Question

Assume that Solo Company commenced operations on January 1, 2006, and it was granted permission to use the same depreciation calculations for shareholder reporting and income tax purposes. The company planned to depreciate its fixed assets over 15 years, but in December 2006 management realized that the assets would last for only 10 years. Solo's accountants plan to report the 2006 financial statements based on this new information. How would the new depreciation assumption affect the company's financial statements

Answer 1

Answer: c. The firm's cash position in 2006 and 2007 would increase.

Explanation:

Depreciation expense is heavily dependent on the useful life of the asset. The longer the useful life, the smaller the depreciation expense because the equipment is being depreciated over a longer period.

If the useful life is reduced from 15 to 10 years therefore, the depreciation expense would increase.

The Cash position of a company is calculated by adding back the depreciation to the Net income after taxes are paid because depreciation is not a cash expense.

If the depreciation is now larger (which it is) and is added back to the Net income, the cash position will therefore increase.