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5.2.1: Identify the Contract

  • Page ID
    100417
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    The contract must be approved by both parties and must clearly identify both the goods and services that will be transferred and the price to be paid for these goods and services. The contract must be one of commercial substance, and there must be reasonable expectation that the ultimate amount owing from the customer will be collected. This collectability criterion will prevent a situation where revenue is recognized and then a provision is immediately made for an uncollectible account. Under this criterion, the contract cannot be recognized until the collection is probable. If these conditions are not present, the contract can be continually reassessed to see if its status changes. The standard also applies guidance on how to deal with contract modifications. Depending on the circumstances, the modifications may be treated as either a change to the existing contract or as a completely new contract. A new contract would exist if the scope of the contract increases due to the addition of distinct goods or services, and the price of the contract increases by an amount that reflects the entity's stand-alone selling prices of the additional goods or services.

    The contract will not exist if each party to the contract has the unilateral, enforceable right to terminate a wholly unperformed contract without compensating the other party. A contract would be considered wholly unperformed if the entity has not yet transferred any of the promised goods or services to the customer, and the entity has not received any consideration or entitlement to consideration. In this situation, there is clearly no revenue to recognize as there has not been any exchange under the contract.


    5.2.1: Identify the Contract is shared under a not declared license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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