Accounting for Contingencies: The Pennzoil-Texaco Case.
通过Pennzoil-Texaco诉讼案，分析两家公司在年报中对或有事项的披露，展示FASB关于“合理可能”和“很可能”标准在实务中的应用差异，以及或有收益与或有损失会计处理的区别。
Abstract The article discusses matters related to accounting for contingencies and the costs related in Texaco Inc.'s acquisition of Getty Oil Co. The disclosures provided in the annual reports of the two parties to this litigation provide insight into the implementation of the FASB's terms "reasonably possible" and "probable" as criteria for accounting and disclosure of contingencies. Moreover, a side-by-side comparison of the disclosures by the two parties illustrates the difference in practice between accounting for gains and for losses. An additional issue that comes to light from this case is that Pennzoil Co. had apparently deferred its legal costs during the lawsuit. Under generally accepted accounting principles, companies subject to contingent claims or with contingent assets, such as those arising from litigation, are required to disclose such claims in their financial statements when they become "reasonably possible," regardless of whether they can be reasonably estimated. An accrual for a liability is required when the contingency is both "probable" and the amount can be "reasonably estimated." However, the official pronouncements do not provide practical guidance concerning when an event is "reasonably possible" or when it is "probable." The differential application of these criteria in a contingent gain and contingent loss situation are illustrated by the Pennzoil-Texaco disclosures.