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Companies that are a going concern may defer reporting long-term assets at current value or liquidating value, but rather at cost. A company remains a going concern when the sale of assets does not impair its ability to continue operation, such as the closure of a small branch office that reassigns the employees to other departments within the company. The assumptions used in the going concern assessment should be consistent with those used in other areas of the company’s financial statements, for example impairment of assets, liquidity risk disclosures, etc.

This credit crunch may trickle down to suppliers who may be unwilling to sell raw materials or inventory goods on credit. Investors should note that the company’s three-year revenue CAGR from fiscal 2023 (when it reported annual revenue of $27 billion) to fiscal 2026 (when it is expected to report $109 billion in revenue) stands at an impressive 59%. A growth rate of even 30% in fiscal years 2027 and 2028 (which will coincide with 11 months of calendar year 2027) would send Nvidia’s revenue to $184 billion in fiscal 2028 (using fiscal 2026 revenue of $109 billion as the base). An entity has borrowings of $10m which became immediately repayable in full on 31 March 20X2. The entity is already in breach of its agreed overdraft and the bank has refused to renew the borrowings.

• When management becomes aware of material uncertainties related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the company’s ability to continue as a going concern, those uncertainties must be disclosed in the financial statements.
• In bankruptcy law, going concerns are distinguished from businesses that are being liquidated or broken into smaller entities.
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• Liquidating a going concern can give an investor a bad reputation among potential future takeover targets.
• Conditions that lead to substantial doubt about a going concern include negative trends in operating results, continuous losses from one period to the next, loan defaults, lawsuits against a company, and denial of credit by suppliers.

In accrual accounting, the financial statements are prepared under the going concern assumption, i.e. the company will remain operating into the foreseeable future, which is formally defined as the next twelve months at a bare minimum. Going concern is a determination that a company has sufficient assets and revenue to continue operating for the foreseeable future. Once a business goes bankrupt or otherwise liquidates, it is no longer considered a going concern. The auditor is required by the Securities and Exchange Commission to disclose in the financial statements of a publicly traded company whether going concern status is in doubt. This can protect investors from continuing to risk their money on a business that may not be viable for much longer.

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• This article discusses these responsibilities, as well as the indicators that could highlight where an entity may not be a going concern, and the reporting aspects relating to going concern.
• IAS 1 states that management may need to consider a wide range of factors, including current and forecasted profitability, debt maturities and replacement financing options before satisfying its going concern assessment.
• If there is an issue, the audit firm must qualify its audit report with a statement about the problem.

In-depth analysis, examples and insights to give you an advantage in understanding the requirements and implications of financial reporting issues. All said and done, the concept is a universally accepted accounting principle that is recognized internationally. The concept requires disclosing the going concern aspect of the business and accordingly account for all the financial transactions from a long term perspective of the business. This concept not only helps in a systematic approach to the recording of the financial transactions but it also provides a fair idea about the business, growth and financial stability of the company. 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.

Disclosure of a going concern qualification

However, in our view, there is no general dispensation from the measurement, recognition and disclosure requirements of the Standards in this case, and these requirements are applied in a manner appropriate to the circumstances. A going concern, also known as a going concern assumption or going concern principle, is an accounting assumption stating that a business will stay in operation for the foreseeable future. In essence, that means that there is no threat of liquidation for the foreseeable future, which is usually perceived as a period of time lasting for 12 months.

Going-Concern Value vs. Liquidation Value

Going concern is an example of conservatism where entities must take a less aggressive approach to financial reporting. Accountants who view a company as a going concern generally believe a firm uses its assets wisely and does not have to liquidate anything. Accountants may also employ going concern principles to determine how a company should proceed with any sales of assets, reduction of expenses, or shifts to other products. The PEG ratio is calculated by dividing a company’s price-to-earnings ratio by its expected growth. A reading of 1 means that a stock is fairly valued, while a reading below that suggests that the stock is undervalued.

How is going concern determined?

This makes it easy for a parent company to ensure that its subsidiaries are always classified as going concerns. 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 assumes that the business will remain in existence long enough for all the assets of the business to be fully utilized. If a company is not a going concern, the company may be revalued at the request of investors, shareholders, or the board. This revaluation may be used to price the company for acquisition or to seek out a private investor.

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Continuation of an entity as a going concern is presumed as the basis for financial reporting unless and until the entity’s liquidation becomes imminent. Preparation of financial statements under this presumption is commonly referred to as the going concern basis of accounting. If and when an entity’s liquidation becomes imminent, financial statements are prepared under the liquidation basis of accounting (Financial Accounting Standards Board, 2014[1]). In general, an auditor examines a company’s financial statements to see if it can continue as a going concern for one year following the time of an audit.

In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board determined financial statements should reveal the conditions that support an entity’s substantial doubt that it can continue as a going concern. Statements should also show management’s interpretation of the conditions and management’s future plans. Under IFRS Standards, financial statements are prepared on a going concern basis, unless management intends or has no realistic alternative other than to liquidate the company or stop trading. Unlike US GAAP, there is no liquidation basis of accounting under IFRS; when a company determines it is no longer a going concern, it does not prepare financial statements on a going concern basis.

In this example it is clear that the going concern basis is inappropriate in the entity’s circumstances. The directors have no realistic alternative but to liquidate in order to raise funds to pay back the bank and the bank have already confirmed that they will commence legal proceedings to force the entity into selling off assets to raise finance to repay their borrowings. It is essential that candidates preparing for the Audit and Assurance (AA) exam understand the respective responsibilities of auditors and management regarding going concern. This article discusses these responsibilities, as well as the indicators that could highlight where an entity may not be a going concern, and the reporting aspects relating to going concern.

Negative trends include such things as lower operating income, loan denials, loan defaults, repossession of assets, and more. Once this is done, the auditor must issue a “going concern opinion” which means that the entity has neither the intention (nor the need) to liquidate or curtail in any material way the scale of its operations. US GAAP includes a two-step process that first determines whether substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern is raised. If substantial doubt is what are the tax benefits of homeownership raised, management then assesses whether that substantial doubt is alleviated by management’s plans. Unlike IFRS Standards, if substantial doubt is raised in Step 1 about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern, the extent of disclosure depends on the outcome of Step 2 and whether that doubt is alleviated by management’s plans. Accounting standards try to determine what a company should disclose on its financial statements if there are doubts about its ability to continue as a going concern.

This assumption is in return verified by the auditor while auditing the financial accounts of the organization. For a company to be a going concern, it must be able to continue operating long enough to carry out its commitments, obligations, objectives, and so on. In other words, the company will not have to liquidate or be forced out of business.