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10 Inventory

Tracking Systems and Valuation Techniques

Dr. Jacqueline Gagnon


An eye in a circle—the 'see' section of the think-see-do approach.


My turn
Spruce It Up Ltd. (SIU) sells Christmas trees seasonally in November and December. Each tree sells for $150, though SIU’s cost varies depending on supplier and proximity to Christmastime. SIU uses a perpetual inventory system and tracks inventory cost using FIFO. All purchases are made on account, and all sales are received in cash. SIU had no opening inventory and reports the following transactions for 20X3:
November 1: purchase of 100 trees from Pine 4U for $50 per tree
November 10: purchase of 60 trees from Fir Real for $65 per tree
November 16: sale of 40 trees to C Corp.
November 20: purchase of 20 trees from Pine 4U for $55 per tree
November 25: sale of 70 trees to D Corp
November 30: payment of all amounts outstanding to Pine 4U and Fir Real
December 1: purchase of 30 trees from Pine 4U for $70 per tree
December 12: sale of 80 trees to E Corp.
December 15: purchase of 45 trees from Fir Real for $110 per tree
December 17: sale of 50 trees to F Corp.
December 18: purchase of 30 trees from Pine 4U for $130 per tree
December 21: sale of all remaining trees to G Corp.
December 24: payment of amounts outstanding to Pine 4U and Fir Real
Use a table to keep track of the cost of trees in inventory and the costs that flow from inventory into COGS. Then create journal entries for each transaction and determine Financial Statement balances related to these inventory transactions.

FIRST IN FIRST OUT (FIFO): CALCULATIONS

Date

Description

Increase to COGS

Inventory balance

Nov 1

Opening balance

$ 0

Nov 1

Purchase of 100@$50/unit

100 units @ $50/unit: $5,000

Nov 10

Purchase of 60@$65/unit

100 units @ $50/unit= $5,000

60 units @ $65/unit= $3,900

Total inventory cost: $8,900

Nov 16

Sale of 40 units

40 units @$50/unit = $2,000

60 units @ $50/unit = $3,000

60 units @ $65/unit= $3,900

Total inventory cost: $6,900

Nov 20

Purchase of 20@$55/unit

60 units @ $50/unit= $3,000

60 units @ $65/unit= $3,900

20 units @ $55/unit= $1,100

Total inventory cost: $8,000

Nov 25

Sale of 70 units

60 units @ $50/unit= $3,000

10 units @ $65/unit= $ 650

Cost of 70 units sold: $3,650

50 units @ $65/unit= $3,250

20 units @ $55/unit= $1,100

Total inventory cost: $4,350

Dec 1

Purchase of 30@$70/unit

50 units @ $65/unit= $3,250

20 units @ $55/unit= $1,100

30 units @ $70/unit= $2,100

Total inventory cost: $6,450

Dec 12

Sale of 80 units

50 units @ $65/unit= $3,250

20 units @ $55/unit= $1,100

10 units @ $70/unit= $ 700

Cost of 80 units sold: $5,050

20 units @$70/unit = $1,400

Total inventory cost: $1,400

Dec 15

Purchase of 45@$110/unit

20 units @ $70/unit = $1,400

45 units @ $110/unit= $4,950

Total inventory cost: $6,350

Dec 17

Sale of 50 units

20 units @ $70/unit = $1,400

30 units @ $110/unit= $3,300

Cost of 50 units sold: $4,700

15 units @ $110/unit = $1,650

Total inventory cost: $1,650

Dec 18

Purchase of 30@$130/unit

15 units @ $110/unit= $1,650

30 units @ $130/unit = $3,900

Total inventory cost: $5,550

Dec 21

Sale of all remaining units

15 units @ $110/unit= $1,650

30 units @ $130/unit = $3,900

Cost of 45 units sold: $5,550

Total

$2,000 + $3,650 + $5,050 + $4,700 + $5,550

= $20,950 increase to COGS

Ending inventory

balance = $0

Journal Entries


November 1

 
DR Inventory 5,000
CR Accounts Payable 5,000

November 10

 
DR Inventory 3,900
CR Accounts Payable 3,900

November 16

(to record sales; 40 trees x $150
DR Cash 6,000
CR Sales Revenue 6,000
 
DR Cost of Goods Sold 2,000
CR Inventory 2,000

November 20

 
DR Inventory 1,100
CR Accounts Payable 1,100

November 25

(to record sales; 70 trees x $150)
DR Cash 10,500
CR Sales Revenue 10,500
 
DR Cost of Goods Sold 3,650
CR Inventory 3,650

November 30

 
DR Accounts Payable 10,000
CR Cash 10,000

December 1

 
DR Inventory 2,100
CR Accounts Payable 2,100

December 12

(to record sales; 80 trees x $150)
DR Cash 12,000
CR Sales Revenue 12,000
 
DR Cost of Goods Sold 5,050
CR Inventory 5,050

December 15

 
DR Inventory 4,950
CR Accounts Payable 4,950

December 17

(to record sales; 50 trees x $150)
DR Cash 7,500
CR Sales Revenue 7,500
 
DR Cost of Goods Sold 4,700
CR Inventory 4,700

December 18

 
DR Inventory 3,900
CR Accounts Payable 3,900

December 21

(to record sales; 45 trees x $150)
DR Cash 6,750
CR Sales Revenue 6,750
 
DR Cost of Goods Sold 5,550
CR Inventory 5,550

December 24

 
DR Accounts Payable 10,950
CR Cash 10,950

Looks like fun, right? Here’s your chance to practice. Take a look at SHL and give it your best try…

Excellent calculating! Keep this example close because we’ll revisit SHL shortly under a different costing method.

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Mastering Financial Statements Copyright © 2025 by Jacqueline Gagnon is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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