HOW MUCH IS THAT BUILDING REALLY WORTH?

Viron, Inc., was created in 2009 to recycle plastic products and manufacture a variety of new items. The actual production process was quite complex because the old plastic had to be divided into categories and then reclaimed based on the composition. Viron made new products based on the type of plastic available and the market demand.

In December 2013, the company spent $7.5 million to construct a building for manufacturing purposes. It was designed specifically to meet Virons needs. The building was constructed near Gaffney, South Carolina, to take advantage of a large labor force available because of high unemployment in the area.

Unfortunately, because of a lingering recession in that area, Viron was unable to generate sufficient revenues quickly enough to reach break-even point and was forced to file for bankruptcy. An accountant was hired to aid the parties in deciding whether to liquidate or attempt a reorganization.

In producing an initial report for the court and the parties involved, the accountant needed to establish a liquidation value for the building in Gaffney, the companys largest asset. A real estate appraiser was brought in and she made the following comments about the structure:

The building is well constructed and practically new. It is clearly worth in excess of $7 million. However, I doubt that anyone is going to pay that much for it. We dont get a lot of new industry in this area. Not many companies need to buy large buildings. Even if a buyer is found, a significant amount of money will be required to convert the property into a different usage. Unless a company wants to recycle plastics, the building will have to be completely adapted to any other purpose. To be honest, I am not sure it can be sold at any price. There are a lot of abandoned buildings in this area of South Carolina. Of course, if someone wants to recycle plastics, it just might bring in $7 million.

In producing financial information for this company, how should the accountant report this building?