- CFA Exams
- 2025 Level I
- Topic 4. Financial Statement Analysis
- Learning Module 2. Analyzing Income Statements
- Subject 3. Expense Recognition - Long-Lived Assets
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Subject 3. Expense Recognition - Long-Lived Assets PDF Download
Capitalizing versus Expensing
The costs of acquiring resources that provide services over more than one operating cycle should be capitalized and carried as assets on the balance sheet. All costs incurred until an asset is ready for use must be capitalized, including the invoice price, applicable sales tax, freight and insurance costs incurred delivering equipment, and any installation costs. Costs of the long-lived asset should be allocated over current and future periods. In contrast, if these assets are expensed, their entire costs are written off as expense on the income statement in the current period.
Accounting rules on capitalization are not straightforward. As a result, management has considerable discretion in making decisions such as whether to capitalize or expense the cost of an asset, whether to include interest costs incurred during construction in the capitalized cost, and what types of costs to capitalize for intangible assets. The choice of capitalization or expensing affects the balance sheet, income and cash flow statements, and ratios both in the year the choice is made and over the life of the asset.
Here is a summary of the different effects of capitalization versus expensing:
Capitalization of Interest Costs
Under SFAS 34, interest is capitalized for certain assets and only if the firm is leveraged. Therefore, the carrying amount of a self-constructed asset depends on the firm's financial decisions. The capitalized interest cost is added to the value of the asset being constructed.
The amount of interest cost to be capitalized has two components:
- Any interest on borrowed funds made specifically to finance the construction of the asset. The interest rate applicable is the interest rate on each borrowing.
- The interest on other debt of the firm, up to the amount invested in the construction project. The interest rate applicable is the weighted-average interest rate on all outstanding debt not specifically borrowed for the asset under construction.
Therefore, the total interest cost incurred during the accounting period has two parts:
- Capitalized interest cost, which is reported as part of the asset on the balance sheet. Payments for capitalized interest cost are classified as an investing cash outflow and never as CFO.
- Other interest cost, which is charged to expense on the income statement. Payments for such non-capitalized interest cost are reported as CFO.
The total interest cost, along with the amount capitalized, must be disclosed as part of the notes to the financial statements.
Once the construction is complete, capitalized interest costs will be written off as part of depreciation over the useful life of the asset. From now on, any future interest cost on remaining borrowings made for the construction of the asset must be expensed.
For analytical and adjustment purposes, analysts probably need to expense all interest in self-constructed assets (that is, the income statement capitalization of interest should be reversed).
During the construction period this could result in:
- Lower fixed and total assets, as the capitalized interest would be converted to interest expense.
- Lower net income, as the interest expense would be higher.
- Lower CFO and higher CFI as payments for capitalized interest would be classified as investing cash flows and be reversed to be operating cash flows.
- Lower interest coverage ratio, as the adjustment would produce lower earnings before interest and tax but higher interest expense.
- The same net cash flows, as capitalization and expensing are accounting adjustments only. They don't affect net cash flows.
During the useful life of the asset this could result in:
- Higher net income, due to a lower depreciation amount.
- The same interest, as all interest costs would be expensed.
- A higher interest coverage ratio, due to higher earnings before interest and tax (same interest expense).
Capitalization of Internal Development Costs
For internally generated intangible assets, it is difficult to measure costs, benefits, and economic lives. Generally, internally generated assets (such as costs of R&D, patents and copyrights, brands and trademarks, and advertising and secret processes) must be expensed in the period incurred.
One exception is research and development (R&D) expenditures which add risk to investment with uncertain future economic benefits. As a result, they must be expensed as incurred in most countries (including the U.S.). SFAS 86 requires that all R&D costs to establish the technological and/or economic feasibility of software must be expensed. Subsequent costs that are beyond the point of technological feasibility can - but don't have to - be capitalized as part of product inventory and amortized based on revenues or on a straight-line basis. The point of technological feasibility is the point when a software prototype has been proven to be technologically feasible, as evidenced by the existence of a working model of the software.
IFRS also requires research costs be expensed but allows development costs to be capitalized under certain conditions.
As you can see, managers have considerable discretion in making decisions, such as whether or when to capitalize these costs and by how much. For software development costs, one particular risk is that capitalized costs will not be realized and a future write-down may be needed.
If companies apply different approaches to capitalizing software development costs, adjustments can be made to make the two comparable.
User Contributed Comments 13
User | Comment |
---|---|
sjchen | Shouldn't net income be higher during construction period since part of the interest expenses will be capitalized and reported as assets? |
MFTIOA | "Lower interest coverage ratio as the adjustment would produce lower earnings before interest and tax but higher interest expense." Why would EBIT be lower? |
clafleur | sjchen and MFTIOA, it is saying that net income will be lower when you reverse the capitalization of interest and expense it because there will be a higher interest expense, thus lower NI. |
miiyeung | CAPITALIZED EXPENDITURE: 1) CAPITALIZE ASSET ON BS VS. 2) EXPENSE COST ON IS PER ABOVE: 1) INTEREST COST is CAPITALIZED INTEREST -> CFI OUTFLOW 2) report as CFO -> INTEREST COST IS EITHER A) DEPRECIATION EXPENSE (using asset) OR B) COGS (selling asset) |
soorajiyer | @sjchen - I think You are right, the notes is talking what happens when the capitalization of interest is reversed by an analyst! |
bhaynes | soorajyer/sjchen/MFTIOA - I think you all miht be mistaken. The last part of the notes in thie section are referring explicitly to a SELF-constructed asseet. In the cash the asset is self-constructed, the interest should not be capitalized. Net Income will be lower since you have higher expenses. Interest Coverage (EBIT/Interest Expense) is lower since your earnings are lower and the and interest expense is higher. |
Mgtw | How come for self-constructed assets interest is not capitalized? (or at least not useful for analysis to capitalized interest?) |
teje | going from capitalized interest to expensed interest, if we are considering an asset for use (which is also self-constructed)...obviously interest expense will rise. However, I think EBIT should go up, as the capitalized interest previously flowed through the depreciation expense (asset for use), but since we are now expensing this interest cost, we should add back this amount to EBIT. Because the interst expense is greater than the increase in EBIT, interest coverage ratio still declines. Remember depreciation is netted out to arrive at EBIT. |
ascruggs92 | clafleur, he is referring to the part that specifically says "adjustments would produce lower earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) but higher interest expense." However, EBIT is, by definition, not effected by changes in interest expense. That statement is incorrect. |
guest | First time I find the "AN subjects organization" vs "other close CFA materials" quite inappropriate (had to wait the 30th reading, it's reassuring).The early and thorough focus on interest treatment creates more confusions than clarifications in view of the principal issues of long-lived assets and capitalization vs expenses. |
starbucks | The textbooks are organized around subjects too, not around LOSes. I think it's more appropriate. |
Memeteau | Agree with you Starbucks (I was the "guest" ;-)). Perhaps I was not clear. I was just trying to underline that the specific "AN subjects organization of that reading 30 as a whole" is not their greatest masterpiece. |
domedome | thank you teje |
Thanks again for your wonderful site ... it definitely made the difference.
Craig Baugh
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