Chapter 4

Accounting for
Branches
Combined Financial
Statements

McGrawHill/Irwin

TheMcGrawHillCompanies,Inc.2006

Scope of Chapter
Accounting

and reporting for segments of a

business enterprise, primarily branches and
divisions.
Branches are not separate legal entities but
they are separate economic and accounting
entities.
Accounting procedures tailored for the special
features such as reciprocal ledger accounts.
2

Branches & Divisions

Branch is a business unit located at some
distance from Home Office.
Unit carries merchandise obtained from the
home office, makes sales, approves
customers credit, and makes collections from
its customers.
A branch may obtain merchandise solely from
the home office.

Branches & Divisions

Cash

receipts of the branch may be deposited

in a bank account belonging to the home office.
Branch expenses are paid from an imprest
cash fund or bank account provided by home
office.
Branch must submit a list of cash payments
supported with vouchers in order to get
replenishment from home office.
4

Branches & Divisions

Use

of imprest cash fund gives the home office

considerable control over the cash transactions
of the branch.
Common practice for a large branch to
maintain its own bank accounts.
Extent of autonomy and responsibility of a
branch varies, even among different branches
of the same business enterprise.
5

Branches & Divisions

A

segment of a business enterprise may

be operated as a division, which generally
has more autonomy than a branch.
Accounting procedures for a division (not
organized as a subsidiary company) are
similar to those used for branches.

Branches & Divisions

Business

segment is operated as a
separate corporation
Consolidated financial statements are
required. The consolidated statement is
described in chapters 6 through 10.

Start-up Costs of Opening New

Branches
Some

businesses would capitalize and

amortize such start-up costs on the
grounds that such costs are necessary to
successful operation at a new location.
Most enterprises recognized start-up
costs in connection with the opening of a
branch as expenses of the accounting
period in which the costs are incurred.
8

Start-up Costs of Opening New

Branches
Decision

should be based on the

principle that net income is measured by
matching expired costs with realized
revenue.
Costs that benefit future accounting
periods are deferred and allocated to
those periods.
9

Start-up Costs of Opening New

Branches

10

Seldom is there complete certainty that a new

branch will achieve a profitable level of operations in
later years.
In 1998 the AICPA Accounting Standards Executive
Committee issued Statement of Position 98-5 (SOP
98-5), Reporting on the Costs of Start-Up Activities,
which required expensing of all start-up costs,
including those associated with organizing a new
entity such as a branch or division.

Accounting System For A Branch

Business enterprise with branches may provide for a

complete set of accounting records at each branch.
Branch may maintain a complete set of accounting records
consisting of:

Journals
Ledgers
Chart of accounts

Similar to those of an independent business enterprise.

11

Accounting System For A Branch

12

Branches may keep all accounting records in the home

office and have the branch submit daily reports and
business documents to the home office,
Home office would then enter all transactions by
branches in computerized accounting records.
In this case, home office may not even conduct
operations of its own; it may serve only as an
accounting and control center for the branches.

Accounting System For A Branch

Financial statements are prepared by branch
accountant and forwarded to home office.
The home office usually establish policy such as
- Number and types of ledger accounts
- The internal control structure
- Form and content of the financial statements
- Accounting policies

13

Accounting System For A Branch

Transactions

recorded by a branch
should include all controllable expenses
and revenue initiated by the branch
If the branch manager has responsibility
over all branch assets, liabilities, revenue
and expenses, the branch accounting
records should reflect this responsibility.
14

Accounting System For A Branch

Expenses

such as depreciation often are

not subject to control by a branch
manager.
Branch plant assets and the related
depreciation ledger accounts generally
are maintained by the home office.
15

Accounting System For A Branch

16

Reciprocal Ledger Accounts /(Home office/Investment

in Branch)
Expenses Incurred By Home Office And Allocated To
Branches
Alternative Method Of Billing Merchandise Shipments
To Branches
Separate Financial Statements For Branch And For
Home Office
Combined Financial Statements For Home Office and
Branch

Accounting System For A Branch

Journal

Entries For Operations Of A Branch

Working Paper For Combined Financial
Statements
Treatment of Beginning Inventories Priced
Above Cost
Reconciliation Of Reciprocal Ledger Accounts
Transaction Between Branches
17

Reciprocal Ledger Accounts

18

Accounting records maintained by a branch include a

Home Office ledger account
This account reflects all activity between the branch
and home office
Home office is credited for all merchandise, cash or
other assets provided by the home office;
Home office is debited for all cash, merchandise, or
other assets sent by the branch to the home office or
the other branches.

Reciprocal Ledger Accounts

19

Home office account is a quasi-ownership equity

account that shows the net investment by the Home
Office in the branch.
End of an accounting period when the branch closes its
accounting records, the Income Summary account is
closed to the Home Office account.
Net income increases the credit balance of the Home
Office account; a net loss decreases (debit) this
balance.

