A firm ended the last period with inventory of $4.0 million and a last in, first out (LIFO) reserve of $175,000. During the year, it made purchases of $2.0 million and reported sales of $5.5 million with a gross margin of 0.32. At the end of the year, it reported a LIFO reserve of $75,000. What is the value of the firm’s cost of goods sold (COGS) on a first in, first out (FIFO) basis?
With sales of $5.5 million and a gross margin of 0.32, the COGS (on a LIFO basis) is $3.74 million. In order to convert COGS to a FIFO basis, we need to subtract the change in LIFO reserve during the year: $3,740,000 ? ($75,000 ? $175,000) = $3,840,000. |