11:25 Jul 11, 2011 

And I agree with every word you said. That's why I said "with more context" and looking for an "excuse" - because to me, in the US context, "non-linear depreciation" makes very little sense usage-wise. Oh, OK, maybe this is the finance guy in me speaking.

10:47 Jul 11, 2011 

Most nonlinear depreciation methods become linear (or optionally become linear) at some point! Therefore the author's context and intent to be unambiguous must be taken into account!

10:45 Jul 11, 2011 

The author is searching for a word which describes methods which are not linear. Unless you are a tax attorney in every relevant country you do not know what methods a taxpayer may elect. I have not tried nonlinear decelerated depreciation in USA, but I would not be surprised if IRS accepted it in a case where I could justify it.

02:40 Jul 11, 2011 

that practitioners using GAAP don't really speak about non-linear depreciation. Sure thing, it googles (somewhat) but I've never heard of it before, neither in school nor from accountants. There's straight line and accelerated models, such as MACRS. Sure thing, these are non-linear, except no one calls them that. With more context, I'd seek for an excuse to say "accelerated". Also, keep it in mind that depreciation implies tangible assets and amortization intangible, such as goodwill and such. Good luck.

16:01 Jul 10, 2011