Urban Outfitters Training Manual

Urban Outfitters Training Manual

Author Note

This assessment is being completed to fulfill requirements for Assessment 1 in MBA-FPX5010.

Comprehending the Elements

Introduction

This training manual designed by the urban outfitters regional manager, specifically focuses on accounting terms and tools and is intended to be used as a reference, as well as benefit new hires in training, by providing essential advice to reinforce awareness of contemporary and existent staff members.

Advertising

Direct to consumer advertising is the type of advertisement urban outfitter utilizes when it comes to advertising the brand (Jones, 2012). Direct to consumer advertising is a marketing technique that is directed towards customers, when access to merchandise requires a broker or negotiator (Jones, 2012). Direct to consumer advertising may utilize different forms of media such as TV, radio, print, or social media with objective of advising a consumer as to why a product is needed. The company advertising cost is listed below, under the “selling, general and administrative expense” and “prepaid expense and other current assets” column bolded in red on the balance sheet below (U.S. Securities and exchange commission, 2019).

Consolidated Statements of Income - USD ($)
$ in Thousands

12 Months Ended

Jan. 31, 2017

Jan. 31, 2016

Jan. 31, 2015

Net sales

$ 3,545,794

$ 3,445,134

$ 3,323,077

Cost of sales

2,301,181

2,243,232

2,148,147

Gross profit

1,244,613

1,201,902

1,174,930

Selling, general and administrative expenses

906,086

848,323

809,545

Consolidated Balance Sheets - USD ($)
$ in Thousands

Jan. 31, 2017

Jan. 31, 2016

Current assets:

Cash and cash equivalents

$ 248,140

$ 265,276

Marketable securities

111,067

61,061

Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $588 and $664, respectively

54,505

75,723

Inventory

338,590

330,223

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

129,095

102,078

Store opening costs

Capitalization in broad term is where a disbursement is documented, or noted on the account as assets rather than expenses (Ross, 2019). On the other hand, amortization is a procedure where certain capital expenses are noted on the account as indefinite assets, loose value over a certain time period (Ross, 2019). As store opening costs were capitalized, it really depends on the profits and or losses of business, which will determine over what time period amortizing them, would be beneficial. For example if you acquired a 5-year patent, amortizing the cost of the patent over 5 years would be the most beneficial move to make. In this case I would amortize over 3 years due to the expense fluctuating. The companies expense all store opening and organization costs are included in the general and administrative expense column as bolded in red below; this includes travel, training, recruiting, operating cost, and salaries (U.S. Securities and exchange commission, 2019).

Consolidated Statements of Income - USD ($)
$ in Thousands

12 Months Ended

Jan. 31, 2017

Jan. 31, 2016

Jan. 31, 2015

Net sales

$ 3,545,794

$ 3,445,134

$ 3,323,077

Cost of sales

2,301,181

2,243,232

2,148,147

Gross profit

1,244,613

1,201,902

1,174,930

Selling, general and administrative expenses

906,086

848,323

809,545

Income from operations

338,527

353,579

365,385

Website development costs.

Urban outfitter benefits from appropriate cost acquired during the application and infrastructure development stage and expense cost during the planning and operating stage (U.S. Securities and exchange commission, 2019). In the interim 2015-2017 fiscal, the organization did not gain any benefits ,within the organization from any generated internal-use software development cost due to the planning and operating stages, in which all cost incurred were not material (U.S. Securities and exchange commission, 2019). A financial statement can be affected by the accounting element, such as assets, owner equity, liabilities, expenses and revenue (Jones, 2012). The affect is based on whether the accounting system is cash or accrual basis. Most business use accrual basis.

In conclusion a financial statement elaborates the financial position and state of a business at a given time (Jones, 2012). The balance sheets echo’s the financial condition of organization at the end of the period, and the income statement uses revenue (Jones, 2012). The cash flow statement utilizes the accounting elements, or aspects from balance sheet and the income statement to address the cash flow in and out of the business during the reporting period (Jones, 2012).

References:

Jones, D. J. (2012).Visualizing accounting transaction flows into financial statements.American Journal of Business Education,5(6), 753–757.

Droms, W. G., & Wright, J. O. (2015).Finance and accounting for nonfinancial managers: All the basics you need to know.New York, NY: Basic Books.

Chapter 1, "Contemporary Financial Management," pages 15–20.

Marshall, D., McManus, W., & Viele, D. (2017).Accounting: What the numbers mean(11th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.Pages 2–53, 94–115.

U.S. Securities and exchange commission (2019). 10-K annual report. Retrieved from: https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/viewer?action=view&cik=912615&accession_number=0001193125-15-116065&xbrl_type=v#

Generally accepted accounting practices(2016). Los Angeles: Anthem Media Group. Retrieved from http://library.capella.edu/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fsearch.proquest.com%2Fdocview%2F1800804924%3Faccou

Ross, Sean (2019).Amortization vs. depreciation: what’s the difference? Retrieved from: https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/06/amortizationvsdepreciation.asp