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What is inventory valuation?
Inventory valuation is an accounting practice that is followed by companies to find out the value of unsold inventory stock at the time they are preparing their financial statements. Inventory stock is an asset for an organization, and to record it in the balance sheet,it needs to havea financial value. This value can help you determine your inventory turnover ratio, which in turn will help you toplan your purchasing decisions.
To give you an example, if you run a shoe business and you’re left with 50 pairs of shoes at the end of the year, then you need to calculate their financial value and record it in your balance sheet. Let’s look at how and why you’ll calculate the value.
Why is inventory valuation important?
Identifying the unsold items is just one step in inventory valuation. You also need arate that you can multiplyby the quantity to arrive at a final value.You may have paid different prices for these items throughout the year, so you need to choose a technique to calculatea common rate.
Continuing our previous example,let’s look at your purchases for a particular type ofsneakers during the year:
At the end of the year, you have 50 pairs of unsold items, but due to the fluctuations in the price of the product, you’re facing a dilemma as to which rate you should use. Therefore, you need to choose a technique. In the following section, we will look at the different techniques of inventory valuation and share some pointers which can help you choose the right technique for your business.
What are the different inventory valuation methods?
There are three methods for inventory valuation: FIFO (First In, First Out), LIFO (Last In, First Out), and WAC (Weighted Average Cost).
In FIFO,you assume that the firstitemspurchasedare the first to leave the warehouse. In other words, whenever you make a sale, under FIFO, the items will besubtracted from the first list of products which entered your store or warehouse.
In LIFO,you make the opposite assumption: that the last items that enter your store are the first ones to leave.
TheWAC method uses the item’s average cost throughout the year. The average cost per unit is calculated by dividing the total cost by the total number of units purchasedduring theyear.
How do I value inventory using inventory valuation?
Let’s continue our above example and find out how each of these techniques calculates the value of your unsold stock.
From this table, you cansee how the value ofyourunsold inventory at the end of the year will differ based on the valuation method that you choose.However, there are two caveats to keep in mind:
In the above example, theFIFOvalue is more thantheLIFOvaluebecauseyou paid more per unit at the end of the year. However, this is notalwaysthe case.If your purchase price drops throughout the year, the FIFOvaluewill be less thantheLIFOvalue and theWACvaluewill change accordingly.
- If the quantity of items unsold at the end of the year is greater than the first or last order, then the calculation will be slightly different. For example, if you have 150 unsold items at the end of the year, then the calculations will look like this:
FIFO: Items bought first will be sold first
Use the newest purchase rate for the number of items included in the newest order, then use the previous rate for the remaining items.
90 * 35 = 3150 (All the items purchased in the month ofDecember)
60 * 31 = 1860 (Remaining items to be valuedusing the ratefromOctober)
Total 5010
LIFO: Items bought last will be sold first
Use the oldest purchase rate for the number of items included in the oldest order, then use the next rate for the remaining items.
100 * 30 = 3000 (All the items purchased in the month ofJanuary)
50 * 31 = 1550 (Remaining items to bevalued using the rate from March)
Total 4550
WAC: Average costper unit
150 * 31.5 = 4725 (Theaverage price per unitwill remain the same as there isNO change in rate and quantity purchased)
Here’s a table which summarizes the above working –
Which inventory valuation method should I use for my business?
Actually, there is no straight answer to this question. Your inventory valuation technique depends on the market conditions, and your financial goals for your organization. Here are a few scenarios which can help you to pin down the best inventory valuation technique for your business.
1. Applying for a loan for business expansion
If you’re planning to apply for a loan, then you will need to keep your stock as collateral. In such cases, it is preferable if the value of your stock is high, because higher valuation will give more assurance to the lender. If prices are increasing throughout the year, a FIFO inventory valuation technique will give you a higher value for closing inventory. If prices are decreasing,a LIFO technique will give you a higher value. The value of the closing inventory in your balance sheet is one of the factors used by financial institutions before approving a loan to a company, so the technique that gives you the highest inventory value will be the best for your company.
2. Attracting investors and keeping shareholders happy
A company with a high profit margin can get a lot of attention from potential investors and keepits existing shareholders happy. So if you’re looking for a new funding opportunity or if you want to please your shareholders with good earnings, then FIFO valuation will be beneficial under inflationary market conditions. Similarly, the LIFO valuation will be a better choice when prices are falling.
To make it clearer, let’s look at the same illustration, but with a new assumption that the sales price/unit is $20.
Because the FIFO method results in a higher gross profit, it will make the company more attractive to investors.
3. Saving taxes
If you’re looking for ways to cutdown on your tax liability, then your inventory valuation technique canhelp.Assuming an inflationary situation again, a LIFO valuation technique will save you somemoney. Toshow how, let’s refer to the aboveexample again:
You can see that the tax liability is the highest when you follow the FIFO valuation technique, because the profit is alsohighest. Under LIFO, the liability islowerbecause the profit margin is lower. However,keep in mindthat we’re assuming the priceswill go up during the year.During a depression, this scenario mightplay out differently.
Summing it up
The concept of inventory valuationcan seem a little heavyat first. However, once we break it down anddemonstrate each technique, it gets a lotsimpler. That’s exactly what we tried to achieve in this article. If yougot slightly overwhelmed,though,here’s a quick recapof whatyou need to know:
– Inventory valuation is the monetary value of your unsold stock.
– You need to choose an inventory valuation technique because theprice you pay for itemsfrom your vendor mightchange throughout the year.
– Thereare three techniques of inventory valuation: FIFO (First In, First Out), LIFO (Last In, First Out), and WAC (Weighted Average Cost).
– Choosingan inventory valuation technique depends a lot on your financial goals and market conditions.Just don’t change valuation techniques too often, because it can complicate your bookkeeping and raise suspicions.
Whether you’re an established business owner or a newbie entrepreneur, youneed to know about inventory valuation because inventoryplays a big partinthe asset category ofyourbalance sheet.An understandingof inventory valuation and its importancecan helpyou meetyour business growth goals and make the best of current market conditions.
