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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

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