Research and Development Cost / Expenses

1. Research is planned efforts to discover new information that will help either create a new product, service, process, or technique, or significantly improve the one in current use. Development takes the findings generated by research and formulates a plan to create the desired item or to significantly improve the existing one. Under U.S. GAAP, research and development costs are normally expensed (if an R&D cost has alternative future uses, it is capitalized and expensed and depreciated over its useful life). Outlays made in an attempt to discover new knowledge (research) or to use the results of research to develop new or improved products or processes (development).