Analysis Case 9–6
For changes not involving LIFO or changes from the LIFO method to another,
the event is accounted for as a normal change in accounting principle. In general,
we report voluntary changes in accounting principles retrospectively. This means
revising all previous periods’ financial statements as if the new method were used
in those periods. In other words, for each year in the comparative statements
The advantage of retrospective application is to enhance comparability of the
Consistency and comparability suggest that accounting choices once made
should be consistently followed from year to year. So, any change requires that the
new method be justified as clearly more appropriate. In the first set of financial
When a company changes to the LIFO inventory method from any other
method, it usually is impracticable to calculate the cumulative effect of the change.
Revising balances in prior years would require knowing what those balances