require additional adjustments for sales margins.

The consignor wants to know two things which are:

(1) To ascertain profit or loss when goods on consignment sold by the consignee.

(2) To know the settlement of account by the consignee i. e. to know the amount due by or due to consignee.

The consignment account is opened by the consignor to know profit or loss on each consign­ment. Each consignment is distinguished from the other by naming it in respect to place, examples, Consignment to Madras, Consignment to Bombay etc.

If there are a number of consignments in one place, then the name of the consignee is added to the consignment account, for example: Consign­ment to Ramu Account, Consignment to Krishna Account etc. For that, he opens a Consignment Account for each consignment.

It is revenue (Nominal) Account. It is a special Trading and Profit and Loss Account. Consignee Account is prepared to know the amount due by or due to the Con­signee. It is a personal account.

Journal Entries:

Journal Entries in the Books of Consignor

S. No.	Transaction	Journal Entry	Explanation
1	When Goods are Sent on Consignment	Consignment Account Dr.	To Goods Sent on Consignment A/c
2	When Expenses are Incurred by the Consignor	Consignment Account Dr.	To Bank/Cash Account
3	When Advance is Received from Consignee	Cash/Bank/Bill Receivable Account Dr.	To Consignee Account
4	When the Bill is Discounted by the Consignor with Banker	Bank Account Dr.	Discount Account Dr.
5	When Gross Sales Proceeds are Reported by Consignee	Consignee Account Dr.	To Consignment Account
6	For Expenses Incurred by Consignee	Consignment Account Dr.	To Consignee Account
7	For Commission Payable to Consignee	Consignment Account Dr.	To Consignee Account
8	For Unsold Stock Remaining with Consignee	Consignment Stock Account Dr.	To Consignee Account
9a	For Transferring Profit to Profit and Loss A/c	Consignment Account Dr.	To Profit and Loss Account
9b	For Transferring Loss to Profit and Loss A/c	Profit and Loss Account Dr.	To Consignment Account
10	For Settlement of Account by Consignee	Bank/Cash/Bill Receivable Account Dr.	To Consignee Account
11	When Goods Sent on Consignment A/c is Closed	Goods Sent on Consignment Account Dr.	To Trading/Purchase Account

The Consignor, instead of sending the goods on consignment at cost price, may send it at a price higher than the cost price. This price is known as Invoice Price or Selling Price. The difference between the cost price and the invoice price of goods is known as loading or the higher price over the cost. This is done with a view to keep the profits on consignment secret.

As such, consignee could not know the actual profit made on consignment. Hence the consignor sends the Proforma invoice at a higher price than the cost price. When the consignor records the transaction in his book at invoice price, some additional entries have to be passed in order to eliminate the excess price and to arrive at the correct profit or loss on consignment.

Items on Which Excess Price is to be Calculated:

Excess Price or Loading is to be calculated on the following items:

1. Consignment stock at the beginning
2. Goods sent on consignment
3. Goods returned by the consignee
4. Consignment stock at the end of the period

(a) To Remove the Excess Price in the Opening Stock:

Consignment Stock Reserve A/c Dr.

  To Consignment Account

(Being the excess value of opening stock is brought down to cost price)

(b) To Remove the Excess Price in the Goods Sent on Consignment:

Goods sent on Consignment Account Dr.

  To Consignment Account

(Being the difference between the invoice price and cost price is adjusted)

(c) To Remove the Excess Price in Goods Return:

Consignment Account Dr.

  To Goods sent on Consignment A/c

(Being to bring down the value of goods to cost price)

(d) To Remove the Excess Price in Closing Stock:

Consignment Account Dr.

To Consignment Stock Reserve A/c

(Being the excess value of stock is adjusted)

But these adjustments are not needed in consignee’s book. Invoice price does not affect the consignee. When the stock is shown in the Balance Sheet, in Consignor’s Book, the Consignment Stock Reserve is deducted.

Normal Loss refers to the unavoidable and inherent loss that occurs during the regular course of business operations, especially in manufacturing, transportation, and storage. It is considered an expected and uncontrollable part of production, such as evaporation, shrinkage, or spoilage. Normal loss is typically accounted for in cost calculations, and its value is distributed across the remaining usable units to determine the cost per unit. Since it is anticipated, normal loss does not impact profit directly but increases the cost of goods manufactured or sold.

Accounting Treatment:

The cost of normal loss is considered as part of the cost of production in which it occurs. If normal loss units have any realisable scrap value, the process account is f credited by that amount. If there is no abnormal gain, then there is no necessity to maintain a separate account for normal loss.

Journal Entry:

(i) Normal Loss A/c …Dr.

To Process A/c

(ii) Cost Ledger Control A/c …Dr.

(Scrap value) To Normal Loss

Abnormal Loss:

Abnormal loss means that loss which is caused by unexpected or abnormal conditions such as accident, machine breakdown, substandard material etc. From accounting point of view we can say that abnormal loss is that loss which occurred over and above normal loss. These losses are segregated from process costs and investigated to prevent their occurrence in future.

Process account is to be credited by abnormal loss account with cost of material, labour and overhead equivalent to good units and the loss due to abnormal is transferred to Costing Profit and Loss Account.

