Accounting for Construction Contracts

A construction contract is a contract specifically negotiated for the construction of an asset or a combination of assets that are closely interrelated or interdependent in terms of their design, technology and function or their ultimate purpose or use. The primary issue in accounting for construction contracts is the allocation of contract revenues and contract costs to the periods in which the construction work is performed. Four approaches to accounting for construction contracts have developed over time: the completed-contract method, recognition based on cost incurred, the percentage-of-completion method and recognition based on invoicing. The basic principle of the completed-contract method is to recognize revenue only when it is certain, i.e. in the period when the contract is completed. During the period of performance no revenue is recognised and costs are accumulated in the balance sheet. The main disadvantage of this method is the lack of comparability of the presented amounts between single periods. On the other hand the method is based on the finally determined results, which means that the reported values are certain and cannot be manipulated by the company. Recognition based on costs incurred has the basic concept of recognizing profit only when it is certain. Thus the profit is recognised when the contract is finished. During the realization of the project revenue is recognised only to the extent of contract costs incurred. Contract costs are recognised as an expenses in the period in which they are incurred. The amounts of expense presented in the income statement are fully comparable between accounting periods. The reported revenue has much lower volatility than when using the completed-contract method. This approach provides the users of financial statement with an indication of the volume of a company's business. Under the percentage-of-completion method contract revenue is matched with the contract costs incurred in reaching a stage of completion, resulting in a reported revenue, expenses and profit which can be attributed to the proportion of work completed. Financial statements based on this method present more accurately the relationships between the gross profit from contracts and related period costs. The main disadvantage is the dependence on estimates of contract revenue, contract costs and percentage of completion. The estimates can be made intentionally or unintentionally inaccurate. In contrast to the other approaches recognition based on invoicing has no theoretical concept. Contract revenue is recognized according to the invoiced amounts in the appropriate period. An expense is recognised in the amount of costs allocated to parts of the project, which are the object of invoicing. The fundamental disadvantage of this approach is the possibility of manipulation of the amounts of recognized revenue and expenses. The presented amounts can be very different in similar economic situations. For the users of financial statements, the percentage-of-completion method is preferable, because this method provides useful information on the extent of contract activity and performance during a period. The presented amounts are fully comparable between accounting periods. On 24 June 2010 the IASB and FASB published an exposure draft Revenue from Contracts with Customers. This new standard should supercede IAS11. It has another approach to revenue recognition, but it doesn't mean that the presented values of construction contracts will differ significantly