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America Online, Financial statement analysis

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Financial statement analysis America Online, Inc. Case Study 1

1. Prior to 1995, why was America Online so successful in the commercial online industry relative to its competitors CompuServe and Prodigy?
AOL offered a broad range of features including real-time talk, electronic mail, e-magazines and newspapers, online classes, shopping, and internet access. They also had software for the internet such as for production and distribution of original content, interactive marketing and transactions capabilities, and networks to support the transmission of data. In other words, AOL was a platform that connected the person with the need to internet access with the person who had the internet content by charging membership fees. …show more content…

Considering the uncertainty in the subscription life, in order to provide more accurate report AOL should change its accounting policy and charge the subscriber acquisition cost to the period in which it is incurred. The company was not consistent with this point of view and actually increased the amortization period from 12-18 months to 24 months in 1995. AOL was too confident in its market strategy and retention ability and ignored the increased competition in the market. 5. What would be the effect on AOL’s 1994 and 1995 ending balance sheets if the company had followed the policy of expensing subscriber acquisition outlays instead of capitalizing them? What would be the effect of expensing subscriber acquisition costs on AOL’s 1995 income statement?
If AOL expensed the subscriber acquisition outlays instead of capitalizing them, it removes these costs from the asset section on the balance sheets, which reduces the total assets. The shareholder's equity decreases as a result. If these costs were expensed, they would appear in the expense section on the income statement. Therefore, increasing the expenses and reduce the net income on the income

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