CHAPTER 3 CONSOLIDATIONS—SUBSEQUENT TO THE DATE OF ACQUISITION
Answers to Discussion Questions
How Does a Company Really Decide which Investment Method to Apply? Students can come up with literally dozens of factors that should be considered by Pilgrim in making the decision as to the method of accounting for its subsidiary, Crestwood Corporation. The following is simply a partial list of possible points to consider. Use of the information. If Pilgrim does not monitor its own income levels closely, applying the equity method would seem to be a waste of time and energy. A company must plan to use the additional data before the task of accumulation becomes worthwhile. Size of the subsidiary. If the subsidiary is large in comparison to Pilgrim, the effort required of the equity method may be important. Income levels would probably be significant. However, if the subsidiary is actually quite small in relation to the parent, the impact might not be material enough to warrant the extra effort. Size of dividend payments. If Crestwood pays out most of its earnings each period as dividends, that figure will approximate equity income. Little additional information would be accrued by applying the equity method. In contrast, if dividends are small or not paid on a regular basis, a Dividend Income balance might vastly understate the profits to be recognized by the business combination. Amount of excess amortizations. If Pilgrim has paid a significant amount in excess of book value so that annual amortization charges are quite high, use of the equity method might be preferred to show the effect of this expense each month (or whenever internal reporting is made). In this case, waiting until the end of the year and recording all of the expense at one time through a worksheet entry might not be the best way to reflect the impact of the expense. Amount of intercompany transactions.