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October 25, 2009

Why would a company use double-declining depreciation on its financial statements?

Most companies will not use the double-declining balance method of depreciation on their financial statements. The reason is that it causes the company’s net income in the early years of an asset’s life to be lower than it would be under the straight-line method.

One reason for using double-declining balance depreciation on the financial statements is to have a consistent combination of depreciation expense and repairs and maintenance expense during the life of the asset. In other words, in the early years of the asset’s life, when the repairs and maintenance expenses are low, the depreciation expense will be high. In the later years of the asset’s life, when the repairs and maintenance expenses are high, the depreciation expense will be low. While this seems logical, the company will end up reporting lower net income in the early years of the asset’s life (as compared to the use of straight-line depreciation). Most managers will not accept reporting lower net income sooner than required.

Learn more about Depreciation Expense.

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9 Responses to “Why would a company use double-declining depreciation on its financial statements?”

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