When the allowance method of recognizing bad debt expense is used, the typical write off of a specific customer's account:

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When the allowance method is used, the write-off of a specific customer's account has already been accounted for in the bad debt expense recognized earlier. Therefore, the write-off has no effect on net income since the expense has already been incurred. It does decrease the accounts receivable and current assets, but this is already reflected in the allowance for doubtful accounts. It also has no impact on working capital since both current assets and current liabilities are reduced by the same amount.

When the Allowance Method of Recognizing Bad Debt Expense Is