1. Accountants seem to agree that when accounting for incentive programs, it is best to deduct the liabilities from the revenues. For example, customers can earn a $25 certificate for every $100 they spend. So, what a company has is $100 revenue from the sale of merchandise and a $25 liability to the customer on a future purchase. Accountants say the best thing to do is to reduce the revenue from the sale to $75 in order to account for the liability. Do you think this is the best method. Please describe a method of accounting for such incentive programs that you think is best. Why do you believe this is a good method?
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Unwrapping the Uncertainties of Revenue-Recognition and Other Issues By Ronald E. Murden and Timothy B. Forsyth telephone calls, restaurants, grocery stores, movie theaters, coffee shops, vending, and even payroll.) big business. Big Business extend the retail holiday season for another month or two. Cards turn the January and February clearance sales into one of the most important nonholiday times of the year for retailers. Current Accounting for Gift Cards unused cards can add up to substantial amounts. or lost gift cards (Cerise A. Valenzuela, "New Fraud Makes Rounds This Holiday Season," Copley News Service, The Alert Constamer, December 11,2006 ). stolcn. stolen. case, breakage income is based on the company's "historical redemption pattern." details about the basis for recognition, - Circuit City's only mention of gift cards in its 200610K is that the receipts are initially put into deferred reveriue as a liability. Circuit City makes no mention of breakage income. Business News, December 23, 2006). Bair, "Law Gives Businesses More Flexibility with Unredeemed Gift Cards," Central Penn Business Journal, May 18, 2007). This, in turn, may influence how the cards are marketed and accounted for. The Costs of Doing Business New Law, They Couldn't Expire or Arrive Harnessed With Fees," Knigh Ridder Tribune Business News, February 10, 2007). nonemployees and internal threats from employees, with the occasional collusion between the two. gift cards sold on auction sites revealed 35,000 were stolen, had no balance or otherwise were bogus" (Knight Ridder Business News, January 18,2007 ). codes to purchase items online without needing the card itself. and the cashier keeps the card with value. codes to purchase items online without needing the card itself. and the cashier keeps the card with value. were attributed to stolen or counterfeit cards, some 62% were attributed to dishonest employees. directly responsible. This can have a hidden cost if these customers feel resentful and do not return. Accounting for Gift Cards: A Recommendation remaining balance of the gift card at the expiration date, and that amount should be redueed by any amounts aceruing to the state in which the card was issued, based on escheat laws. Similarly, companies may find that cards that have been used but have relatively small remaining balances are less likely to be redeemed than newer, high-balance cards. comparability and transparency in their financial reporting. FASB Action Needed not have an unclaimed-property law, it could be up to the company to decide when it believes the unused card values are unredeemable and able to be recognized as income. companies reviewed by the authors provided no indication of when or how they will recognize their cards as breakage income or as an offset to some expense. card issuers
