Worked Solution
✓ VerifiedAnswer: (D)
Under AS 2 (Valuation of Inventories), inventories must be valued at the lower of cost or net realisable value (NRV).
After the change in cost formula from FIFO to Weighted Average Method, the cost of closing inventory as at 31.03.2024 is ₹8,80,000. The NRV is ₹12,00,000. Since cost (₹8,80,000) < NRV (₹12,00,000), the inventory is carried at ₹8,80,000.
Regarding disclosure: a change in the cost formula (FIFO to Weighted Average) constitutes a change in accounting policy under AS 5 (Net Profit or Loss for the Period, Prior Period Items and Changes in Accounting Policies). AS 5 requires that when a change in accounting policy has a material effect, the following must be disclosed: (i) the nature of the change, (ii) the reason for the change, and (iii) the financial effect (amount) of the change. The effect here is ₹10,40,000 − ₹8,80,000 = ₹1,60,000 reduction in inventory value (and corresponding reduction in profit). Full disclosure including this amount is mandatory.
Therefore, the value of inventory will be ₹8,80,000, and full disclosure along with the amount of change (₹1,60,000) must be given in the financial statements.
Write it like this
1The skeleton
- Open with AS 2 + the golden rule in line 1 — write 'Under AS 2, inventories are valued at lower of cost or NRV' before anything else; examiners award structure marks before they even read your calculation.
- State the post-change cost clearly, then compare with NRV — write cost = ₹8,80,000 (weighted average) vs NRV = ₹12,00,000, then one line 'since cost < NRV, inventory is carried at ₹8,80,000'; the comparison IS the answer, not just the number.
- Pivot to AS 5 by name for the disclosure part — the moment you shift to disclosure, explicitly invoke 'AS 5 (Net Profit or Loss for the Period, Prior Period Items and Changes in Accounting Policies)'; if you write 'as per accounting standards' without naming AS 5, you drop a mark instantly.
- List the three disclosure requirements as a numbered sub-list — nature of change, reason for change, financial effect (amount); ICAI's model answers always enumerate these three; a prose paragraph hides them and loses presentation marks.
- Always compute and state the rupee impact — ₹10,40,000 − ₹8,80,000 = ₹1,60,000 reduction in inventory and profit; this figure is mandatory disclosure and most students forget to quantify it explicitly.
2Examiner-rewarded phrases
3Common trap
The classic trap here is treating the whole question as an AS 2 question and never bringing in AS 5 for disclosure — you'll write a perfect valuation line and then say 'disclose the change' without citing AS 5 or the three mandatory disclosure items, which is where 40-50% of the marks actually sit. Also watch out for picking ₹10,40,000 (the old FIFO cost) as the final value — the question changed the method, so your cost base is now ₹8,80,000, full stop.