Auto Dealerships - Audit Technique Guide - Uncle Fed's Tax*Board
Auto Dealerships - Audit Technique Guide - Uncle Fed's Tax*Board
Auto Dealerships - Audit Technique Guide - Uncle Fed's Tax*Board
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Appendix B<br />
Balance Sheet Section – Examination Specifics<br />
Below are Balance Sheet items related to the auto industry.<br />
1. Cash 6. Accounts Payable, Other<br />
Current Liabilities and<br />
2. Accounts Receivable Other Liabilities<br />
3. Inventory 7. Capital Stock/Capital<br />
Account<br />
4. Loans to/from Shareholders<br />
8. Retained Earnings<br />
5. Building and Equipment<br />
1. Cash<br />
One of the objectives in analyzing the cash account is to determine if cash equivalents and<br />
balances are properly classified on the balance sheet. <strong>Auto</strong> dealers may put an asset into the<br />
cash portion of the balance sheet in order to make financial statements look more attractive.<br />
Contracts in Transit is one example of this. Although much like a receivable, most auto<br />
dealerships treat these as a cash item.<br />
What’s a Contract in Transit?<br />
A Contract in Transit is the amount of the automobile’s sale price which is going to come from<br />
the financing company that has not yet arrived. The dealer justifies a cash treatment of these<br />
contracts as they typically deal with one or two institutions on an ongoing basis, collection is<br />
close to certain, and turn around is fast (about a week). When the financing institution<br />
"makes the loan," proceeds are forwarded to the dealer who then acts on the note executed by<br />
the buyer and subsequently an entry is made:<br />
DR Cash in Bank<br />
CR Contracts in Transit<br />
Sources of cash verification and substantiation items include:<br />
a. Bank Statements<br />
b. General Ledger and subsidiary journals<br />
c. Statement of Cash Flows<br />
B-1