Posted: 26 Apr 2012 at 19:36 | IP Logged
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Costs for internally developed software are expensed in the preliminary project state. Costs are capitalized when they reach technological feasibility. Up to that point, they are expensed to an operating expense.
R&D costs are always expensed under GAAP unless assets have other uses. GAAP has very strict rules for classifying expenses as R&D. They have to represent planned efforts of a company to discover new information. There is not an option to capitalize these expenses but rather to classify them as R&D or Operating expenses.
A company with high R&D expenses may look like a good investment because they are investing in new discoveries, so the rules to classify expenses as R&D have been established to give shareholders and potential investors accurate information.
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