Table of Content
Investments are assets held by an enterprise for earning income by way of dividends, interest and rentals, for capital appreciation, or for other benefits to the investing enterprise. Investment Accounting is done as per AS 13, Accounting for Investments which deals with accounting for investments in the financial statements and related disclosure requirements except:
- Bases for recognition of interest, dividends and rentals earned on investments;
- operating or financial leases;
- investment of retirement benefit plans and life insurance enterprises;
- mutual funds, etc.
Note: Assets held as Stock-in-trade are not ‘Investments’.
2. CLASSIFICATION OF INVESTMENTS
The investments are classified into two categories as per AS 13, viz., Current Investments and Long-term Investments.
Current Investments
- A current Investment is an investment that is by its nature readily realisable and is intended to be held for not more than one year from the date on which such investment is made.
- The carrying amount for current investments is the lower of cost and fair value.
- Fair Value is the amount for which an asset could be exchanged between a knowledgeable, willing buyer and a knowledgeable, willing seller in an arm’s length transaction. Under appropriate circumstances, market value or net realisable value provides an evidence of fair value.
- Market Value is the amount obtainable from the sale of an investment in an open market, net of expenses necessarily to be incurred on or before disposal.
- Any reduction to fair value and any reversals of such reductions are included in the statement of profit and loss.
Long-term Investments
- A long-term investment is an investment other than a current investment.
- Long term investments are usually carried at cost.
- If there is a decline, other than temporary, in the value of a long term investment; the carrying amount is reduced to recognise the decline.
- The reduction in carrying amount is charged to the statement of profit and loss.
- The reduction in carrying amount is reversed when there is a rise in the value of the investment, or if the reasons for the reduction no longer exist.
3. COST OF INVESTMENTS
1. The cost of an investment includes acquisition charges such as brokerage, fees and duties.
2. If an investment is acquired, or partly acquired, by the issue of shares or other securities, the acquisition cost is the fair value of the securities issued.
The fair value may not necessarily be equal to the nominal or par value of the securities issued.
If an investment is acquired in exchange, or part exchange, for another asset, the acquisition cost of the investment is determined by reference to the fair value of the asset given up or the fair value of the investment acquired, whichever is more clearly evident.
| Type of acquistion |
Cost of investments |
| Cash / Bank |
Cash price including charges such as brokerages, fees and duties
|
| Issue of shares / other securities |
Fair value of securities issued
|
| In exchange for another asset |
Fair value of asset given up or fair value of investment acquired, whichever is
more clearly evident
|
3. A separate Investment Account should be made for each scrip purchased. The scrips purchased may be broadly divided into two categories, viz.
The entries in Investment Account for these two broad categories of scrips will be made as under:
(i) Fixed income Bearing Securities: These refer to securities having fixed return of income. Investment in Government securities or debentures comes under this category.
Transaction for fixed income bearing securities may occur on following basis:
- Ex-interest basis
- Cum- interest basis
In case the transaction is on ‘Ex-interest’ basis, the amount of interest accrued to the date of transaction has to be paid in addition to the price of security.
The following entries are made in the books of Purchaser:
Investment Account Dr. (With the price settled on ex- interest basis)*
Interest accrued Account Dr. (Accrued interest till the date of transaction)**
To Bank A/c (With total amount paid)
* This amount will appear in Capital Column of ‘Investment A/c’.
**This amount will appear in Income Column of ‘Investment A/c’.
In case the transaction is on cum-interest basis, a part of purchase price is related to the interest accrued from the date of the last interest paid to the date of transaction. Hence, in this case, the cost of investment has to be calculated by subtracting the amount of
accrued interest from the Purchase Price.
The following entries are made in the books of Purchaser:
Investment Account Dr. (With the price settled on cum- interest less Interest Accrued)*
Interest accrued Account Dr. (Accrued interest till the date of transaction)**
To Bank A/c (With total amount paid)
* This amount will appear in Capital Column of ‘Investment A/c’.
**This amount will appear in Income Column of ‘Investment A/c’.
When the interest amount is actually received, it is entered in the Income Column credit side. The net effect of these entries will be that the amount credited to the income will be only the interest arising between the date of purchase and the one on which it next falls due.
Note:
- Interest amount is always calculated with respect to nominal value (par value/ nominal value).
- In case the quotation does not specify whether it is ex-interest or cum-interest, the same will be treated as ex-interest quotation as per the general practice
(ii) Variable Income Bearing Securities: These refer to securities having variable return of income. Investment in equity shares comes under this category. The following points should be noted with respect to investment in equity shares:
- dividends from investments in shares are not recognised in the statement of profit and loss until a right to receive payment is established;
- the amount of dividend accruing between the date of last dividend payment and the date of purchase cannot be immediately ascertained.
In the following way the information is incorporated in the books of investor at the time of purchase:
Investment Account Dr. (With the entire purchase price)*
To Bank A/c (With total amount paid)
* This amount will appear in Capital Column of ‘Investment A/c’.
