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Lower of cost or market

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nineteenth century, lower of cost or market was not common practice for valuation of factory inventory in the United States. The concept was not easy for the Academic Accountants to accept due to its lack of logic. Despite the criticism, lower of cost or market quickly caught on in practice and by the early twentieth century was described as the most commonly accepted method for inventory valuation according to the Report of the Special Committee on Co-operation with Stock Exchanges. Although it lacked accounting logic, lower of cost or market survived because of its conservative approach to valuation and because it addressed opposing principles of cost and value. Its conservatism allowed users to value the inventory at the price for which the inventory could be sold.
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determine these three values and find the median of the values. The companies then compare the median value, which is called the designated market value, to the inventory cost that is recorded. The lower of these two values is subsequently reported on the balance sheet. Because the lower of cost or market approach requires companies to use three possible market values, the companies' financial statements can be difficult to compare.
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This FASB update makes usage consistent with the IFRS wording and removes the use of "or" in a context where "and" was always the correct one. However, the update does not apply to all companies. Companies that use the FIFO (first-in, first-out) and average-cost methods of inventory valuation are
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Three possible values can represent the market value: the replacement cost of the inventory, the net realizable value (also known as the "ceiling"), and the "floor" (the difference between the net realizable value and the normal profit). In the lower of cost or market approach, companies must
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The lower of cost or market concept first became part of normal accounting practices in England during the nineteenth century. Lower of cost or market was considered fair because assets were valued on a going-concern basis, rather than the price at which the assets were purchased. During the
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An entity should measure inventory within the scope of this Update at the lower of cost and net realizable value. Net realizable value is the estimated selling prices in the ordinary course of business, less reasonably predictable costs of completion, disposal, and transportation.
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The term "lower of cost or market" is now obsolete and is officially replaced by "lower of cost and net realizable value". According to the FASB Accounting Standards Update,
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Penner, James; Kreuze, Jerry; Langsam, Sheldon (2016). "Analysis of Simplification of Accounting Initiative for Inventory and Update of Other Simplification Proposals".
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required to implement the changes, whereas companies that use the LIFO (last-in, first-out) and retail inventory methods are not affected by the update.
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Parker, R. H. (1965). Lower of Cost and Market in Britain and the United States: An Historical Survey. Abacus, 1(2), 156-172.
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Wampler, Bruce; Holt, Travis (January 2013)."Valuing Inventory at the Lower of Cost or Market."
55:. However, there are times when the original cost of the ending inventory is greater than the 56: 8: 116: 40: 239: 68: 71:" (COGS) if non-material, or "loss on the reduction of inventory to LCM" if material. 206: 131: 126: 198: 48: 52: 67:. Any loss resulting from the decline in the value of inventory is charged to " 121: 233: 210: 60: 64: 174: 202: 20: 44: 223:
FASB Accounting Standards Update, No. 2015-11, July 2015, p. 1.
188: 63:. The criterion for reporting this is the current 231: 191:Journal of Corporate Accounting & Finance 16:Method of valuing inventory in accounting 232: 92: 184: 182: 158: 156: 13: 14: 251: 179: 153: 217: 144: 1: 137: 83: 7: 110: 10: 256: 74: 25:lower of cost or market 104: 99: 57:net realizable value 117:Inventory valuation 203:10.1002/jcaf.22155 93:Contemporary usage 69:cost of goods sold 132:Value (economics) 127:Fair market value 247: 224: 221: 215: 214: 186: 177: 160: 151: 148: 49:ending inventory 255: 254: 250: 249: 248: 246: 245: 244: 230: 229: 228: 227: 222: 218: 187: 180: 161: 154: 149: 145: 140: 113: 95: 86: 77: 53:historical cost 17: 12: 11: 5: 253: 243: 242: 226: 225: 216: 178: 152: 142: 141: 139: 136: 135: 134: 129: 124: 122:Impaired asset 119: 112: 109: 94: 91: 85: 82: 76: 73: 43:and reporting 15: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 252: 241: 238: 237: 235: 220: 212: 208: 204: 200: 196: 192: 185: 183: 176: 173: 169: 165: 159: 157: 147: 143: 133: 130: 128: 125: 123: 120: 118: 115: 114: 108: 103: 98: 90: 81: 72: 70: 66: 62: 61:balance sheet 58: 54: 51:is stated at 50: 46: 42: 38: 34: 30: 26: 22: 219: 194: 190: 167: 163: 146: 105: 100: 96: 87: 78: 65:market value 47:. Normally, 39:approach to 37:conservative 32: 28: 24: 18: 197:(4): 9–12. 164:CPA Journal 138:References 84:Challenges 21:accounting 240:Inventory 211:1044-8136 175:0732-8435 45:inventory 234:Category 170:: 34–9. 111:See also 75:History 41:valuing 35:) is a 209:  33:LOCOM 207:ISSN 172:ISSN 199:doi 31:or 29:LCM 19:In 236:: 205:. 195:27 193:. 181:^ 168:83 166:. 155:^ 23:, 213:. 201:: 27:(

Index

accounting
conservative
valuing
inventory
ending inventory
historical cost
net realizable value
balance sheet
market value
cost of goods sold
Inventory valuation
Impaired asset
Fair market value
Value (economics)


ISSN
0732-8435


doi
10.1002/jcaf.22155
ISSN
1044-8136
Category
Inventory

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