Money Measurement Concept in accounting, also known as
Measurability Concept, means that only transactions and events that are capable
of being measured in monetary terms are recognized in the financial statements.
Explanation
All transactions and events recorded in the financial
statements must be reduced to a unit of monetary currency. Where it is not
possible to assign a reliable monetary value to a transaction or event, it
shall not be recorded in the financial statements.
However, any material transactions and events that are not
recorded for failing to meet the measurability criteria might need be disclosed
in the supplementary notes of financial statements to assist the users in
gaining a better understanding of the financial performance and position of the
entity.
Recognition Criteria
The recognition criteria defined by IASB and FASB require
that the elements of financial statements (i.e. assets, liabilities, income and
expense) must only be recognized in the financial statements if its cost or
value can be measured with sufficient reliability. Therefore, an entity shall
not recognize an element of financial statement unless a reliable value can be
assigned to it.
In many cases however the preparers of financial statements
are unable to arrive at a precise amount to be recognized in the financial
statements and must resort to the use of reasonable estimates in arriving at an
approximate value. The use of reasonable estimates is a very important
component in the preparation of financial statements and as long as forming
estimates do not involve a high degree of subjectivity and uncertainty they do
not undermine the reliability of financial information.
Where a significant element of financial statement is not
recognized because of the inability to measure its monetary value with sufficient
reliability, it may be disclosed in the supplementary notes of financial
statements to enhance the users' understandability and completeness of the
presented financial information.
Examples of Application
◾Skills and competence of
employees cannot be attributed an objective monetary value and should therefore
not be recognized as assets in the balance sheet. However, those transactions
related to employees that can be measured reliably such as salaries expense and
pension obligations are recognized in the financial statements.
◾Where it is not possible to
measure reliably the amount of settlement of a legal claim against the company,
no liability is recognized in the financial statements. Instead, the nature and
circumstances surrounding the lawsuit are disclosed in the supplementary notes
to the financial statements if considered material.
◾IAS 38 Intangible Assets and ASC
350 Intangibles - Goodwill and Other require that internally generated goodwill
shall not be recognized as an asset in the balance sheet. This is due to the
difficulty in identifying and measuring the cost of internally generated
goodwill as distinct from the cost of running the day to day operations of the
business.
However, IFRS 3
Business Combinations and ASC 805 Business Combinations permit purchased
goodwill to be recognized as an asset in the financial statements since the
cost of purchased goodwill is usually determinable objectively as the amount of
consideration paid in excess of the value of other identifiable assets of the
acquired business.
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