Under U.S. GAAP (ASC 720-35), companies can either expense advertising costs as incurred or expense them when the first advertising takes place. Under IFRS (IAS 38.69), companies must expense advertising costs as incurred. U.S. GAAP distinguishes between the costs of producing advertising and the costs of communicating advertising. This distinction is important, as companies may use different methods for expensing each type of cost. Under U.S. GAAP, insurance companies may capitalize the cost of direct-response advertising if certain criteria are met; under IFRS, the cost of direct-response advertising is never capitalized. The cost of tangible assets used in advertising are depreciated or amortized over their expected useful lives. Under U.S. GAAP, the cost of sales materials is treated as prepaid supplies and expensed the when the sales materials are no longer owned or expected to be used (under IFRS, they are expensed when the entity has the right to access …
