ABSTRACT
In January 1989 the Statement of Standard Accounting Practice (SSAP) 13 Accounting for Research and Development (R&D) was revised and for the first time UK companies were required to disclose their expenditure on R&D. SSAP 13 was originally issued in December 1977 following two exposure drafts, EDs 14 and 17 dated January 1975 and April 1976 respectively. ED 14 required immediate write-off of all R&D expenditure and required disclosure of the amount written off. But, ‘the ASC changed its position on the issues of accounting treatment and disclosure of R&D because of the wishes of industry-particularly the aerospace industry’ (Hope and Gray, 1982:551). So when SSAP 13 (original version) was issued it allowed companies to choose to carry forward qualifying development expenditure and required disclosure of the amounts relating to the deferred development account only.
