Consider a situation at a firm where the differences in its cash flow and economic pension expense are considered material to the financial statements. The relevant tax rate is 30%. The expected return on plan assets is $120,000, interest cost is $85,000, employer’s contribution is $215,000, service cost is $450,000, and the actual return on plan assets is $50,000. Based on the information provided and for analytical purposes only, which of the following statements is most appropriate?
A) |
There is a reclassification of $189,000 from operating cash flow to financing cash flow. | |
B) |
There is a reclassification of $270,000 from operating cash flow to financing cash flow. | |
C) |
There is a reclassification of $140,000 from operating cash flow to financing cash flow. | |
The economic pension expense = service cost + interest cost ? actual return on plan assets = $450,000 + $85,000 ? $50,000 = $485,000.
Since the differences in cash flow and economic pension expense are considered material, for analysis purposes we should consider reclassifying the difference from operating activities to financing activities in the cash flow statement.
The employer’s contribution was only $215,000. Since the economic pension expense exceeds the cash flow, the difference, net of tax, is treated as a borrowing in the cash flow statement for analytical purposes. Assuming a tax rate of 30%, $189,000 is reclassified from operating cash flow to financing cash flow [($485,000 economic pension expense ? $215,000 employer contribution) ((1 ? 30% tax rate)]. |