Ford Accounting Move May Add $13 Billion to Profit, Expert Says
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Ford Motor Co., after earning $9.3 billion in the last two years, may make an accounting change this year to reflect confidence in its recovery, a move one tax expert said could boost its 2011 profit as much as $13 billion.
Ford in the second half may eliminate from its balance sheet a valuation allowance held against deferred tax assets, it said in a federal filing this week. The reserve was created in 2006 as Ford began four years of operating losses. Eliminating the allowance may add $10 billion to $13 billion to Ford’s net income this year, said Robert Willens, president of Robert Willens LLC of New York, a corporate tax specialist.