Journal Entries:

(i) Abnormal Loss A/c …Dr.

To Process A/c

(ii) Cost Ledger Control A/c …Dr. (Scrap value)

Costing Profit & Loss A/c …Dr.

To Abnormal Loss

Abnormal Gain:

If the actual loss of a Process is less than that of expected loss then the difference between the two will be treated as abnormal gain. In another way we can define it as the difference between actual production and expected production.

Accounting Treatment:

The value of abnormal gain is transferred to the debit side of the relevant process and ultimately closed by crediting it to the Costing Profit and Loss Account.

Journal Entries:

(i) Process A/c ..Dr.

To Abnormal Gain

(ii) Abnormal Gain A/c ..Dr.

To Normal Loss

To Costing Profit & Loss A/c

Stock reserve is an adjustment made to account for unrealized profits that arise when goods are transferred between departments or branches of a business at a price above cost. The objective is to eliminate such unrealized profits from the closing stock valuation to ensure that only actual realized profits are reported in the financial statements.

In many organizations, especially those with multiple branches or departments, goods are often transferred internally. When goods are transferred at a profit margin (i.e., at a selling price higher than the cost), this creates an artificial profit in the transferring branch. However, since these goods are not yet sold to external customers, the profit is unrealized and should not be considered in the consolidated financial statements. Hence, a stock reserve is created to adjust the closing stock valuation.

Need for Stock Reserve:

• Avoidance of Overstated Profits

Without a stock reserve, unrealized profits would inflate the profit figures of the business, leading to misleading financial results.

• True and Fair Financial Reporting

The stock reserve ensures that the financial statements reflect only actual realized profits, adhering to the principle of conservatism in accounting.

• Internal Transfers

In organizations with decentralized operations, branches or departments may maintain their accounts separately. When goods are transferred at a price above cost, creating a stock reserve helps adjust for the unrealized profit in the branch stock.

Calculation of Stock Reserve:

The stock reserve is calculated as a percentage of the value of closing stock. The percentage used is based on the profit margin included in the transfer price of goods.

Stock Reserve = Closing Stock × Unrealized Profit Percentage

Where the unrealized profit percentage is determined as:

Unrealized Profit Percentage = [(Transfer Price − Cost Price) / Transfer Price] × 100

Accounting Principles Involved:

• Conservatism:

Stock reserve follows the conservatism principle, which states that unrealized profits should not be recorded in the financial statements.

• Matching Principle:

By eliminating unrealized profits from the closing stock, the stock reserve ensures that only the realized portion of revenue is matched with the related expenses.

Lessor is the party that owns the asset and grants the lessee the right to use it for a specific period in exchange for periodic payments. The accounting treatment in the books of the lessor is essential to correctly reflect the transaction’s financial position, and it primarily follows the standards outlined by Ind AS 17 (now replaced by Ind AS 116) and IFRS 16 in certain cases. This treatment involves various entries for lease income, depreciation, and asset management.

1. Recognition of Lease Income

For a lessor, the primary income generated is the lease rent paid by the lessee. The lease income recognition follows the systematic approach over the lease term. There are two main categories of lease income, depending on the type of lease: operating lease and finance lease.

A. Operating Lease

An operating lease is one where the risks and rewards of ownership remain with the lessor. In this type of lease, the lessor continues to recognize the asset on its balance sheet and records the income over the lease term.

• Journal Entries for Operating Lease Income:
  • Receipt of lease rent:
    • Debit: Bank/Cash Account (for the amount received)
    • Credit: Lease Income Account (for the amount of lease rent)
  • Recognizing lease income: The lessor records income on a straight-line basis unless another systematic and rational method is more representative of the time pattern of the lessee’s benefit.
    • Debit: Lease Income Account
    • Credit: Unearned Rent Account (in case of advance receipts or deferred income)

This means that the lessor earns consistent revenue during the lease term, irrespective of the actual payment schedule (unless it is variable in nature).

B. Finance Lease

In a finance lease, the risks and rewards of ownership are transferred to the lessee. The lessor, therefore, recognizes the lease as a receivable equal to the net investment in the lease (i.e., the present value of lease payments plus the unguaranteed residual value). It is treated as a financing arrangement rather than a rental agreement.

• Journal Entries for Finance Lease Income:
  • Recognition of Lease Receivable (at the start of the lease):
    • Debit: Lease Receivable Account (net investment in the lease)
    • Credit: Asset Account (for the cost of the asset or its carrying amount)
  • Recognizing Interest Income (Interest on Lease Receivable):
    • Debit: Lease Receivable Account (reducing principal)
    • Credit: Interest Income Account (recognizing interest earned)
  • Lease Payments Received:
    • Debit: Bank/Cash Account (for the amount received)
    • Credit: Lease Receivable Account (reducing the principal balance)

In a finance lease, the lessor earns both interest income and lease principal payments over the lease term. This results in a front-loaded interest income pattern.

2. Depreciation of Asset

In the case of an operating lease, the lessor retains ownership of the leased asset and is responsible for depreciating the asset over its useful life. The depreciation method and the estimated useful life of the asset should comply with the lessor’s accounting policies, following standard depreciation methods like straight-line or declining balance method.

