More importantly, the study revealed that these same companies would havemore than US1. LIFO to FIFO. Undercurrent IRS regulations, most of these companies would be allowed to spread their tax payments over fouryears. This seems fair and equitable at first glance, until one realizes the gravity of these tax payments. Forexample, Exxon Mobil Corporation had a LIFO reserve balance of US2. At a 3. 5 effective tax rate, the company would be forced to pay the IRS approximately US2. US8. 9 billion in total, or 4 of its total assets. As far as I understand, the method of valuing as per LIFO, FIFO and MAP, does not adopt standard priceand then adjust at year end the varinace. It reasonably mean valuing at purchase price. Regards, ARIPS Please refer the underlined message more closely idctl. Id3. 90. 79. 54. Hi Patak,Below please find an abstract from an official website in US Since August 2. Securities Exchange Commission SEC chairman, Christopher Cox,presented a timeline for public companies to transition away from US GAAP generally accepted accountingprinciples to IFRS international financial reporting standards, many executives and policy makers havebeen concerned about the implications of the differences between the two standards of reporting. The goalof the SEC and the International Accounting Standards Board IASB is ultimately to put both US and otherinternational public companies on a consistent, comparable financial reporting basis. This, in turn, wouldenable analysts, shareholders, and company management to evaluate financial performance among industrycompetitors, no matter where they are domiciled around the globe. However, as Mary Smyth, Controller for United Technologies Corp., warned in CFO Magazine recently,The transition from US GAAP to IFRS is not an accounting standard adoption exercise, but rather a globalproject, impacting every facet of a companys operations. One of those facets is the method of inventoryvaluation used by US companies. Under US GAAP, US companies are allowed to use an inventory valuationmethod referred to as LIFO last in, first out. Under IFRS, LIFO is not permitted as a basis for valuinginventory for financial reporting purposes. This has many implications for US businesses that currentlyemploy LIFO, one of the most significant of which is the potential acceleration of deferred tax liabilities thathave accumulated on their balance sheets over many years of operations. LIFO Defined. LIFO implies that as inventories turn over, companies using this method to account for their inventorytransactions will use their most recent purchases of inventory to sell first. This enables companies to deductthe most recent costs associated with their inventory from their sales proceeds. Consequently, companiesusing LIFO better match current revenues with current costs. This concept rarely reflects that actual flow ofinventory. Most companies prefer to sell their oldest purchases of inventory first called FIFO first in, firstout. LIFO has been permitted for US companies since the early 1. During this period of high inflation inthe United States, many companies adopted LIFO to lower their taxable earnings, and thereby, lower theirthen current tax payments. Under current IRS tax regulations, a company that uses LIFO for tax reportingmust also use it for financial reporting purposes. This is referred to as the LIFO conformity rule. The computation of cost of goods sold COGS is COGS Beginning Inventory Purchases Ending Inventory. A recent study performed at the Georgia Tech Financial Analysis Lab examined the tax effect, amongother impacts, of changing from the LIFO valuation of inventory to FIFO. It revealed that 3. UScompanies use LIFO in valuing all or a portion of their inventories. Further, the study reviewed a sampleof 3. LIFO reserves to total assets, and found that their pretaxincome would be higher on average by 1. FIFOin valuing their inventories. More importantly, the study revealed that these same companies would havemore than US1. LIFO to FIFO. Undercurrent IRS regulations, most of these companies would be allowed to spread their tax payments over fouryears. This seems fair and equitable at first glance, until one realizes the gravity of these tax payments. Forexample, Exxon Mobil Corporation had a LIFO reserve balance of US2. At a 3. 5 effective tax rate, the company would be forced to pay the IRS approximately US2. US8. 9 billion in total, or 4 of its total assets. As far as I understand, the method of valuing as per LIFO, FIFO and MAP, does not adopt standard priceand then adjust at year end the varinace. It reasonably mean valuing at purchase price.