Given that prudence is the main consideration, discuss under what circumstances, if any, revenue might be recognized at the following stages of a sale.

      

Given that prudence is the main consideration, discuss under what circumstances, if any, revenue might be recognized at the following stages of a sale.
(a) Goods have been acquired by the business, which it confidently expects to resell very quickly.
(b) A customer places a firm order for goods.
(c) Goods are delivered to the customer.
(d) The customer is invoiced for goods.
(e) The customer pays for the goods.
(f) The customer’s cheque in payment for the goods has been cleared by the bank.

  

Answers


Wilfred
(a) A sale must never be recognized before a customer has even ordered the goods. There is no certainty about the value of the sale, nor when it will take place, even if it is virtually certain that goods will be sold.

(b) A sale must never be recognized when the customer places an order. Even though the order will be for a specific quantity of goods at a specific price, it is not yet certain that the sale transaction will go through. The customer may cancel an order, the supplier might be unable to deliver the goods as ordered or it may be decided that the customer is not a good credit risk.

(c) A sale will be recognized when delivery of the goods is made only when:
i) The sale is for cash, and so the cash is received at the same time.
ii) The sale is on credit and the customer accepts delivery (e.g. by signing a delivery note).

(d) The critical event for a credit sale is usually the dispatch of an invoice to the customer. There is then a legally enforceable debt payable on specified terms, for a completed sale transaction.

(e) The critical event for a cash sale is when delivery takes place and when cash is received, both take place at the same time. It would be too cautious or ‘prudent’ to await cash payment for a credit sale transaction before recognizing the sale, unless the customer is a high credit risk and there is a serious doubt about his ability or intention to pay.

(f) It would again be over-cautious to wait for clearance of the customer’s cheques before recognizing sales revenue. Such a precaution would only be justified in cases where there is a very high risk of the bank refusing to honor the cheque.
Wilfykil answered the question on February 28, 2019 at 05:25


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