This document discusses corporate trade (also known as barter) as a tool for companies to address excess inventory and mitigate the impacts of poor forecasting. It provides the following key points:
- Corporate trade allows companies to sell excess or underperforming assets to corporate trade companies in exchange for trade credits, which can then be used to purchase other goods and services, creating savings.
- The accounting guidance considers trade credits received in exchange for assets as a prepaid expense on the company's balance sheet. The asset is reclassified at its fair value up to its carrying value.
- An example transaction is described where a company sells an underperforming asset with a book value of $1 million but market value