Permalink : http://hdl.handle.net/2115/74891

KEYWORDS : loss contingency;ASC450-20;estimation;mode

ASC 450-20, Loss Contingencies, requires that if some amount within the range of loss appears to be a better estimate than any other amount within the range, that amount shall be accrued，and when no amount within the range is a better estimate than any other amount, the minimum amount in the range shall be accrued. In this study, we examined the measurements stipulated in ASC 450-20, which can be summarized as follows. If the company reasonably estimates a single amount as a subjective representation, then the figure is accrued as a loss contingency. If the company reasonably estimates a range by applying objective statistical methods: i) There is a range of loss, and one amount is a better estimate than any others. In this instance, this estimate is accrued as the loss contingency. This amount signifies the mode in the statistical distribution. ii) The loss is calculated in a range, but no amount in that range is a better estimate than any others. In this case, the minimum value in this range is accrued as the loss contingency. If the portion of the statistical distribution with the highest probability is a uniform interval, this signifies the minimum value of this interval. The mode is preferred as there is no other value with a higher probability in the statistical distribution.