Final answer:
After impairment, Auckland Co. will report $1,200,000 as the accumulated depreciation on the year-end balance sheet, bringing the carrying amount of the equipment in line with its fair value of $600,000. The correct option is d.
Step-by-step explanation:
Auckland Co. has determined that its equipment has become obsolete and has suffered impairment. Originally costing $1,800,000 with an accumulated depreciation of $840,000, the fair value is now adjusted to $600,000, which is the carrying amount at the beginning of the year. Considering the reduction in the remaining useful life from 8 years to 3 years, we must calculate the new accumulated depreciation at the year-end balance sheet.
The equipment's book value must be reduced from its original cost of $1,800,000 to the new fair value of $600,000, which implies an additional impairment loss of $1,200,000 ($1,800,000 original cost - $600,000 fair value).
This impairment loss is added to the already existing accumulated depreciation of $840,000. Therefore, the total accumulated depreciation to report on the year-end balance sheet would be $2,040,000. However, since the carrying amount cannot be negative, the accumulated depreciation reported would be such that the carrying amount equals the fair value.
Thus, the accumulated depreciation to report would thence be $1,200,000 ($1,800,000 original cost - $600,000 fair value), which takes into account the impairment charge that has already reduced the carrying amount to the fair value. Therefore, the correct answer is D. $1,200,000.