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America's Railroad Depreciation Debate, 1907 To 1913: A Study Of Divergence In Early 20th Century Accounting Standards, Jan Richard Heier

Accounting Historians Journal

In June 1907, the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) released new reporting rules that would require railroads to change from betterment to depreciation accounting for equipment. The new rules set off a firestorm of protest because the railroads felt they were already recognizing physical depreciation through the current system. The ICC, however, was looking at the concept of economic depreciation to match the cost of equipment with revenue over the life of the asset in much the same way that industry was beginning to account for its fixed assets. Such economic depreciation, it was felt, would give the rate-setting ICC more …