Toro Manufacturing is organized on January 1, Year 5. During Year 5, financial reports to management use the straight-line method of depreciating plant assets. On November 8, you (as consultant) hold a conference with Toro’s officers to discuss the depreciation method for both tax and financial reporting. Toro’s president suggests the use of a new method he feels is more suitable than straight line during this period of predicted rapid expansion of production and capacity. He shows an example of his proposed method as applied to a fixed asset with an original cost of $32,000, estimated useful life of five years, and a salvage value of $2,000, as follows:

Question 

Toro’s president favors this new method because he asserts it:

Question Increases funds recovered in years near the end of the assets’ useful lives when maintenance and replacement costs are high. Increases write-offs in later years and thereby reduce taxes.

Required:

Question

a. What are the purpose of and the principle behind accounting for depreciation?

b. Is the president’s proposal within the scope of GAAP? Discuss the circumstances, if any, where this method is reasonable and those, if any, where it is not.

c. The president requests your advice on the following additional questions:

Question

(1) Do depreciation charges recover or create cash? Explain.

(2) Assuming the IRS accepts the proposed depreciation method, and it is used for both financial reporting and tax purposes, how does it affect availability of cash generated by operations?