GIFI Asset Accounts

Definition

The 1000 to 2599 GIFI band captures every economic resource a corporation controls at its year-end. On Schedule 100 these items are organized into current assets, tangible capital assets, intangible capital assets and long-term assets, each closed by a computed total, and the band ends at item 2599 Total assets. The same items are used whether the corporation reports under ASPE or IFRS; the accounting framework determines recognition and presentation before GIFI mapping.

Key rules

• Current assets run 1000 to 1599 and close at item 1599 Total current assets: bank balances, receivables, inventories, taxes recoverable and prepaid expenses.
• Tangible capital assets run 1600 to 1922 and close at items 2008 Total tangible capital assets and 2009 Total accumulated amortization of tangible capital assets. Each major category has its own detail item and a matching accumulated amortization item directly after it.
• Intangible capital assets run 2010 to 2179 and close at items 2178 and 2179. Goodwill, licences, incorporation costs and trademarks live here.
• Long-term assets run 2180 to 2589 and close at item 2589 Total long-term assets. Item 2590 Assets held in trust sits outside that total, and item 2599 Total assets sums everything.
• Accumulated amortization items are negative amounts, written with brackets or a minus sign. RC4088's own worked example reports item 1681 Accumulated amortization of buildings as ($3,000) and item 2009 as ($3,500).
• A shareholder loan receivable sits in assets when the corporation is the creditor: item 1300 Due from shareholder(s)/director(s) when it is current, item 2180 when it is long term. If the corporation owes the shareholder instead, the amount belongs in liabilities.

Example

Asset items a typical small Canadian-controlled private corporation uses, with the CRA name for each one:

Common mistakes

• Losing detail presented in the financial statements. Where receivables and an allowance are separately shown, use 1060 and 1061.
• Using item 1067 for the allowance. Item 1067 is Interest receivable; the allowance for doubtful accounts is 1061.
• Reporting accumulated amortization as a positive number. Every accumulated amortization item is a negative amount.
• Using item 1740 or 1741 for computer equipment or vehicles. Item 1740 is the generic for the whole equipment block; computer equipment and software are 1774 with accumulated amortization at 1775, and motor vehicles are 1742 with accumulated amortization at 1743.
• Putting incorporation costs at item 1900. Item 1900 is Other tangible capital assets. Item 2018 exists for capitalized incorporation costs, but ASPE generally expenses start-up costs unless another asset-recognition rule applies.
• Putting a personally owned vehicle on the balance sheet at all. It is not a corporate asset; only the reimbursement flows through expenses.
• Leaving the opening balance sheet blank in the corporation's first year. A first-year filer completes two balance sheets, and the opening one goes on Schedule 101.

Related concepts

Assets flow into Schedule 100 and the balance sheet. Their tax treatment on disposal is governed by Capital Cost Allowance. For the liability side see GIFI Liability Accounts, and for the full coding system see GIFI Codes by Range, With the Most Used Codes.