items are sold. Once these methods have been reinforced, students are guided through the
different financial statement effects that arise from these inventory accounting choices.
Now that students are familiar with the concepts of calculating the cost of ending inventory
and cost of goods sold, Part B shows students how to record inventory transactions using the
perpetual inventory system. Appendix A (discussed below) will demonstrate how to record
inventory transactions using the periodic inventory system. Very few companies actually use the
periodic inventory system in practice to maintain their own (internal) records of inventory
transactions. Additional inventory transaction related to freight, purchase discounts, and purchase
returns are discussed, including showing students how companies make a simple adjustment to
convert their own FIFO (internal) records to LIFO for external reporting.
Part C of the chapter covers the lower-of-cost-or-market method. The
lower-of-cost-or-market method provides an easy illustration to understand the conservative
nature of generally accepted accounting principles.
The section on inventory analysis compares different inventory practices of Best Buy versus
Radio Shack. The differences in the business strategies of these two companies is clearly
revealed in the inventory turnover ratio, average days in inventory, and gross profit ratio.
There are two appendixes. Appendix A provides a side-by-side comparison of the periodic
inventory system and perpetual inventory system (from Part B). A side-by-side comparison helps
students to see precisely how the two recording systems differ. In practice, very few companies
report inventory and cost of goods sold using the LIFO perpetual system. Instead, as discussed in
Part B of the chapter, nearly all companies that report using LIFO maintain their own records on
a FIFO basis and then adjust for the LIFO difference for preparing financial statements. The
inventory recording and reporting procedures discussed in Part B of the chapter reflect those
used in actual practice.
Appendix B details the balance sheet and income statement effects that result from an
inventory error. One advantage of studying inventory errors is that they reinforce the relation
between ending inventory and cost of goods sold. To the extent that ending inventory is
overstated (understated), cost of goods sold is understated (overstated) in the year of the error. In
the following year, the effect on cost of goods sold is the opposite. A discussion of inventory
errors also demonstrates how the effect of an inventory error (even if never revealed) is reversed
in the following year, and the two-year effect of the error has no effect. This occurs because the
ending balance of inventory this year is the beginning balance next year.
Assignment Charts
Assignment Charts
Questions Learning
Objective(s) Topic
Time
(Min.)
1 LO6-1 Discuss the nature of inventory 5
2 LO6-1 Distinguish between a service company and
manufacturing or merchandising company
5
3 LO6-1 Describe components of inventory 5
4 LO6-2 Define cost of goods available for sale 5
5 LO6-2 Explain the balance of cost of goods sold and
inventory
5
6 LO6-2 Identify the purpose of the multiple-step income
statement
5