Question

Difficulty: MediumAccounting Treatment of Depreciation and Provision for Depreciation

Match each accounting transaction or statement item regarding depreciation with its corresponding ledger entry or financial statement treatment.

  • Annual depreciation charge for the accounting periodDebit Profit and Loss Account, Credit Provision for Depreciation Account
  • Reduction in the required provision for depreciation at year-endDebit Provision for Depreciation Account, Credit Profit and Loss Account
  • Transfer of accumulated depreciation on an asset disposed ofDebit Provision for Depreciation Account, Credit Asset Disposal Account
  • Presentation of accumulated depreciation in the Statement of Financial PositionDeduction from the historical cost of non-current assets under Fixed Assets

Answer

Annual depreciation charge matches Debit Profit and Loss Account and Credit Provision for Depreciation Account; Reduction in required provision matches Debit Provision for Depreciation Account and Credit Profit and Loss Account; Transfer of accumulated depreciation on asset disposed matches Debit Provision for Depreciation Account and Credit Asset Disposal Account; Presentation of accumulated depreciation matches Deduction from historical cost of non-current assets under Fixed Assets.
Each depreciation item is correctly paired with its accounting treatment: charging annual depreciation requires debiting Profit and Loss and crediting Provision for Depreciation; reducing provision requires debiting Provision for Depreciation and crediting Profit and Loss; removing accumulated depreciation on asset disposal requires debiting Provision for Depreciation and crediting Asset Disposal; and presenting accumulated depreciation requires deducting it from historical cost on the Statement of Financial Position.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Determine double entry for annual depreciation expense
Debit Profit and Loss Account, Credit Provision for Depreciation Account
Depreciation is an expense reduced from profits for the period while building up the accumulated provision.
2
Determine double entry for a reduction in provision for depreciation
Debit Provision for Depreciation Account, Credit Profit and Loss Account
Excess provision no longer required is credited back to the Profit and Loss Account as gains/income.
3
Determine double entry to remove accumulated depreciation on asset disposal
Debit Provision for Depreciation Account, Credit Asset Disposal Account
Accumulated depreciation on the sold asset must be transferred out of the provision account into the disposal account.
4
Identify financial statement presentation of total accumulated depreciation
Deduction from historical cost under non-current assets
Net book value is calculated by subtracting total accumulated depreciation from the original asset cost.

Key Concept

Accounting Treatment of Depreciation and Provision for Depreciation
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