Every business requires research and development to create innovative products for consumers. More innovative and creative products and services are more popular among customers, leading to increased revenue and profits for the business. Creating new products or designing changes and testing existinRead more
Every business requires research and development to create innovative products for consumers. More innovative and creative products and services are more popular among customers, leading to increased revenue and profits for the business.
Creating new products or designing changes and testing existing products also forms a part of research and development.
Examples of Research and Development costs are –
- Salaries of employees
- Cost of making prototypes
- Cost of raw material
- Overhead expenses
Let us now understand how research and development costs are treated in Financial Statements.
Research and Development Costs are generally shown as an expense in the Income Statement.

IAS-38
IAS-38 majorly governs the accounting of research and development costs. There are two phases in R&D:
- Research: During this phase, costs are incurred for understanding or designing the product. These costs are expensed as incurred costs as there is an uncertainty of a future benefit.
- Development: Economic value can be ascertained during this phase and hence, the costs incurred can be capitalized as Intangible assets. To be recognised as intangible assets, the following conditions shall be satisfied:
1. it is developed with the intention of putting it to use in the future
2. the asset shall hold an economic value
3. the costs can be measured reliably
Treatment of R&D costs in the Financial statements:
-
- Income statement: Research costs are shown as expenses in the income statement. However, development costs if capitalized as intangible assets can be amortised over time.
- Balance Sheet: Capitalised development costs are shown as intangible assets under the Assets head of the Balance Sheet.
Conclusion
The above discussion can be summarised as follows:
- Research and development is essential for creating innovative and creative products and services.
- Accounting standard IAS-38 governs the accounting for Research and Development.
- Research costs are usually shown as an expense in the Income statement of the business.
- Development costs when capitalised can be shown as Intangible assets in the Balance Sheet.



Interest on drawings Drawings refer to the money withdrawn by owners/partners for personal use from the business. The drawings, in accounting terms, can be of any type. It can be cash withdrawn from business or furniture or car etc. Drawings are money or assets that are withdrawn from a company by iRead more
Interest on drawings
Drawings refer to the money withdrawn by owners/partners for personal use from the business. The drawings, in accounting terms, can be of any type. It can be cash withdrawn from business or furniture or car etc. Drawings are money or assets that are withdrawn from a company by its owners for personal use and must be recorded as a reduction of assets. It’s paid back to the business with some interest.
Interest on drawings is an income for the business and reduces the capital of the owner. Interest on drawings is the amount of interest paid by the partners, calculated concerning the period for which the money was withdrawn.
Formulae for Interest on drawings
There are three formulae used for calculating the interest on drawings. They are:
1. Simple Method: In this method, as the name suggests, the amount of interest on drawings is calculated simply for the time the amount has been utilized.
Interest on Drawings = Amount of drawings × Rate/100 × No. of Months/12
2. Product Method: This method is used when-
Interest on Drawings = Total of Products × Rate/100 × 1/12
Interest on Drawings= Total amount of drawings × Rate/ 100 × Average Period/12
Also, note-
Average Period = (No. of months left after first drawings+ No. of months left after last drawings)/2
Example:
Harish withdrew equal amounts at the beginning of every month for 9 months. Total drawings amounted to ₹6,000. Calculate the interest on drawings charged if the rate was 6% p.a.
Solution:
Average period = (No. of months left after first drawings+ No. of months left after last drawings)/2 = (9+1)/2 = 5 months
Interest on Drawings = Total of drawings × Rate/100 × 5/12
Journal entry for interest on drawings:
Interest transferred to Profit & Loss A/c:
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