Revenue Recognition

The specific circumstances under which revenue is recognized are determined by the accounting principle known as revenue recognition. The ICAI is the organization that issues the AS 9 Revenue Recognition. Revenues are defined by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India as the gross inflow of cash, receivables, or other consideration that results from the sale of goods or the provision of services, as well as from various other sources like interest, royalties, and dividends, during the normal course of an enterprise’s operations.

The price clients are charged for the purchase of goods and services must be used to calculate revenue.

But, when there is an agency relationship, the revenue must be calculated using the commission fees. It doesn’t depend on the total amount of cash, receivables, or any consideration that comes in.

There are a few instances where the assertion made above calls for a specific consideration:

• building contracts generate income.
• income through grants and other comparable subsidies from the government.
• Revenue of insurance companies arising from the insurance contracts.

The timing of when revenue is recognized in an organization’s profit and loss statement is referred to as revenue recognition. An agreement between the parties engaged in a transaction usually determines the amount of revenue that results from that transaction. Existing uncertainties, which affect the timing of the revenue, are taken into account when determining the quantity and its associated costs.

Application of Revenue Recognition Standard 9

This standard, which was released by the ICAI in 1985 and the first years, was only needed for Level I organizations, but as of April 1st, 1993, it is now required for all organizations.

An enterprise, according to the ICAI, is a business as defined in Section 3 of the 2013 Companies Act.

The term “Level 1 enterprises” refers to businesses whose turnover for the most recent accounting year exceeded Rs. 50 crores. The turnover applies to owning as well as subsidiary companies and excludes any other income.

A Revenue Recognition Explanation

• Revenue Recognition emphasizes when revenue is recognized in a company’s statement of profit and loss.
• A contract between the parties to a transaction usually specifies how much money will be made as a result of that transaction.
• The timing of the revenue may be impacted whenever uncertainty exists regarding the estimation of the amount or any of its related costs.

Important Components of Revenue Recognition

The essential components of revenue recognition are as follows:

Sale of Goods

The sale of goods is a crucial factor in deciding whether or not a transaction’s income should be recognized. The ownership of the products has been given to the buyer in exchange for money by a seller. The transfer of key risks and rewards associated with ownership of the products frequently leads to the transfer of property in the goods.

The transfer of material hazards frequently does not coincide with the transfer of commodities to the customer, though. When items are transferred to the customer in these types of situations, revenue must be recognized at that time. When substantial risks and rewards are transferred to the buyer in such cases, income must be taken at that time.

The performance could be nearly finished before the transaction that generates money is executed in many circumstances in the industry.

In the following circumstances, the items are valued according to their net realizable value (NRV):

When the sale is guaranteed by a government guarantee, a forward contract, the presence of a market, and the risk of failure to sell are minimal.

Certain types of sums, such as the harvesting of agricultural products or the extraction of mineral ores, are not specified in the definition of revenue but are occasionally noted in the statement of profit and loss.

Providing Services

The performance of the service affects how much money is recognized for it. This is broken further into two categories:

• The profit and loss statement shows income in proportion to how well each service has been completed under the proportionate completion method of accounting. Hence, the performance of multiple acts constitutes the accomplishment of service. Every time one of these acts is finished, the revenue is acknowledged.

• Finished Service Contract Method: During the performance of services under a contract that is completed or substantially completed, revenue is recognized in the statement of profit and loss account.

dividends, royalties, and interest

The result of the enterprise being used by others is:

• Interest: After accounting for the outstanding balance and the relevant rate, the revenue is here recognized on a time-proportion basis. For instance, even though the interest for the aforementioned period from January to March will be collected in June, the income will still be recognized in March if the interest on the fixed deposit is due on the 30th of June and the 31st of December.
• Royalties: In general, a royalty includes the fee for using a trademark, a patent, or other intellectual property. According to the relevant agreement and on an accrual basis, revenue must be recorded. As an illustration, the royalty must only be acknowledged if it is determined by the number of copies of the book sold.
• Dividends: The revenue must be recorded when the owner’s rights to receive the payments are established. When the corporation decides to pay dividends to its shareholders and announces a dividend on its shares, it is inevitable.

Criteria Provided for Recognizing Revenue

The following prerequisites must be met to recognize the revenue by Indian Accounting Standards:

• The buyer must assume the risks and benefits of ownership from the seller.
• The sold goods are no longer under the seller’s control.
• It is reasonably guaranteed that the goods or services will be paid for.
• It is reasonable to measure the revenue.
• Revenue costs can be calculated logically.

1. a) Performance refers to the Criteria mentioned in points (1) and (2). When a seller has complied with expectations and is therefore entitled to payment, this is referred to as performance.

1. b) The third-point condition is referred to as collectability. The seller must have a reasonable expectation that they will be paid for their work by the performance.

1. c) The above-mentioned conditions (4) and (5) are referred to as measurability. The vendor must be able to balance its income and expenses by accounting regulations. So, it is necessary to fairly measure both revenues and expenses.

What are the procedures for recognising revenue from contracts?

The following are the five steps for revenue recognition in contracts:

What the Contract Is

A contract cannot be formed until all requirements are met:

• The agreement must be approved by both parties (whether it is written, verbal, or implied).
• It is necessary to determine where commodities and services are transferred.
• Terms of payment must be specified.
• The contract also has a strong business foundation.
• The likelihood of money collection exists.

What the Performance Obligations Are

There may be multiple performance obligations in some contracts. A car sale that includes a free driving lesson, for instance, would be regarded as having two performance responsibilities, the first being the automobile itself and the second being the driving lesson.

