Is Inventory an Asset or Liability?
While officially classified as an asset, inventory can often feel more like a liability. For example, even though assets (such as inventory) are defined as "items of economic value," few business owners are excited about having excess inventory. To grasp this asset-liability duality, one must understand the difference between inventory (i.e. the products or raw materials themselves) and the cost of holding it.
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Definition
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In the field of financial accounting, inventory is defined as the list of products and materials that a business both owns and physically possesses. On a balance sheet, an inventory's value refers to the combined estimated fair market price for each item. However, this figure does not include the price the business paid to acquire the items or the cost to manufacture, maintain or transport those items.
Types of Inventory
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The items held by retailers (i.e. finished goods) represent only one type of inventory. Manufacturers and wholesalers have additional inventory classes known as raw materials (e.g. metal ores, plastics, wood, glass, etc.), work in process (e.g. partially completed components or raw materials that have been pre-loaded into the supply chain) and goods for resale (e.g. returned or used goods that can be resold).
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Cost of Goods
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When business owners fret over excess inventory, what they are actually referring to is the cash that went into producing it. For example, to produce a particular item, a business must pay cash for raw materials, electricity for the factory, wages for the laborers and other expenses. In exchange, the business gets a finished product. As long as the business can sell this product for more than the cost of producing it, the company's initial investment will be preserved.
Excess Inventory
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The problem with excess inventory is that the business's cash (i.e. liquid assets) effectively becomes tied up in goods (i.e. non-liquid assets). Since a business must pay rent, utilities and payroll with cash every month, excess inventory could mean either defaulting on payments or liquidating inventory (i.e. selling finished goods at well below cost of production).
Tax Issues
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The cost of goods for a business's inventory can be claimed as a business expense when filing taxes. This helps protect a portion of the business's revenue (equal to its annual cost of goods) from erosion.
In certain situations, the inventory itself can yield tax benefits. For example, a business could donate excess inventory to a Sec. 501(c)(3) or other designated charitable entity and claim it as a tax deduction.
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References
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