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An Asset Retirement Obligation (ARO) is a legal obligation associated with the retirement of a tangible long-lived asset in which the timing or method of settlement may be conditional on a future event, the occurrence of which may not be within the control of the entity burdened by the obligation. In the United States, ARO accounting is specified by Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS, or FAS) 143,SFAS 143 as amended
/ref> which is Topic 410-20 in the Accounting Standards Codification published by the Financial Accounting Standards Board. Entities covered by
International Financial Reporting Standards International Financial Reporting Standards, commonly called IFRS, are accounting standards issued by the IFRS Foundation and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). They constitute a standardised way of describing the company's f ...
(IFRS) apply a standard called
IAS 37 IAS may refer to: Science * Institute for Advanced Study, in Princeton, New Jersey, United States * Image Analysis & Stereology, the official journal of the International Society for Stereology & Image Analysis. * Iowa Archeological Society, Un ...
to AROs, where the AROs are called "provisions". ARO accounting is particularly significant for remediation work needed to restore a property, such as decontaminating a nuclear power plant site, removing underground fuel storage tanks, cleanup around an oil well, or removal of improvements to a site. It does not apply to unplanned cleanup costs, such as costs incurred as a result of an accident. Firms must recognize the ARO liability in the period in which it was incurred, such as at the time of acquisition or construction. The liability equals the present value of the expected cost of retirement/remediation. An asset equal to the initial liability is added to the
balance sheet In financial accounting, a balance sheet (also known as statement of financial position or statement of financial condition) is a summary of the financial balances of an individual or organization, whether it be a sole proprietorship, a Partnersh ...
, and depreciated over the life of the asset. The result is an increase in both assets and liabilities, while the total expected cost is recognized over time, with the accrual steadily increasing on a compounded basis.Explanation of AROs from the Journal of Accountancy
/ref>


An ARO example

A company builds a gas station, with underground tanks to store the fuel. The tanks have an estimated life of 40 years (or, alternatively, the station site is leased for 40 years). The current cost to remove the tanks is $15,000. The company estimates future inflation for this type of work to be 2.5% per year. The company's credit-adjusted risk-free rate (cost of borrowing) is 9%. The estimated future cost of removing the tanks in 40 years is $15,000 * (1.025 ^ 40) = $40,275.96. The present value of this cost is $40,275.96 / (1.09 ^ 40) = $1,282.29. At installation of the tanks, the company books an asset retirement cost (asset) and an asset retirement obligation (liability) of $1,282.29. The asset is
depreciated In accountancy, depreciation is a term that refers to two aspects of the same concept: first, the actual decrease of fair value of an asset, such as the decrease in value of factory equipment each year as it is used and wear, and second, the a ...
, usually straight-line, over 40 years (depreciation expense of $32.06 per year). The liability is accreted (interest for each period is calculated and added to the balance), using the interest method. (Accretion expense would be $115.41 the first year, $125.79 the second year, etc.) Over the 40 year life, the liability thereby increases to $40,275.96. At retirement of the tank, the expenses actually incurred to remove the tank are booked against the ARO, and a gain or loss is recognized for the difference. The increase of assets and liabilities by $1,282 will affect financial ratios, for example
return on assets The return on assets (ROA) shows the percentage of how profitable a company's assets are in generating revenue. ROA can be computed as below: :\mathrm = \frac This number tells you what the company can do with what it has, ''i.e.'' how many doll ...
will decline,
debt-to-equity ratio The debt-to-equity ratio (D/E) is a financial ratio indicating the relative proportion of shareholders' equity and debt used to finance a company's assets. Closely related to leveraging, the ratio is also known as risk, gearing or leverage. The two ...
will increase, etc. Calculations are somewhat different under IAS 37, because the discount rate is regularly recalculated during the life of the ARO to reflect current market conditions. Whenever the rate changes, the present value is recalculated, and both the asset and liability are adjusted by the amount of the difference.


See also

* Terminal value * Discounted cash flow


References

{{Reflist United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles Fixed asset