Respuesta :
Answer:
*Records estimated bad debts expense in the period when the related sales are recorded.
*Reports accounts receivable on the balance sheet at the estimated amount of cash to be collected.
Explanation:
The allowance and write off methods represent 2 different methods by which businesses recognize Customer Indebtedness that is perceived doubtful and irrecoverable.
A business can choose to apply any of the methods that best suits its line of business and the type of channel or customers it serves.
Each method has its advantages and some disadvantages.
The direct write off method is simple to apply. The business managers only have to wait for a debt to go bad and a debit is passed against the Income statement. The risk however is if the sum is substantial it may lead to business having to refinance itself or wind down operations.
When readers of Financial statements study the records of a company, one aspect that catches their attention is the ageing of debts and the allowances made for irrecoverable debts. The direct write off method will make it difficult for the users to have faith in the Assets of the Business as anything may go wrong to deplete shareholders value.
This weakness is what the allowance method tries to manage. By applying a certain industry rate of historical rate to make allowances annually even when the debts haven't gone bad.
This helps investors in identifying the risk management with respect to debt collections. However the risk also remains of either over stating the allowance or understating it.