E. Equity Securities: Accounting Basics
1. Acquisition: equity securities that are available-for-sale are
recorded at cost when acquired, including commissions or
brokerage fees paid.
2. Dividends earned: any cash dividends received are credited to
Dividend Revenue and reported in the income statement.
3. Disposition: when the securities are sold, the proceeds are
compared with cost, and any gain or loss is recorded.
report most noninfluential investments at fair value. Reporting
requirements depend on whether the investments are classified as trading,
held-to-maturity or available-for-sale.
A. Trading securities are debt and equity securities that the company
intends to actively manage and trade for profit. Frequent purchases and
sales are expected and are made to earn profits on short-term price
the portfolio of trading securities is reported on the income
statement in the Other Revenues and Gains (or Expenses and
B. Held-to–maturity – includes debt securities intended to be held to
maturity. Reported in current assets if their maturity dates are
within one year or operating cycle. Amortized cost method used for
reporting purposes. No fair value adjustment to the portfolio of
HTM securities.
C. Available-for-Sale Securities (AFS)
1. Available-for-sale includes debt and equity securities not
classified as trading or held-to-maturity. AFS securities are
purchased to yield interest, dividends or increases in fair value.
They are not actively managed.
2. Valuing and reporting AFS securities – companies adjust the
cost of the portfolio of AFS securities to reflect changes in fair
value through a fair value adjustment to its total portfolio cost.