--- title: Historical Cost Principle | Importance, Exceptions, Working, Examples description: The historical cost principle is one of the basic concepts of accounting and bookkeeping. Click for more information. --- [![Carbon collective](https://www.carboncollectiveinvesting.com/hubfs/raw_assets/public/CarbonCollective_August2021%20copy/images/carbon-collective-green-investing-logo-white.4f6047d4.svg "Carbon collective")](https://www.carboncollectiveinvesting.com/) - About - Employers - [Sustainable 401(k)](https://www.carboncollectiveinvesting.com/401k) - [401(k) Comparison Tool](https://www.carboncollectiveinvesting.com/401k/plan-comparison-tool) - Individuals - [FAQ](https://www.carboncollective.co/en/knowledge/faqs) - [ETF](https://www.carboncollectivefunds.com/) - Learn - [Sustainable Investing](https://www.carboncollective.co/sustainable-investing) - [Investing Basics](https://www.carboncollective.co/sustainable-investing/investing-basics) - [Blog](https://blog.carboncollective.co/) - [Tools](https://tools.carboncollective.co/calculator/) - Log in - [Carbon Collective](https://app.carboncollective.co) - [Altruist](https://app.altruist.com) [Talk to a human](https://ask.carboncollective.co/f4o5dylkg) [Sign up](https://app.carboncollective.co/sign-up) [Log In](http://app.carboncollective.co/) [![Carbon collective](https://www.carboncollectiveinvesting.com/hubfs/raw_assets/public/CarbonCollective_August2021%20copy/images/carbon-collective-green-investing-logo.53b28bee.svg "Carbon collective")](https://www.carboncollectiveinvesting.com/) - About - Employers - [Sustainable 401(k)](https://www.carboncollectiveinvesting.com/401k) - [401(k) Comparison Tool](https://www.carboncollectiveinvesting.com/401k/plan-comparison-tool) - Individuals - [FAQ](https://www.carboncollective.co/en/knowledge/faqs) - [ETF](https://www.carboncollectivefunds.com/) - Learn - [Sustainable Investing](https://www.carboncollective.co/sustainable-investing) - [Investing Basics](https://www.carboncollective.co/sustainable-investing/investing-basics) - [Blog](https://blog.carboncollective.co/) - [Tools](https://tools.carboncollective.co/calculator/) - Log in - [Carbon Collective](https://app.carboncollective.co) - [Altruist](https://app.altruist.com) [Talk to a human](https://ask.carboncollective.co/f4o5dylkg) [Sign up](https://app.carboncollective.co/sign-up) [Log In](http://app.carboncollective.co/) **[Home](https://www.carboncollectiveinvesting.com/) > [Sustainable Investing](https://www.carboncollectiveinvesting.com/sustainable-investing) >** Historical Cost Principle # Historical Cost Principle ![](https://www.carboncollectiveinvesting.com/hubfs/Brooke%20Tomasetti.png) Written by Brooke Tomasetti | Reviewed by [Subject Matter Experts](https://www.carboncollectiveinvesting.com/subject-matter-experts) Updated on October 1, 2024 Fact Checked Why Trust Carbon Collective? ### Table of Contents The historical cost principle is one of the basic concepts of accounting and bookkeeping. It states that businesses must record and account for assets and liabilities at their **historical cost** or original cost at the time of their purchase or acquisition by a company. Put simply, once the asset is recorded at its original cost on the balance sheet, it cannot be adjusted for any changes in its market value. ## Importance of Historical Cost Concept Records that are kept based on the historical cost principle are usually considered to be more consistent, reliable, verifiable, and comparable. - **Reliable:** The process of recording the assets or liabilities on the [balance sheet](https://www.carboncollectiveinvesting.com/sustainable-investing/balance-sheet/) will always remain the same. It will not change, and users of the [financial statements](https://www.carboncollectiveinvesting.com/sustainable-investing/financial-statements/) will get an accurate picture of the business every time. - **Comparable:**  It will be easier to compare the value of the assets when doing a comparative analysis of the various assets. - **Verifiable:  **All the cost figures will be a hundred percent verifiable as there will be records available for the transactions of the purchase or acquisition of various assets. If the records are kept on a fair value basis, this would create serious concerns for the company as each member of the accounting department will value the assets differently. This will increase subjectivity and reduce the consistency and reliability of the [financial statements](https://www.carboncollectiveinvesting.com/sustainable-investing/preparing-financial-statements/). It will also be highly inconvenient for those companies that [prepare their financial statements](https://www.carboncollectiveinvesting.com/sustainable-investing/preparing-financial-statements/) more frequently such as monthly. ## Exceptions to the Historical Cost Principle There are some exceptions to the historical cost principle which need to be mentioned. When a company prepares its balance sheet, most of its assets will be recorded at historical cost. However, some **highly liquid assets** need to be recorded at *fair market value*. The logic behind this is that these assets are more short-term in nature and valuing them on a fair value basis or current value will give an accurate prediction of future cash flows of the company and will facilitate the users of financial statements in making operational level decisions. For instance, investments in debt or equity securities are recorded on a current market value basis as they are expected to be converted to cash shortly. [Accounts receivables](https://www.carboncollectiveinvesting.com/sustainable-investing/accounts-receivable/) have to be shown on a net realizable value on the balance sheet. Net realizable value is the amount of cash that the company expects to receive when these receivable accounts are paid. ## How the Historical Cost Principle Works A business asset is something of value that a company purchases or acquires. It will have two kinds of value – cost and fair market value. The cost is the amount the company originally paid out to purchase the asset, whereas, the fair market value is the expected amount that the asset will sell for. Market value is prone to change. A business asset will be worth more in good economic conditions and thus would be able to fetch a higher price as compared to selling the asset during a recession. Therefore, the market value will always be highly subjective. Historical cost, on the other hand, is fixed and is not based on perception or expectation of the value of an asset. Therefore, it is unarguably the better way to show assets or liabilities on a company’s balance sheet.  