Reciprocal Ledger Accounts

20

In the home office accounting records, a reciprocal

ledger account with a title such as Investment in
Branch is maintained.
Investment in Branch is non-current asset account
Debited for cash merchandise, and services provided
to the branch, and for the net income reported by the
branch.
Credited for the cash or other assets received from the
branch, and for net losses reported by the branch.

Reciprocal Ledger Accounts

Thus

the Investment in Branch account reflects

the equity method of accounting.
A separate investment account generally is
maintained by the home office for each branch.

21

Expenses Incurred By Home Office

And Allocated To Branches
If

a plant asset is acquired by the home office

for a branch, the journal entry for the
acquisition is a debit to an asset account such
as Equipment:Branch and a credit to Cash or a
Liability Account.
The home office also usually acquires
insurance, pays property and other taxes, and
does advertising that benefits all branches.
22

Expenses Incurred By Home Office

And Allocated To Branches
An

expense incurred by home office for a

branch is recorded by home office by a debit to
Investment in Branch and a credit to an
appropriate expense account;
Branch debits an expense account and credits
Home Office.

23

Expenses Incurred By Home Office

And Allocated To Branches
If

the home office does not make sales and

serves only as accounting center then most or
all of its expenses may be allocated to
branches.

24

Expenses Incurred By Home Office

And Allocated To Branches
Home office may charge each branch interest
on the capital invested in that branch
Interest expense recognized by the branches
would be offset by interest revenue recognized
by the home office
Amounts would be netted and would not be
displayed in the combined income statement

25

Illustration 1
In

a typical Home Office and Branch

transactions and events (Perpetual Inventory
System), the transactions and events are
recorded by the Home Office and by a Branch
are depicted in the following illustration. The
explanations for the journal entries are omitted.

26

Illustration 1
Home Office Accounting Records

Branch Accounting Records

Journal Entries

Journal Entries

1. Investment in Branch
Cash
2. Investment in Branch
Inventories
3. Equipment : Branch
Investment in Branch
4. None

1,000
60,000

Inventories

500

1,000
60,000

Home Office
Home Office

37,500
3,000

Cash
Trade Accts. Receivables
Cost of Goods Sold
Sales
Inventories
Cash
Trade Accts. Receivable
Operating Exps.
Cash
Home Office
37,500
Cash
Operating Exps.
3,000
Home Office

60,000
500

500

6. None

27

1,000
Home Office

60,000

5. None

7. Cash
Investment in Branch
8. Investment in Branch
Operating Exps.

Cash
1,000

500
80,000
45,000
80,000
45,000
62,000
62,000
20,000
20,000
37,500
37,500
3,000
3,000

Alternative Methods Of Billing

Merchandise Shipments To Branches
Three

alternative methods.

Billing at home office cost simplest of all.

Billing at a percentage above home office cost.
Billing at the branchs retail selling price.

Shipment

of merchandise to a branch does not

constitute a sale because ownership title has
not changed

28

Separate Financial Statements for

Branch & Home Office
A separate

income statement and balance

sheet helps management of the enterprise to
review the operating results and financial
position of the branch.
If the merchandise is billed at retail selling price
then Branchs income statement will show loss
approximating the operating expenses.

29

Separate Financial Statements for

Branch & Home Office

30

The branch balance sheet will have Home Office

Ledger Account instead of Ownership Equity Account.
The separate financial statements prepared by branch
will be revised by home office to include expenses
incurred by the home office for branch and to show the
results of branch operations after elimination of any
intra-company profits on merchandise shipments.
Separate financial statements also may be prepared
for the home office so that the results of its operations
and its financial position can be appraised.

Combined Financial Statements For

Home Office And Branches
A balance sheet for distribution to creditors,
stockholders, and government agencies.
A starting point in preparation of a combined
balance sheet would be the adjusted trial balances
of the home office and of the branch.
The reciprocal ledger accounts are eliminated
because they have no significance when the
branch and home office report as a single entity.

31

Combined Financial Statements For

Home Office And Branches
Assets

and liabilities of branch are substituted

for the Investment in Branch ledger (on Home
Office books)
Similar accounts are combined to produce a
single total amount for cash, trade accounts
receivable and other assets and liabilities of
the enterprise

32

Combined Financial Statements For

Home Office And Branches
The

balance of the Home Office account is

offset against the balance of the Investment in
Branch account;
In addition, any receivables and payables
between the home office and the branch (or
between branches) are eliminated

33

Combined Financial Statements For

Home Office And Branches
Operating

results of the enterprise are shown

by an income statement in which the revenue
and expenses of the branches are combined
with corresponding revenue and expenses for
the home office.
Intra-company profits of losses are eliminated.

