Which of the following statements is an implication of the going concern assumption?

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journal article

The Going Concern Assumption: A Critical Appraisal

The Accounting Review

Vol. 43, No. 4 (Oct., 1968)

, pp. 649-656 (8 pages)

Published By: American Accounting Association

https://www.jstor.org/stable/243624

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Journal Information

The Accounting Review is the premier journal for publishing articles reporting the results of accounting research and explaining and illustrating related research methodology. The scope of acceptable articles embraces any research methodology and any accounting-related subject. The primary criterion for publication in The Accounting Review is the significance of the contribution an article makes to the literature.

Publisher Information

The American Accounting Association is the world's largest association of accounting and business educators, researchers, and interested practitioners. A worldwide organization, the AAA promotes education, research, service, and interaction between education and practice. Formed in 1916 as the American Association of University Instructors in Accounting, the association began publishing the first of its ten journals, The Accounting Review, in 1925. Ten years later, in 1935, the association changed its name to become the American Accounting Association. The AAA now extends far beyond accounting, with 14 Sections addressing such issues as Information Systems, Artificial Intelligence/Expert Systems, Public Interest, Auditing, taxation (the American Taxation Association is a Section of the AAA), International Accounting, and Teaching and Curriculum. About 30% of AAA members live and work outside the United States.

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What is the Going Concern Principle?

The going concern principle is the assumption that an entity will remain in business for the foreseeable future. Conversely, this means the entity will not be forced to halt operations and liquidate its assets in the near term at what may be very low fire-sale prices. By making this assumption, the accountant is justified in deferring the recognition of certain expenses until a later period, when the entity will presumably still be in business and using its assets in the most effective manner possible.

An entity is assumed to be a going concern in the absence of significant information to the contrary. An example of such contrary information is an entity’s inability to meet its obligations as they come due without substantial asset sales or debt restructurings. If such were not the case, an entity would essentially be acquiring assets with the intention of closing its operations and reselling the assets to another party.

If the accountant believes that an entity may no longer be a going concern, then this brings up the issue of whether its assets are impaired, which may call for the write-down of their carrying amount to their liquidation value. Thus, the value of an entity that is assumed to be a going concern is higher than its breakup value, since a going concern can potentially continue to earn profits.

The going concern concept is not clearly defined anywhere in generally accepted accounting principles, and so is subject to a considerable amount of interpretation regarding when an entity should report it. However, generally accepted auditing standards (GAAS) do instruct an auditor regarding the consideration of an entity’s ability to continue as a going concern.

Going Concern Evaluation Items

The auditor evaluates an entity’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period not greater than one year following the date of the financial statements being audited. The auditor considers (among other issues) the following items in deciding if there is a substantial doubt about an entity’s ability to continue as a going concern:

  • Negative trends in operating results, such as a series of losses

  • Loan defaults by the company

  • Denial of trade credit to the company by its suppliers

  • Uneconomical long-term commitments to which the company is subjected

  • Legal proceedings against the company

If there is an issue, the audit firm must qualify its audit report with a statement about the problem.

Going Concern Mitigation

It is possible for a company to mitigate an auditor's view of its going concern status by having a third party guarantee the debts of the business or agree to provide additional funds as needed. By doing so, the auditor is reasonably assured that the business will remain functional during the one-year period stipulated by GAAS. This makes it easy for a parent company to ensure that its subsidiaries are always classified as going concerns.

Which statement is an implication of the going concern assumption?

Correct classifications of liabilities are also an implication of the going concern assumption. If a company does not correctly classify its current and concurrent assets it could appear to be more liquid than it really is. This would impact the viability of the business to operate.

What are the implication of going concern?

Going concern is one of the very fundamental principles of accounting. It assumes that the entity will continue to remain in business for the foreseeable future. Conversely, it also means that the entity does not plan to, or expect to be forced to, liquidate its assets.

What is the implication of going concern assumption and economic entity assumption?

The going concern principle is the assumption that an entity will remain in business for the foreseeable future. Conversely, this means the entity will not be forced to halt operations and liquidate its assets in the near term at what may be very low fire-sale prices.

In which of the following instances is the going concern assumption valid?

The going concern concept only applies if the business is trading profitably.