The original cost will include every expense that goes into the cost of acquiring an asset and setting it up for use. These include shipping and delivery, set-up cost, training cost, renovation/restoration cost, etc. The historical cost will appear on the balance sheet and would not change based on market expectations of its value. The cost of intangible assets like copyrights, trademarks and patents will be recorded as the cost required to produce the asset. For instance, the cost of a trademark would include the cost of creating it, the added cost of an attorney registering it, etc. ## Book Value of an Asset The historical cost concept will recognize that there will be a change in the value of an asset due to obsolescence and deterioration among other reasons. These are recorded on the company books either by depreciation (for physical assets) or amortization (intangible assets). The book value of an asset can be calculated by subtracting the depreciation or amortization amount from the original cost of the asset. Book value should not be confused with fair value. The fair value or market value of an asset is the value that the company is expected to receive for selling an asset. This will depend on various factors. For example, a company vehicle might have been in an accident and completely totaled. The [book value](https://www.carboncollectiveinvesting.com/sustainable-investing/net-book-value/) or current value would still be showing the vehicle is worth something on the books. The market value would be way lower since the vehicle is now out of order and would require significant repair work. ## Examples of Historical Cost Concept - Trump Inc. constructs a building for $5 million in 2005. It is still worth that on his books in 2020 and has not changed. The fair market value of that property is easily above $300 million in 2020. - Levis Strauss purchases a piece of equipment worth $50,000 for one of its factories in 2015. Its fair market value in 2020 is around $15,000. However, the current value of the equipment on its books is $25,000 ($50,000 cost of equipment minus accumulated depreciation of $25,000 for 5 years). - Kraft Foods buy a packaging machine for $60,000 and records it in the books in 2018. In 2020, the market value of that machine is $55,000. However, the company books show the current value of the machine as $50,000 ($60,000 cost of the machine minus the accumulated depreciation over 2 years of $10,000). - The Lakeland Bank purchases a piece of land for $500,000 on January 1, 2013. Today the fair market value of the land is roughly worth $6.5 million. The company will continue reporting the land at its historical cost of $500,000, despite its current market value of it increasing more than ten-fold. ## FAQs ### 1. What does the historical cost principle mean? The historical cost principle means that businesses record the original cost of an asset on their balance sheet instead of its current market value. Put simply, once the asset is recorded at its original cost on the balance sheet, it cannot be adjusted for any changes in its market value. ### 2. Why is the historical cost principle important? The historical cost principle is important because it allows businesses to track the value of their assets over time, even if that value changes. This principle helps ensure that companies are not taking advantage of changing market values to inflate their financial statements. ### 3. What assets are excepted from historical cost? Highly liquid assets are exceptions to the historical cost principle. These assets are regularly traded in the market and their fair market value can be easily determined. This includes cash, stocks, bonds, and other similar items. Another exception is accounts receivable which are often valued at a discount to their face value, as they are not considered to be liquid assets. This is because businesses may have a hard time selling their accounts receivable for the full amount that is owed to them. ### 4. What are examples of historical cost? Some examples of historical cost principles in action are a company's buildings, equipment, and land. These assets are not considered to be highly liquid, and their values may change over time. As such, they are typically recorded at their original cost on the company's balance sheet. ### 5. How do you calculate the historical cost in accounting? The historical cost in accounting is calculated by taking the original purchase price of the asset and subtracting any accumulated depreciation that has been recorded for that asset. This will give you the current value of the asset on the company's books. The formula for historical cost is as follows: Original Cost - Accumulated Depreciation = Historical Cost ### Related Topics - [Sustainable 401(k) Plan](https://www.carboncollective.co/401k) - [Sustainable Investing](https://www.carboncollective.co/sustainable-investing/) - [Investing Basics](https://www.carboncollective.co/sustainable-investing/investing-basics) - [Retirement Glossary](https://www.carboncollective.co/sustainable-investing/retirement-planning-glossary) - [Best Retirement Plans](https://www.carboncollective.co/sustainable-investing/the-10-best-retirement-plans) - [Wealth Manager Vs Financial Advisor](https://www.carboncollective.co/sustainable-investing/wealth-manager-vs.-financial-advisor) ![Attend Our Next Webinar](https://www.carboncollectiveinvesting.com/hubfs/carbon-collective-green-investing-icon-webinar.12af7b6e.svg) ### Attend Our Next Webinar Join our next Sustainable Investing 101 webinar, get our favorite DIY options, and walk through how we build our portfolios. 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