At a recent luncheon, you were seated next to Mr. Hopkins, the president of a local company that manufactures bicycle parts. He heard that you were a CPA and made the following comments to you: Why is it that I am forced to recognize depreciation expense in my company’s income statement when I know that I could sell many of my assets for more than I paid for them? I thought that the purpose of the balance sheet was to reflect the value of my business and that the purpose of the income statement was to report the net change in value or wealth of a company. It just doesn’t make sense to penalize my profits when there hasn’t been any loss in value from using the assets. At the conclusion of the luncheon, you promised to send him a short explanation of the rationale for current depreciation practices. Required: Prepare a letter to Mr. Hopkins. Explain the accounting concept of depreciation and include a brief example in your explanation showing that over the life of the asset the change in value approach to depreciation and the allocation of cost approach will result in the same total effect on income.

College Accounting (Book Only): A Career Approach
13th Edition
ISBN:9781337280570
Author:Scott, Cathy J.
Publisher:Scott, Cathy J.
Chapter4: Adjusting Entries And The Work Sheet
Section: Chapter Questions
Problem 4A: Your client is preparing financial statements to show the bank. You know that he has incurred a...
icon
Related questions
Question

At a recent luncheon, you were seated next to Mr. Hopkins, the president of a local company that manufactures bicycle parts. He heard that you were a CPA and made the following comments to you: Why is it that I am forced to recognize depreciation expense in my company’s income statement when I know that I could sell many of my assets for more than I paid for them? I thought that the purpose of the balance sheet was to reflect the value of my business and that the purpose of the income statement was to report the net change in value or wealth of a company. It just doesn’t make sense to penalize my profits when there hasn’t been any loss in value from using the assets. At the conclusion of the luncheon, you promised to send him a short explanation of the rationale for current depreciation practices. Required: Prepare a letter to Mr. Hopkins. Explain the accounting concept of depreciation and include a brief example in your explanation showing that over the life of the asset the change in value approach to depreciation and the allocation of cost approach will result in the same total effect on income.

Expert Solution
trending now

Trending now

This is a popular solution!

steps

Step by step

Solved in 2 steps with 1 images

Blurred answer
Knowledge Booster
Relevant cost analysis
Learn more about
Need a deep-dive on the concept behind this application? Look no further. Learn more about this topic, accounting and related others by exploring similar questions and additional content below.
Similar questions
  • SEE MORE QUESTIONS
Recommended textbooks for you
College Accounting (Book Only): A Career Approach
College Accounting (Book Only): A Career Approach
Accounting
ISBN:
9781337280570
Author:
Scott, Cathy J.
Publisher:
South-Western College Pub
CONCEPTS IN FED.TAX., 2020-W/ACCESS
CONCEPTS IN FED.TAX., 2020-W/ACCESS
Accounting
ISBN:
9780357110362
Author:
Murphy
Publisher:
CENGAGE L
Income Tax Fundamentals 2020
Income Tax Fundamentals 2020
Accounting
ISBN:
9780357391129
Author:
WHITTENBURG
Publisher:
Cengage
College Accounting, Chapters 1-27
College Accounting, Chapters 1-27
Accounting
ISBN:
9781337794756
Author:
HEINTZ, James A.
Publisher:
Cengage Learning,
Business/Professional Ethics Directors/Executives…
Business/Professional Ethics Directors/Executives…
Accounting
ISBN:
9781337485913
Author:
BROOKS
Publisher:
Cengage