Notwithstanding its acceptance in Coca Cola Co. v. Commissioner of the IRS, Return on Assets is a controversial profit indicator to use in transfer pricing. At the very least it must be subject to economic analysis to corroborate a relationship between operating profit and operating assets.

Topics: Tutorial Return on Assets tax controversy Profit Indicators

Ad hoc adjustments are a risky endeavor in transfer pricing. Using regression analysis, we can test if asset intensity is relevant to explain the behavior of the operating profit markup or profit margin and calculate a reliable adjustment to the profit indicator.

Topics: Asset Intensity Adjustment Tutorial Profit Indicators TNMM/CPM

The prevalent use of quartiles to determine profit indicators often results in a wide (unreliable range) and ad hoc assets adjustments. These problems can be solved by using regression analysis, which produces more defensible statistical ranges of the profit indicator resistant to audit scrutiny.

Topics: Tutorial Profit Indicators TNMM/CPM