• Journal Entry for Depreciation:
  • Debit: Depreciation Expense (in the Income Statement)
  • Credit: Accumulated Depreciation (on the Balance Sheet)

The depreciation charge is recorded by the lessor for each period until the asset’s useful life is exhausted or it is sold or disposed of.

In a finance lease, the lessor may not record depreciation on the asset as the lease effectively transfers the ownership risks to the lessee. However, some lessors might continue to depreciate the asset if they do not transfer ownership entirely or have a residual interest.

3. Initial Direct Costs

In the case of a lease agreement, the lessor may incur certain initial direct costs that are directly attributable to negotiating and arranging the lease. These costs could include legal fees, commissions, and any other expenses directly related to the lease agreement.

• Journal Entry for Initial Direct Costs:
  • Debit: Lease Receivable (in case of finance lease)
  • Debit: Expense Account (in case of operating lease)
  • Credit: Bank/Cash Account

These initial direct costs are recognized over the lease term. In an operating lease, they are amortized on a straight-line basis unless a different systematic basis is appropriate.

4. Recognition of Residual Value

In both operating and finance leases, the lessor may expect to receive a residual value of the asset at the end of the lease term. If the lease has a guaranteed residual value, it is included in the lease receivable. For an operating lease, the lessor will revalue the asset based on its estimated residual value and take appropriate measures for depreciation.

5. Sale and Leaseback Transactions

In cases where a lessor sells an asset and leases it back, the transaction is treated as a sale and leaseback. The accounting treatment in this case depends on whether the transaction is classified as a finance lease or operating lease. If it is an operating lease, the sale is recognized and the leaseback terms are accounted for as a lease.

Stock Valuation refers to the process of determining the value of inventory held by a business at the end of an accounting period. Accurate stock valuation is crucial for financial reporting, profit calculation, and proper cost management. Inventory is classified as a current asset on the balance sheet, and its valuation directly affects both the cost of goods sold (COGS) and the net income of the business.

Objectives of Stock Valuation:

• Accurate Profit Determination

Proper valuation of inventory ensures accurate determination of COGS and, consequently, the correct profit or loss for the period.

• True Financial Position

Inventory is a significant asset, and its correct valuation is essential for presenting a true and fair financial position of the company.

• Efficient Cost Control

Stock valuation helps in monitoring and controlling production and operational costs by providing insights into material consumption and wastage.

• Compliance with Accounting Standards

Accurate stock valuation ensures adherence to accounting principles and standards, such as the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

Methods of Stock Valuation:

There are several methods for valuing stock, depending on the nature of the business and accounting policies adopted. The commonly used methods are:

1. First-In, First-Out (FIFO)

The FIFO method assumes that the oldest inventory items are sold first. Therefore, the ending inventory consists of the most recent purchases.

Advantages:

• Provides a realistic view of ending inventory value, as it is based on the most recent prices.
• Useful in periods of inflation, as the cost of goods sold is lower, resulting in higher profits.

Disadvantages:

• Higher profits may result in higher tax liability during inflationary periods.

Example:

Date	Units Purchased	Cost per Unit (₹)	Total Cost (₹)
1 Jan	100	10	1,000
5 Jan	200	12	2,400
Total Units Sold = 150

COGS for 150 units:

• 100 units @ ₹10 = ₹1,000
• 50 units @ ₹12 = ₹600

Total COGS = ₹1,600

2. Last-In, First-Out (LIFO)

LIFO method assumes that the most recent inventory items are sold first, and the ending inventory consists of the oldest purchases.

Advantages:

• In periods of inflation, LIFO results in higher COGS and lower profits, which can reduce tax liability.

Disadvantages:

• The ending inventory may be undervalued since it consists of older costs, which may not reflect current market prices.
• LIFO is not permitted under IFRS.

Example:

Using the same data as in the FIFO example:
COGS for 150 units:

• 150 units @ ₹12 = ₹1,800

  Total COGS = ₹1,800

3. Weighted Average Cost (WAC)

WAC method calculates the cost of ending inventory and COGS based on the average cost of all units available for sale during the period.

Formula:

Weighted Average Cost per Unit = Total Cost of Inventory / Total Units​

Example:

Using the same data:

Total units = 100 + 200 = 300

Total cost = ₹1,000 + ₹2,400 = ₹3,400

Weighted average cost per unit = ₹3,400 ÷ 300 = ₹11.33

COGS for 150 units = 150 × ₹11.33 = ₹1,699.50

Comparison of Methods

Criteria	FIFO	LIFO	WAC
Cost Flow Assumption	Oldest items sold first	Newest items sold first	Average cost
Ending Inventory Value	Higher during inflation	Lower during inflation	Moderate
Profit Impact	Higher profit	Lower profit	Average profit
Permitted by IFRS	Yes	No	Yes

Importance of Consistency

Once a method of stock valuation is adopted, it should be consistently applied across accounting periods. Changing methods frequently can distort financial results and reduce comparability. However, any change in the valuation method must be disclosed, along with its financial impact, as per accounting standards.