Revenues that are received seasonally or occasionally within a financial year should not be anticipated or deferred as of an interim date if anticipation or deferral would not be appropriate at the end of the enterprise’s financial year.
Cost Incurred Unevenly During the Financial Year
Costs that are incurred unevenly during an enterprise’s financial year should be anticipated or deferred for interim reporting purposes if, and only if, it is also appropriate to anticipate or defer that type of cost at the end of the financial year.
A cost that does not meet the definition of an asset at the end of an interim period is not deferred in the interim balance sheet either to await future information as to whether it has met the definition of an asset, or to smooth earnings over interim periods within a financial year. Thus, when preparing interim financial statements, the enterprise’s usual recognition and measurement practices are followed. The only costs that are capitalized are those incurred after the specific point in time at which the criteria for recognition of the particular class of asset are met. Deferral of costs as assets in an interim balance sheet in the hope that the criteria will be met before the year-end is prohibited.
