3.4 Accounting Period or Periodicity Assumption (PA) believes that the continuum of time can be subdivided
into a number of discrete time periods (accounting periods) (British Institute of Management Information (BIMI,
1984). According to Keynes (1980), in the long run we are all "dead", implies that the net income of a firm
prepared under this assumption (discrete time period), may not after all be realistic because of the presence of
inflation and changes in price level. He asserts that the net profit usually has the components of unrealized profit
or uncollectible realized revenue that may eventually go bad in the form of bad debts. The provision for losses
may however not cover the total debtors during the accounting period. Similarly, the fundamental problem, be it
in the short or long run, is the method of stock valuation. Stock valuation could be based on full cost or marginal
cost, straight-line or declining method, especially when the firm is operating either at full-capacity or undercapacity.
Where there is under-capacity utilization the absorption rate is likely to be high if the depreciable
amount is always high, it reduces the profit figure in the financial statements, vice-versa.
3.5 Operating conventions are classified into five as indicated below:
3.5.1 Historical cost Convention (HCC): Forms the basis of valuation used in the preparation of published
financial statements. That is, all assets are shown in the accounts at the cost of acquisition. The word 'cost', said
Horngren and George, (1990), is intricate, complex and confusing. This is because cost may mean different
things to different people at different time, place and event. They assert that cost is intricate when referred to as
expired or futuristic, production cost or period cost, direct or indirect cost. It is complex when referred to as
variable cost, fixed cost, semi variable cost, semi fixed cost, marginal cost, absorption cost, sunk cost,
conversion cost and opportunity cost. Confusion may arise when certain cost attributes are not or are to be
capitalized for purpose of assets valuation. They added that if asset was acquired under a given scenario, two
different accountants may arrive at different value judgment about the asset as follows: (Pyle et al, 1988).