What is the differences between UK and US balance sheet?

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Accounting

What is the differences between UK and US balance sheet?

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Following are the differences between the UK and US GAAP that materially affected the companies financial statements Goodwill and Intangible Assets US GAAP required Accounting Principles Board APB Opinion No 17 that the excess of acquisition price over net assets acquired goodwill be amortized over its useful life not exceeding forty years US GAAP required similar treatment for other intangible assets such as brand names licenses trademarks and patents etc However Financial Accounting Standards Board FASB Statement No 142 superseded APB Opinion According to the Statement goodwill and intangible assets will not be amortized but tested for impairment and appropriate adjustments will be made UK companies were allowed to write off goodwill and intangible assets to reserves in the related financial period However since 1998 goodwill should be capitalized and amortized over its estimated useful economic life Income Taxes and Deferred Income Taxes British companies are allowed to use the new tax rates as soon as they are proposed in the government budget American companies are not permitted such treatment of tax rates until the enactment of proposed rates into law UK companies account for deferred income taxes only to the extent of managements judgment of probable liabilities or benefits that may materialize in the foreseeable future US accounting standards require a detailed accounting for deferred income taxes Revaluation of AssetsProperties UK accounting standards allow a revaluation of properties based upon their current market value The US GAAP require that the properties be recorded in the financial statements on a historical cost basis and allow any permanent decrease in the value to be expenses Several British companies in the sample revalued their properties Any surplus resulting from revaluation was shown in the carrying value of assets and was taken directly to shareholdersequity or a revaluation reserve which was a part of shareholders equity Any deficit in addition to the reflection in the carrying value of assets was charged to the income statement Most of the companies properties were carried on a higher value in comparison the historical cost basis required by the US GAAP The properties value in most cases had to be adjusted downward to bring them in compliance with the US GAAP A diversity in carrying value of properties also resulted in a different amount of depreciation charged to the income statement Therefore depreciation charges were modified usually reduced in order to reconcile    See Answer
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