Lopes, JoséJorge, Susana M.2010-11-092010-11-092004Lopes, Jose ; Jorge, Susana (2004). Should internally developed e-commerce websites be capitalized and amortised? In Congress of the European Accounting Association. Praguehttp://hdl.handle.net/10198/2741Websites used to perform e-commerce are becoming one of the main fixed assets of “dot.com” companies. Some accounting issues arise from the use of e-commerce websites, namely: (i) should the expenses arising from internally developed websites be capitalised and therefore the website treated like an intangible asset? ; (ii) should an ecommerce website be amortised?. In this paper we look at appropriate accounting standards from FASB (FAS 142), AICPA (SOP98-1), IAS 38 from IASB, analysing them and searching for proper accounting treatment. We also analyse the guidelines on this matter provided by FASB - EITF 00-2 “Accounting for Web Site Development Costs”, IASB - SIC 32 “Web Site Costs”, as well as the accounting treatment determined in the UK by the UITF Abstract 29: “Website Development Costs”. We conclude that some expenses incurred on “internally developed” e-commerce websites should be capitalised, but there are differences about the appropriate classification in the balance sheet. As opposed to the EITF 00-2, SIC 32 and UIFT, we suggest that ecommerce websites should be treated in a different way from others websites and they should not be amortised. Instead, they should be periodically tested for impairment.engE-commerceWebsites costsAccountingconference object