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Microlesson · 5-min read

AS 13 – Sale of Investments: Weighted Average Cost Method (WACM)

## Sale of Investments — Weighted Average Cost Method

### Why Weighted Average?

Shares of the same company bought at different times and prices form a homogeneous pool. AS 13 requires using the Weighted Average Cost to identify cost of shares disposed of.

WAM Formula:

```

WAM = Total Cost of All Shares Held

─────────────────────────────

Total Number of Shares Held

```

### Events That Change WAM

EventSharesAmountWAM Impact
New purchaseRecalculate
Bonus sharesNilDecreases
Right shares subscribed↑ (subscription price)Recalculate
Dividend on CY purchases (recovery of cost)Decreases
Sale of shares↓ (WAM × shares sold)Unchanged

> Critical Rule: A sale does NOT change WAM. If no new purchase occurs between two sales, the second sale uses the same WAM — no need to recalculate.

### Profit/Loss Calculation

```

Profit/Loss = Sale Proceeds − (WAM × Shares Sold)

```

### Journal Entries

On Profit:

```

Bank/CIB A/c Dr (sale proceeds)

To Investment A/c (WAM × shares sold)

To P&L A/c (profit)

```

On Loss:

```

Bank/CIB A/c Dr (sale proceeds)

P&L A/c Dr (loss)

To Investment A/c (WAM × shares sold)

```

### Investment Ledger (Credit side for a sale)

  • No. of Shares column: shares sold
  • Div column: CIB (cash received from buyer)
  • Amount column: WAM cost of shares sold

### WAM Recalculation — Step-by-Step

Always recalculate after each purchase, bonus, subscribed rights, or recovery-of-cost event. Do NOT recalculate after a sale.

Worked example

### Example 1

Example 1 (WN4 — Page 49):

  • Sale of 25,000 shares at ₹15 = ₹3,75,000
  • Accumulated WAM cost = ₹13.222 per share
  • Cost of 25,000 shares = 25,000 × 13.222 = ₹3,30,556
  • Profit = 3,75,000 − 3,30,556 = ₹44,444
  • Journal: Bank Dr ₹3,75,000 | To Investment ₹3,30,556 | To P&L ₹44,444

### Example 2

Example 2 (Pages 50-52) — Two consecutive sales, same WAM:

WAM Build-up:

EventSharesCost (₹)WAM
01.01: Buy 600 @ ₹2060012,00020.00
15.03: Buy 900 @ ₹25+900+22,50023.00
20.05: Buy 1,000 @ ₹23+1,000+23,00023.00
25.07: Bonus 1:1 (2,500 bonus)+2,500011.50
15.09: Div on CY purchase (recovery ₹3,000)−3,00010.90
12.11: Right 600 @ ₹20 (subscribed)+600+12,00011.875

Sale 1 (20.12 — 1,500 shares @ ₹22):

  • SP = ₹33,000; Cost = 1,500 × 11.875 = ₹17,813; Profit = ₹15,187

Sale 2 (01.02 — 1,000 shares @ ₹24) — no new purchase in between:

  • WAM still = 11.875 (no recalculation needed)
  • SP = ₹24,000; Cost = 1,000 × 11.875 = ₹11,875; Profit = ₹12,125

### Example 3

Example 3 (Q27 — Page 55-56):

  • Sale of 20,000 shares on 30.03.20 at ₹2,800 total? (₹28,000 from context)
  • Wait: SP = 20,000 × ₹1.40? or ₹28,000 total
  • From notes: SP = ₹28,000; WAM cost per share = ₹1.2275 (approx); cost = 20,000 × 1.2275 = ₹24,545
  • Profit = 28,000 − 24,545 = ₹3,455
  • (Aunt waala column: 60K + 3,200 + 3,000 + 3,000 − 15,200 = ₹54,000 total cost over 40,000+8,000−8,000+4,000 = 44,000 shares)

⚠️ Common exam mistakes

  • Recalculating WAM after a sale — WAM only changes on new purchases, bonus, subscribed rights, or recovery-of-cost events
  • Forgetting that dividend recovery of cost reduces the investment amount and hence lowers WAM
  • Adding bonus shares at some notional value in the WAM calculation — bonus shares are always at ₹0 cost
  • Using FIFO instead of WAM — AS 13 mandates weighted average for disposal of part-holdings
  • Treating profit/loss on sale as capital reserve instead of P&L
Bare-Act text Para 21 (Disposal of Investments) · AS 13 – Accounting for Investments (ICAI) · click to expand
When disposing of a part of the holding of a long-term investment, the carrying amount to be allocated to that part is to be determined on the basis of the average carrying amount of the total holding of the investment.
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