atching principle requires that the revenue of

atching principle requires that the revenue of a given period is matched against the expenses for the same period. This ensures ascertainment of the correct amount of profit or loss. If some cost is incurred whose benefit extend to more than one accounting period, it is not justified to charge the entire cost as expense in the year in which it is incurred. In fact, such a cost must be spread over the periods in which it provides benefits. Depreciation, on fixed assets, which is the main subject matter of the present chapter, deals with such a situation. Further, it may not always be possible to ascertain with certainty the amount of some particular expense. Recall the principle of conservatism (prudence) which requires that instead of ignoring such items of costs, adequate provision must be made and charged against profits of the current period. Moreover, a part of profit may be retained in the business in the form of reserves to provide for growth, expansion or meeting certain specific needs of the business in future. This chapter deals with two distinct topics and hence is being presented in two different sections. First section deals with depreciation and second section deals with provisions and reserves.