General Provisions

What are the General Provisions?

General provisions meaning are mentioned on the Balance Sheet as the funds that are kept aside for the possible future losses. Basically, the business sets a specific amount aside as a general provision that could be used as an asset to compensate for future losses. They are often considered as high-risk funds since general provisions are highly likely to be in Default. The company has to set aside the funds that will be enough to meet the anticipated future losses.

Banks, credit unions, and other private moneylenders are supposed to create a general provision account so that they can compensate for the losses in the case of the borrower’s default. This means if the borrower is unable to clear the loan and is declared insolvent, then the banks or money lending institutions can use funds from the general provisions account to compensate for the loss. However, not a lot of companies or individuals prefer general provisions.

Even regulators have prohibited this account considering the fact that past experiences have nothing to do with future losses. After all, general provisions are based on the estimated losses (not the actual loss).

An Overview of General Provisions

Risk is part of the business world. Sometimes, the Market price of the asset or its resale value drops drastically. Maybe, you decide to lend money to the borrowers and they end up insolvent. There can be many reasons why your business suffers losses in the future. It can be due to product malfunctioning. To compensate for the losses, a general provisions account is created. Businesses cannot just create general provisions account whenever they want. It rather needs to be according to the regulations.

These layouts and terms & conditions are set by GAAP as well as IFRS. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles specify the guidelines that are to be followed when creating the general provision account. Businesses are supposed to follow the International Accounting Standard 37 and ASC 410, 420, and 450.

Recording the General Provisions in Income Statement & Balance Sheet

General provisions are recorded in the Income statement. It is seen as the expense. Besides, the same has to be recorded in the balance sheet under the liability section. Some companies create the general provisions with a separate account, while others add it as a consolidated figure. If you tend to create account Receivables accounts when dealing with your customers, then you could create the general provision accounts for doubtful accounts. Bills receivables account is created for the uncertain amount. Since the funds have not released yet, it makes sense to create a general provision account so that you can compensate for the losses if the buyer fails to make the payment.

The GAAP and IFRS guidelines do not allow companies to create a general provision account according to the previous year’s experiences. This is because the estimates can be highly inaccurate. Businesses that offer pension can also create general provision accounts and set some funds aside to meet future liabilities.