Definition of obsolete inventory
Obsolete
inventory is the inventory that is non-useable (raw materials, parts) or
non-resalable (finished goods).
Inventory
can become obsolete in the following cases:
- Inventory no longer purchased by customers
- Inventory no longer used in manufacturing process
- Excessive purchasing of inventory (e.g., raw materials, finished goods)
- Development of new technology (e.g., change in product design)
- Inventory with short-shelf life
- Commodity items with rapid obsolescence
To dispose obsolete inventory, management can do the following:
- Return goods to the original supplier (if possible and makes sense)
- Sell online through an auction
- Use obsolete inventory for warranty replacements and repairs (if possible)
- Donate to charity (and claim tax deduction)
- Throw away
To control
obsolete inventory, management can do the following:
- Schedule regular obsolete inventory reviews
- Review perpetual records that show last date of usage (e.g., stock levels, last usage date)
- Review work-in-progress inventory for old items
- Review physical storage methods
- Review bills of material for product withdrawals (“where used” report)
- Compare on-hand inventory to historical usage
- Compare purchase requisitions to reorder points
- Flag potentially obsolete inventory in the database (e.g., to stop repurchasing)
- Turn-off automatic reordering
- Move obsolete inventory to a designated area
Accounting for obsolete inventory
To
record inventory obsolescence, companies can:
- Debit an expense account (examples are listed below):
- Cost of sales-inventory write-downs
- Cost of goods sold
- Inventory obsolescence
- Credit a contra-asset account (examples are listed below):
- Allowance for obsolete inventory
- Obsolete inventory reserve
Let’s
assume that on June 1, 20X2 Obsolete Company (a fictitious entity) realized
that $5,000 (book value) of its inventory became obsolete because it is no longer
used in the manufacturing process. The company estimates that it could sell the
inventory for $1,000. Therefore, the inventory value was reduced by $4,000
(i.e., $5,000 - $1,000). To record inventory obsolescence, the company would make
the following journal entry:
Account Titles |
Debit
|
Credit
|
Cost of goods sold |
4,000
|
|
Allowance for obsolete inventory |
4,000
|
Cost
of goods sold represents an expense account while allowance for obsolete
inventory is a contra-asset account. The allowance for obsolete inventory account
is reported in the trial balance below the inventory account.
When
the inventory write-down is small, companies usually charge the cost of goods
sold account. However, when the write-down is large, it is better to charge the
expense to a separate account.
On
July 2, 20X2, the company disposed obsolete inventory. Let’s review several
possible scenarios of accounting for such disposal.
Scenario 1: On July 2, 20X2, Obsolete Company decided to dispose obsolete
inventory by throwing it away in the dumpster. In this scenario the net
book value of inventory is $1,000 (i.e., $5,000 - $4,000) and the company does
not receive the anticipated selling price of $1,000. So, in addition to writing
of the inventory, the company also needs to recognize an additional expense of
$1,000. The company would make the following journal entry:
Account Titles |
Debit
|
Credit
|
Allowance for obsolete inventory |
4,000
|
|
Cost of goods sold |
1,000
|
|
Inventory |
5,000
|
Scenario
2: On July 2, 20X2, Obsolete Company decided to sell the obsolete
inventory through an auction. The actual selling price is only $500
(i.e., $500 less than the expected selling price of $1,000). As the actual
selling price is $500 less than the expected selling price, the company has to
charge $500 to an expense account (cost of goods sold). On July 2, 20X2, the
company would make the following journal entry to record disposal of the
inventory and receipt of $500 in proceeds from its sale:
Account Titles |
Debit
|
Credit
|
Cash |
500
|
|
Allowance for obsolete inventory |
4,000
|
|
Cost of goods sold |
500
|
|
Inventory |
5,000
|
Scenario
3: On July 2, 20X2, Obsolete Company decided to return the
obsolete inventory to the original supplier. The actual selling price was
$2,000 (i.e., $1,000 more than the expected selling price). As the actual
selling price is higher than the expected selling price, the company can
“reverse” the $1,000 expense recognized earlier. In addition, because the
company is expected to receive a $2,000 credit from the vendor, accounts
payable are decreased (debited). On July 2, 20X2, the company would make the
following journal entry:
Account Titles |
Debit
|
Credit
|
Allowance for obsolete inventory |
4,000
|
|
Accounts Payable |
2,000
|
|
Cost of goods sold |
1,000
|
|
Inventory |
5,000
|
As
we can see from this example, the valuation of inventory as obsolete affects
both balance sheet (through the allowance for obsolete inventory account) and
income statement (through an expense account). Because inventory obsolescence
represents an expense (e.g., cost of goods sold) that affects profits in the
current accounting period, management might have an incentive to manipulate
the allowance for obsolete inventory. This practice is not appropriate and
auditors usually watch out for it. For instance, a company might recognize
excessive inventory write-downs due to obsolescence in the accounting period
when profits are higher than expected (i.e., debit cost of goods sold). Later
on, when profits are lower than expected, the company might sell the
written-down obsolete inventory at high profit margins in order to increase the
reported profits (i.e., credit cost of goods sold).
No comments:
Post a Comment