[CoastalCoder]

> Amortization is basically just a way of splitting the cost of something out over multiple years to change how much you may owe in taxes.

Are there any non-tax reasons that companies, accountants, lenders, etc. would use the concept of amortization?

I.e., is there some kind non-tax-related of financial planning that finds the concept of amortization useful for decision-making?

[ozymandias8]

Some business that have spending limits like professional football clubs use amortization to make their spending look lower than it is.

They can amortize the cost of new players over the length of that player's contract while accounting player sales as instant profits.

[_heimdall]

As far as I'm aware amortization is only used for tax purposes. I guess you could use the adjusted profits and losses if you had a reason to show lower profits, but as far as financial planning goes the money has already been spent so its largely a game of when you want the expense to show up on your tax bill.