Why did general expenses increase in 2025?

• A. Increased travel costs
• B. One-off professional fees on special projects and legal costs defending negligence claims
• C. Higher depreciation
• D. Increased marketing spend

Answer: (B)

General expenses rise when there are non-recurring costs charged to the period. In this case, the jump is driven by one-off professional fees tied to special projects and legal costs defending negligence claims. These are irregular, non-ongoing costs that are expensed in the year they occur and can significantly inflate the general expenses line for that year.

Other possibilities like increased travel costs, higher depreciation, or more marketing spend can affect expenses, but they’re typically part of ordinary operations or are tied to different accounting treatments (for example, depreciation relates to asset use over time and is not a one-off spike). The key idea is that the big, year-to-year increase comes from those unusual legal and professional fees, not from routine operating costs.