Attributable profit
Financial accounting.
The concept of attributable profit relates to accounting for long-term contracts. Long-term contracts being ones which have not yet been completed, as at the accounting date.
The idea is to spread the total profit for the contract appropriately across the different accounting periods, for example a company's accounting years. This is achieved by booking an appropriate proportion of the total profit for the contract, in each year.
This appropriate proportion of the total profit is based on the attributable profit.
Attributable profit is defined as that part of the total profit currently estimated to arise over the duration of the contract, that fairly reflects the profit attributable to the work completed to date, as at the accounting date.
In calculating the total profit, allowance is also made for estimated remedial and maintenance costs and increases in costs, so far as they are not recoverable under the terms of the contract.
