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Abschreibung

English translation: depreciation

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
German term or phrase:Abschreibung
English translation:depreciation
Entered by: Nicholas Krivenko

18:58 Nov 5, 2007
German to English translations [PRO]
Bus/Financial - Accounting
German term or phrase: Abschreibung
Hello all,

This document contains the odd accounting term, just to confuse the heck out of me. We're talking about purchasing computer hardware:

"Bei einer Abschreibung über 2 Jahre entspricht das einer jährlichen Belastung von € 500, wobei der Zinsverlust hier vernachlässigt wird."

I'm fairly clueless here. Does this mean "If this amount [1000 euros] is amortised over 2 years, the annual Belastung [not sure what this is in this context] would be 500 euros, not taking into account the loss on interest."?

Thanks very much for any help!
Hilary Davies Shelby
United States
Local time: 00:54
depreciation
Explanation:
This is a standard term used in all accounting stuff. ("In case of - this is up to zou how zou start the sentence) depreciation over a 2 year period this will amount to an annual burden of Euro 500 not taking into account the loss of interest." In other words, if this computer is worth 2,000 whatever today, it will only be worth 1,000 two years down the road. Not taking into account the loss of interest on the money spent to purchase the thing in the first place. Hope this helps!

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Note added at 33 mins (2007-11-05 19:32:08 GMT)
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I must add that this has been written between 2 German and one Italian translations due tomorrow, so sorry about the awkward sentence and possible spelling mistakes.
Selected response from:

Nicholas Krivenko
Ireland
Local time: 06:54
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +7depreciation
Nicholas Krivenko
4 -1depreciation / amortization
Ramon Somoza
4 -1amortizing
stanley lawson


  

Answers


31 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +7
Abschreibung (in sentence)
depreciation


Explanation:
This is a standard term used in all accounting stuff. ("In case of - this is up to zou how zou start the sentence) depreciation over a 2 year period this will amount to an annual burden of Euro 500 not taking into account the loss of interest." In other words, if this computer is worth 2,000 whatever today, it will only be worth 1,000 two years down the road. Not taking into account the loss of interest on the money spent to purchase the thing in the first place. Hope this helps!

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 33 mins (2007-11-05 19:32:08 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I must add that this has been written between 2 German and one Italian translations due tomorrow, so sorry about the awkward sentence and possible spelling mistakes.

Nicholas Krivenko
Ireland
Local time: 06:54
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman, Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 16
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  BrigitteHilgner: Disregarding the spelling mistakes I agree with you. :-)
22 mins
  -> Thank you! I had the German keyboard on. That's how the "z" got in. Sorry again!
agree  Ingeborg Gowans (X): w.Brigitte: you must be some kind of genius...we are just mere mortals here:)
52 mins
  -> That we are! At 3.00 am GMT I feel like a corpse. Thank you!
agree  Michael Meinhardt
52 mins
  -> Thank you! Though see Ramon's note too.
agree  Kristina Kolic
2 hrs
  -> Thank you!
agree  Textklick: I agree with zou. Added: Oh - I see! Crystal-clear qwertz, no doubt ;-)
3 hrs
  -> Ha, ha, ha! Switch on the German keyboard and type in English. We'll see what comes out of that. :-))
agree  Paul Cohen
5 hrs
  -> Thanks Paul!
agree  RobinB: Tangibles/PPE are always depreciated, of course. "Depreciating over two years produces an annual charge of €500, ignoring the lost interest."
1 day 20 hrs
  -> I could not agree more! You nailed it. Thank you for your valuable input.
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -1
Abschreibung (in sentence)
depreciation / amortization


Explanation:
It depends on the context.

If the context is purely a loss of money (or its equivalent, in bonds, etc), then the term "depreciation" as suggested by Nicholas is correct.

However, if the loss is on the value of a tangible item (say, a computer), then I consider that it would be more correct to use the term "amortization".

Ramon Somoza
Spain
Local time: 07:54
Native speaker of: Native in SpanishSpanish, Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Nicholas Krivenko: Yes, I agree in general. Nowever, you will find that in practice (believe me, I just had 3 days of that non-stop!) there are more differences than just that. We often guess where it is amortization and where depreciation. But in general, yes, you are righ
6 hrs
disagree  RobinB: Tangibles/PPE are depreciated, intangibles are amortised (standard accounting convention). So in this case (hardware), "depreciation" is the only acceptable term.
1 day 20 hrs
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11 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -1
amortizing


Explanation:
I feel if one amortises a 1.000 euro asset over 2 years (on a straight line basis), the the depreciation is 500pa.
Amortisation describes the system. Depreciation is the result.

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Note added at 11 hrs (2007-11-06 06:22:10 GMT)
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shame on me ... a superfluous "the".

stanley lawson
Local time: 08:54
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Nicholas Krivenko: Sorry! Please have a look at a few balance sheets. You will find "amortisation on currency reserves", "depreciation on plant and machinery", and even "amortisation on stock-in-trade". Amortizing? Seriously, got a reference? I would love to know.
18 hrs
disagree  RobinB: See my comment to Ramon. "Depreciation" and "amortisation" of assets are the same thing, but for different classes of assets. Sorry - it's nothing more complicated than that.
1 day 10 hrs
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