Amazon Inventory Evaluation Method
The Internet has become an extremely popular place for small businesses and firms to advertise and sell their products. Although this is a very easy and popular way to sell, it all depends on how well the company uses its resources and marketing ideas. One company that is widely known across the country and famous for having grown so fast since its online creation is Amazon.com. It opened a whole new market for competitive business in the specialty industries on the computer and has proven to be a successful company on the Net. Amazon.com is one of the famous public companies that investors love to invest into. How can Amazon.com meet its goal of achieving profitability to please its investors? What information do investors need to have to consider continuing investment in Amazon.com? Financial statements are meant to enable the investors to evaluate the performance of Amazon.com, analyzer its cash flow and assess its financial position. In this paper, Learning Team D will examine the cost-flow method that Amazon uses in its inventory, its impact on adjustment and how Amazon discloses on its financial statement. In addition, this paper also analyzes the impact on adjustment to Amazon's current ratio and discusses whether its competitors made the same adjustment.
The inventory valuation method used and whether this method impacted the adjustment
There are four basic approaches to inventory valuation that are allowed by GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles). The first approach is first in-first out (FIFO). According to our text FIFO is defined as "the inventory cost-flow assumption that the first cost in inventory are the first costs out to cost of goods sold" (Marshall et al, 2004). Typically when dealing with food items FIFO makes that most sense as it reflects the fact that the first food items purchased, are the first food items sold. Also typically during times of rising prices the FIFO method will result in lower expenses and higher net income than
The inventory valuation method used and whether this method impacted the adjustment
There are four basic approaches to inventory valuation that are allowed by GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles). The first approach is first in-first out (FIFO). According to our text FIFO is defined as "the inventory cost-flow assumption that the first cost in inventory are the first costs out to cost of goods sold" (Marshall et al, 2004). Typically when dealing with food items FIFO makes that most sense as it reflects the fact that the first food items purchased, are the first food items sold. Also typically during times of rising prices the FIFO method will result in lower expenses and higher net income than
References: Amazon.com (2004). Annual Report. Website: http://library.corporateir.net/library/97/976/97664/items/144853/2004_Annual_report.pdf Marshall, D.H., McManus, W.W. & Viele, D.F. (2004). Accounting: What the Numbers Mean (6th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. Mullaney, T. (2002). Amazon is all grown up, except for its accounting. Business Weekly, (3794)74. Retrieved 11/17/2005 from EBSCOhost database. Lorek, L. (2001). Pro forma: only the good news. Interactive Week. 8(24) 13. Retrieved 11/17/2005 from EBSCOhost databse.