Top Sound International designs and sells high-end stereo equipment for auto and home use. Engineers notified management in December 2021 of a circuit flaw in an amplifier that poses a potential fire hazard. Further investigation indicates that a product recall is probable, estimated to cost the company $2.8 million. The fiscal year ends on December 31. Required: Should this contingent liability be reported, disclosed in a note only, or neither?

Yes it should be reported.

$2.8 million should be reported in the the balance sheet as a liability.

Explanation: Contingent liabilities are liabilities that depend on the outcome of an event that may likely not occur.

Before they can be reported in financial statement, it must be able to estimate the value of such contingent liability and the liability must have a higher than 50% possiblity of being achieved.

If the value can be estimated, then the liability has a higher chance of being realised.

Qualifying contingent liabilities such as the $2.8 million estimated by Top Sound International should be recorded in the income statement as an expense and a liability on the balance sheet.

Therefore the $2.8 million liability should be reported in its 2018 balance sheet

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