The adjustment with respect to dividend is made when the dividend is actually received as under:
Bank A/c Dr. (with total dividend received)
To Investment A/c|with the amount of dividend for the period for which the investor did not hold the share)*
To Dividend A/c (with the amount of dividend for the post – acquisition period)**
*This amount will appear in Capital Column of ‘Investment A/c’.
**This amount will appear in Income Column of ‘Investment A/c’.
- The important point with respect to investment in equity shares is that the amount of dividends for the period, for which the shares were not held by the investor, should not be treated as revenue receipt but they should be treated as capital receipt, i.e., when dividends on equity shares are declared from pre-acquisition profits, the amount of such dividend received by the investor is entered on the credit side in the capital column, so as to reduce the acquisition cost.
- If it is difficult to make an allocation between pre and post-acquisition periods except on an arbitrary basis, the cost of investment is normally reduced by dividends receivable, only if they clearly represent recovery of part of the cost.
4. When right shares offered are subscribed for, the cost of the right shares is added to the carrying amount of the original holding.
If rights are not subscribed for but are sold in the market, the sale proceeds are taken to the statement of profit and loss.
| Right shares |
Accounting |
| When right shares offered are subscribed |
Cost of right shares should be added to carrying amount of the original holding.
|
| If rights are not subscribed for but are sold |
Sale proceeds should be taken to statement of profit and loss (refer note below for an exception). |
Note: Where the investments are acquired on cum-right basis and the market value of investments immediately after their becoming ex-right is lower than the cost for which they were acquired, it may be appropriate to apply the sale proceeds of rights to reduce the carrying amount of such investments to the market value.
For e.g., Mr. X acquires 200 shares of a company on cum-right basis for ` 50,000. He subsequently receives an offer of right to acquire fresh shares in the company in the proportion of 1:1 at ` 110 each. X subscribes for the right issue. Thus, the total cost of X’s holding of 400 shares would amount to ` 72,000 (50,000 + 22,000).
Suppose, he does not subscribe but sells the rights for ` 15,000. The ex-right market value of 200 shares bought by X immediately after the rights falls to ` 40,000. In this case out of sale proceeds of ` 15,000, ` 10,000 may be applied to reduce the carrying amount to the market value ` 40,000 and ` 5,000 would be credited to the profit and loss account.
5. Where an investment is acquired by way of issue of bonus shares, no amount is entered in the capital column of investment account since the investor has not paid anything.
4. DISPOSAL OF INVESTMENTS
- On disposal of an investment, the difference between the carrying amount and the disposal proceeds, net of expenses is recognised in the profit and loss statement.
- When a part of the holding of an individual investment is disposed, the carrying amount is required to be allocated to that part on the basis of the average carrying amount of the total holding of the investment.
- In respect of shares, debentures and other securities held as stock-in-trade, the cost of stocks disposed of may be determined by applying an appropriate cost formula (e.g., first-in, first-out (FIFO), average cost, etc.). These cost formulae are the same as those specified in AS 2, Valuation of Inventories.
(i) Fixed Income Bearing Securities: In case the transaction is on ‘Cum-interest basis’, the amount of accrued interest from the date of last payment to the date of sale is credited in the income column and only the sale proceeds, net of accrued interest (from the date of last payment to the date of sale), is credited in the capital column of investment account.
In case the transaction is on ‘Ex-interest’ basis, entire sale proceeds is credited in the capital column and the amount of accrued interest from the date of last payment to the date of sale, separately received from the buyer will be taken to the credit side of the income column of investment account.
(ii) Variable Income Bearing Securities: In case of these securities, the entire amount of sale proceeds should be credited in the capital column of investment account, unless the amount of accrued dividend can be specifically established.
The entries in the books at the time of sale of investments will be just the reverse of the entries passed for their acquisition.
| Particulars |
Value in ‘capital’ column of investment
|
| Purchase |
Sale |
| Transaction on ex-interest basis |
Purchase price of investment, i.e., no impact of interest accrued upto the date of transaction
|
Entire sale proceeds from investments, i.e., no impact of accrued interest (from the date of last payment to the date of sale)
|
| Transaction on cum-interest basis |
Purchase price of investment less accrued interest upto the date of transaction
|
Sale proceeds, net of accrued interest (from the date of last payment to the date of sale) |
5. RECLASSIFICATION OF INVESTMENTS
When Investments are classified from Current Investments to Long-term Investments, transfer is made at Cost and Fair Value, whichever is less (at the date of transfer).
When Investments are classified from Long-term Investments to Current Investments, transfer is made at Cost and Carrying Amount, whichever is less (at the date of transfer).
Ruchika Saboo
An All India Ranker (AIR 7 - CA Finals, AIR 43 - CA Inter), she is one of those teachers who just loved studying as a student. Aims to bring the same drive in her students.
Yashvardhan Saboo
A Story teller, passionate for simplifying complexities, techie. Perfectionist by heart, he is the founder of - Konceptca.