34

Working Paper for

Combined Financial Statements
To combine

ledger account balances for

like revenue, expenses, assets and
liabilities
To eliminate any intra-company profits or
losses
To eliminate the reciprocal accounts
35

Working Paper for

Combined Financial Statements
Any

elimination or offsetting the balances is

done, is done only on working paper. No entry
is to be made in the accounting record of either
Home office or branch because its only
purpose is to facilitate the preparation of
combined financial statements
An example of a typical working paper when
billing to branches is done at cost, is shown on
the following slide
36

Illustration 2
SBH COMPANY
Working Paper for Combined Financial Statements of Home Office and Branch
For Year Ended December 31, 2002
(Perpetual Inventory System: Billings at Cost)
Adjusted Trial Balances
Home Office
Branch
Dr (Cr)
Dr (Cr)
Income Statement
Sales
Cost of goods sold
Operating expenses
Net Income (to statement of retained earnings
below)
Totals
Statement of Retained Earnings
Retained earnings, beginning of year
Net (Income) (from income statement above)
Dividends declared
Retained earnings, end of year (to balance
sheet below)
Totals

37

Balance Sheet
Cash
Trade accounts receivable (net)
Inventories
Investment in Branch
Equipment
Accumulated depreciation of equipment
Trade accounts payable
Home office
Common stock, $ 10 par
Retained earnings (from statement of retained
earnings above)
Totals

Eliminations
Dr (Cr)

Combined
Dr (Cr)

(400,000)
235,000
90,000

(80,000)
45,000
23,000

(480,000)
280,000
113,000

75,000
0

12,000
0

87,000
0

(70,000)
(75,000)
40,000

(12,000)

(70,000)
(87,000)
40,000
117,000
0

25,000
39,000
45,000
26,000
150,000
(10,000)
(20,000)

5,000
18,000
15,000

30,000
57,000
60,000
(26,000)
150,000
(10,000)
(20,000)

(26,000)

26,000

(150,000)

(150,000)

(117,000)
0

Illustration 3
Preparation

of working paper is used when a

home office transfer inventory above cost
The following illustration depicts this.

38

Illustration 3
SBH COMPANY
Working Paper for Combined Financial Statements of Home Office and Branch
For Year Ended December 31, 2002
(Perpetual Inventory System: Billings above Cost)
Adjusted Trial Balances
Home Office
Branch
Dr (Cr)
Dr (Cr)
Income Statement
Sales
Cost of goods sold
Operating expenses
Net Income (loss) (to statement of retained
earnings below)
Totals
Statement of Retained Earnings
Retained earnings, beginning of year
Net (Income) loss (from income statement
above)
Dividends declared
Retained earnings, end of year (to balance
sheet below)
Totals

39

Balance Sheet
Cash
Trade accounts receivable (net)
Inventories
Investment in Branch
Allowance for Overvaluation of Inventories:
Branch
Equipment
Accumulated depreciation of equipment
Trade accounts payable
Home office
Common stock, $ 10 par
Retained earnings (from statement of retained
earnings above)
Totals

(400,000)
235,000
90,000

(80,000)
67,500
23,000

75,000
0

(10,500)
0

Eliminations
Dr (Cr)

Combined
Dr (Cr)

(22,500)

(480,000)
280,000
113,000

22,500

(70,000)
(75,000)
40,000

87,000
0

(70,000)
10,500

(22,500)

(87,000)
40,000
117,000
0

25,000
39,000
45,000
56,000

5,000
18,000
22,500

(30,000)
150,000
(10,000)
(20,000)

(7,500)
(56,000)
30,000

(56,000)

56,000

(150,000)

30,000
57,000
60,000
0

150,000
(10,000)
(20,000)
0
(150,000)
(117,000)
0

Treatment of Beginning Inventories

Priced Above Cost

1.
2.

40

The beginning inventories can be treated

differently. Basically there are two systems to
treat the beginning inventories.
Perpetual Inventory System.
Periodic Inventory System.

Reconciliation of
Reciprocal Ledger Accounts

41

Balance of the Investment in Branch ledger account on

the accounting records of the home office may not
agree with the balance of the Home Office on the
branch books
Main reason certain transactions may have been
recorded by one set of books office but not by the
other.
At the end of each period the reciprocal account
balances must be brought into agreement before
combined financial statements are prepared.

Transactions Between Branches

Occasionally

operations require that

merchandise or other assets be transferred from
one branch to another.
Usually, a branch does not carry a reciprocal
ledger account with another branch.
The transfer can be recorded in Home Office
ledger account and home office credits the
inventories (assuming perpetual inventory
system is used).
42

Transactions Between Branches

On

receipt of the inventories, the branch debits

inventories and credits Home Office.
Home office records the transfer between
branches by a debit to Investment in recipient
branch and credit to Investment in delivering
branch.
Excess freight costs are recognized as
expenses of the home office.
43