Question

Assume that three identical units are purchased separately on the following three dates and at the respective costs:________. June 1 at $10 June 2 at $15 July 4 at $20 The company sells two units during the period. Conclude which inventory items are sold first and which unit remains in ending inventory if the company is using the LIFO perpetual cost flow assumption.

Answer 1

Under last in, first out (LIFO) inventory method, the units purchased last are used to determine the cost of goods sold. This doesn't mean that exactly the last units purchased will be sold first, it is just used as an accounting tool.

In this case, the last unit purchased costed $20, and the immediately previous one costed $15. Under LIFO, these 2 units would have been sold (COGS = $35), and the ending inventory = $10 (the price of the "oldest" unit).