Performance commitments must be separate from one another. For a product or service to be unique, the following criteria must be met:

The purchaser (consumer) may profit independently from the products or services. The contract specifically names the commodity or service.

How to Calculate the Transaction Price

The cost fixed in the contract is often what determines the transaction price. For instance, a car is offered for sale for Rs. 6 lakh and comes with a free driving lesson. This transaction would only cost Rs. 6 lakhs.

Affecting Performance Obligations with the Transaction Price

The selling prices of the performance obligations must be used as the basis for dividing the transaction price across several performance obligations.

Uncertainties’ Impact on Revenue Recognition

The following explanation explains how the uncertainties affect revenue recognition:

• For revenue recognition, the revenue must be quantifiable, and it will be unreasonable to expect ultimate collection at the time of sale or service provision.
• Revenue recognition is delayed to the extent of the uncertainty involved when the capacity for assessing the collection is not present at a reasonable level.
• Only when it is reassuringly confident that the final collection will be made will it be permissible in some circumstances to recognize revenue. Even though installments are a form of payment, the income is recognized at the moment of sale or service provision.
• It is advised to make a provision to reflect the change rather than altering the amount of revenue reported when the collectability doubt occurs after the sale or the rendering of a service.
• The revenue recognition process is delayed when the consideration amount, a crucial component, is not measurable but falls within acceptable bounds.
• It is regarded as revenue of the period that is adequately recognized when revenue recognition is delayed owing to the impact of uncertainties.

A revenue recognition policy’s checklist

According to Ind AS 115, each Entity is required to think about creating a revenue recognition policy. At the proper management levels, the policy must be drafted, evaluated, and approved.

For each of the performance obligations, it comprises the following:

• The Performance duty is described.
• Form the contract’s framework for performance obligations.
• As the services are provided at completion, the transfer happens all at once, at the moment of shipment or delivery.
• The transition takes place gradually (a description of the output method or input methods that are used and also how those methods are applied).
• Quantitative data on economic variables, such as the type of customer, their location, and the type of contract, that have an impact on the type, volume, timing, and hazard of revenue and cash flows under a performance obligation.
• Important payment terms include due dates, whether the consideration is set or variable, and whether or not the estimation of changeable consideration is constrained.
• The relationship between the fulfillment of the performance obligation and the regular scheduling of payments, as well as the impact these circumstances have on the balances of the contract’s assets and liabilities.
• obligations linked to the performance obligation, including types of warranties, requirements for returns or refunds, and related obligations.
• Provide a thorough explanation of whether the business is the principal or agent for the performance obligation, as well as how the decision was made.

Disclosures in Financial Statements That Are Necessary for Revenue Recognition

Setting up a revenue recognition policy will also assist in creating the disclosures for financial statements.

For revenue recognition, the following disclosures by the companies must be made in the financial statement:

Basic Disclosures

• To enable the user of financial statements to comprehend the nature, timing, quantity, and any uncertainties of revenues and cash flows of such contracts, the revenue from contracts with customers and its corresponding contract assets and liabilities must be shown transparently.
• It is necessary to reveal the starting and ending values of any contract liabilities or assets, as well as any associated receivables.
• It is necessary to disclose the changeover.

Total Revenue, Segmented

The time of the transfer of commodities and the impact of economic conditions on each of the disaggregated revenue streams must be the foundation of the disaggregated revenue.

Performance Requirements

• identifying the kind of goods or services the business has committed to transferring (that includes when to act as an agent).
• The precise terms of payment must be stated.
• It is necessary to mention any requirements for returns, refunds, and other comparable requirements.
• The different warranty categories and the obligations they entail must also be disclosed.

Important Decisions

• Report all judgments that have a material impact on determining the amount, timing, and revenue from contracts with customers, as well as any modifications to the judgments.
• Explain the conclusions reached on the transaction price, the amounts allotted to the performance obligations, and the timeliness of the fulfillment of the performance obligations.
• Explain the procedures, variables, and presumptions used to evaluate a strained estimate of a variable.

Frequently Asked Questions:

What is the principle of revenue recognition?

According to the accounting standard, revenues must be reported on the income statement in the period in which they are earned, not the period in which the cash is received. The accrual basis of accounting includes this.

What are the four standards for recognizing revenue?

The following conditions must be satisfied before revenue recognition:

• There must be convincing evidence of an arrangement;

• Deliveries must have taken place or services must have been provided;

• The amount that the seller charges the buyer must be set or determinable; and

• Collectability ought to be reassuringly guaranteed.

What are the five steps in recognizing revenue?

For revenue recognition, there are five steps listed.

• Identify the customer contract.

• List the contract’s performance requirements.

• Establish the transactional cost.

• Assign the costs to the obligations for performance.

• Acknowledge revenue.

What various forms of revenue recognition are there?

Many of the revenue recognition techniques available include:

• The sales basis approach.

• Manner of Completion %.

• Contract Process Done.

• The cost recovery approach.

• Installment Approach.

• A revised method for revenue recognition.

How does Collectability impact the recognition of revenue?

The vendor stops recognizing revenue but is not required to reverse previously realized revenue if the reevaluation shows that collectability is less than probable. The customer’s full payment was received and is nonrefundable, and the vendor has no other commitments to the client.

Why is the moment at which revenue is recognized significant?

The primary benefit of adhering to the revenue recognition standard is that it guarantees that your books accurately reflect your current profit and loss margin. Maintaining your financial credibility is crucial. Your transactions are more aligned when financial reporting is used.