Your Ask Joey ™ Answer

Impact to Net Income When Inventory Is Understated?

A common topic on the CPA exam that FAR candidates typically struggle with is what the impact to net income or retained earnings would be when the company understates the ending inventory balance. If the company uses the periodic method to account for inventory, then at the end of the year, they would perform their physical inventory count to determine the ending inventory balance. They would then use the inventory rollforward or BASE method to determine what cost of goods sold for the year would be.

The Excel template below illustrates the impact to the income statement and balance sheet when we make an adjustment to increase inventory because the inventory balance was previously understated. The video below is a walkthrough of how you should approach this type of topic!


Back To All Questions

You might also be interested in...

  • CECL Excel Workbook

    If you would like to use the Excel workbook that was used to create the Universal CPA lecture on CECL for debt securities, please click the link below to download the Excel workbook: CECL Calculation workbook (Universal CPA Review)

  • Journal Entry for Direct Materials Variance

    Journal Entry for Direct Materials Variance In the current year, Mission Burrito budgeted 6,000 pounds of production and actually used 4,000 pounds. Material cost was budgeted for $5 per pound and the actual cost was $8 per pound. What would the debit or credit to the direct material efficiency variance account be for the current...

  • Understanding Variance Analysis

    Variance Analysis Variance analysis is a method for companies to compare its actual performance vs its budgeted amount for that cost measurement (related to the flexible budget). The differences between the standard (budgeted) amount of cost and the actual amount that the organization incurs is referred to as a variance. By analyzing variances, the company...