Accounting Change

The old rule demanded that the factory would be depreciated to zero over 10 years. If it lasted longer, great. Free money. But then the rules changed, and depreciation rates had to match a more realistic picture of how long factories lasted. So after, say, 6 years, the 10-year-depreciation-to-zero rule changes to a 30 years schedule, to 20 percent of the purchase price.

So then everything had to be restated, redone, revisited. No affect on cash, cash earnings, the balance sheet...just an effect on GAAP stated earnings.