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Example accounting policies

21/09/2021

Example accounting policies

Get the requirements for properly disclosing the accounting policies to provide the users of your financial statements with useful financial data, in the common language prescribed in the world’s most widely used standards for financial reporting, the IFRS Standards. First there is a section providing guidance on what the requirements are, followed by a comprehensive example, easy to tailor to the specific needs of your company.

Example accounting policies guidance

Whether to disclose an accounting policy

1. In deciding whether a particular accounting policy should be disclosed, management considers whether disclosure would assist users in understanding how transactions, other events and conditions are reflected in the reported financial performance and financial position. Disclosure of particular accounting policies is especially useful to users where those policies are selected from alternatives allowed in IFRS. [IAS 1.119]

2. Some IFRSs specifically require disclosure of particular accounting policies, including choices made by management between different policies they allow. For example, IAS 16 Property, Plant and Equipment requires disclosure of the measurement bases used for classes of property, plant and equipment and IFRS 3 Business Combinations requires disclosure of the measurement basis used for non-controlling interest acquired during the period.

3. In this guidance, policies are disclosed that are specific to the entity and relevant for an understanding of individual line items in the financial statements, together with the notes for those line items. Other, more general policies are disclosed in the note 25 in the example below. Where permitted by local requirements, entities could consider moving these non-entity-specific policies into an Appendix.

Change in accounting policy – new and revised accounting standards

4. Where an entity has changed any of its accounting policies, either as a result of a new or revised accounting standard or voluntarily, it must explain the change in its notes. Additional disclosures are required where a policy is changed retrospectively, see note 26 for further information. [IAS 8.28]

5. New or revised accounting standards and interpretations only need to be disclosed if they resulted in a change in accounting policy which had an impact in the current year or could impact on future periods. There is no need to disclose pronouncements that did not have any impact on the entity’s accounting policies and amounts recognised in the financial statements. [IAS 8.28]

6. For the purpose of this edition, it is assumed that RePort Co. PLC did not have to make any changes to its accounting policies, as it is not affected by the interest rate benchmark reforms, and the other amendments summarised in Appendix D are only clarifications that did not require any changes. However, this assumption will not necessarily apply to all entities. Where there has been a change in policy, this will need to be explained, see note 26 for further information.

Acquisitions and mergers as per IFRS 3

14/09/2021

Acquisitions and mergers

Acquisitions and mergers are becoming more and more common as entities aim to achieve their growth objectives. IFRS 3 ‘Business Combinations’ contains the requirements for these transactions, which are challenging in practice.

This narrative sets out how an entity should determine if the transaction is a business combination, and whether it is within the scope of IFRS 3.

Identifying a business combination

IFRS 3 refers to a ‘business combination’ rather than more commonly used phrases such as takeover, acquisition or merger because the objective is to encompass all the transactions in which an acquirer obtains control over an acquiree no matter how the transaction is structured. A business combination is defined as a transaction or other event in which an acquirer (an investor entity) obtains control of one or more businesses.

An entity’s purchase of a controlling interest in another unrelated operating entity will usually be a business combination (see case below).

Case – Straightforward business combination

Entity T is a clothing manufacturer and has traded for a number of years. Entity T is deemed to be a business.

On 1 January 2020, Entity A pays CU 2,000 to acquire 100% of the ordinary voting shares of Entity T. No other type of shares has been issued by Entity T. On the same day, the three main executive directors of Entity A take on the same roles in Entity T.

Consider this…..

Entity A obtains control on 1 January 2020 by acquiring 100% of the voting rights. As Entity T is a business, this is a business combination in accordance with IFRS 3.

However, a business combination may be structured, and an entity may obtain control of that structure, in a variety of ways.

Equity – 2 understand it all at best

06/07/2021

Equity

There are, at least, two ways to discuss equity:

Equity is the residual interest in the assets of the entity after deducting all its liabilities, or
An equity instrument is any contract that evidences a residual interest in the assets of an entity after deducting all of its liabilities.

But also:

For the purposes of IFRS 3, equityinterests is used broadly to mean ownership interests of investor-owned entities and owner, member or participant interests of mutual entities.
The equity method is a method of accounting whereby the investment is initially recognised at cost and adjusted thereafter for the post-acquisition change in the investor’s share of the investee’s net assets. The investor’s profit or loss includes its share of the investee’s profit or loss and the investor’s other comprehensive income includes its share of the investee’s other comprehensive income.
An equity-settled share-based payment transaction is a share-based payment transaction in which the entity:
1. receives goods or services as consideration for its own equity instruments (including shares or share options), or
2. receives goods or services but has no obligation to settle the transaction with the supplier.

1. Equity the residual interest in the assets of the entity after deducting all its liabilities

1. Statement of Financial Position

Assets

Equity and liabilities

1. Non-current assets

2. Current assets

Help

A – TOTAL ASSETS [1 + 2] = B

3. Non-current liabilities (including Provisions)

4. Current liabilities (including Provisions)

5. Equity [1 + 2 -/- 3 -/- 4]

Help

B – TOTAL EQUITY AND LIABILITIES [3 + 4 + 5] = A

Disclosure non-financial assets and liabilities example

05/07/2021

Disclosure non-financial assets and liabilities example

The guidance for this disclosure example is provided here.

8 Non-financial assets and liabilities

This note provides information about the group’s non-financial assets and liabilities, including:

specific information about each type of non-financial asset and non-financial liability
- property, plant and equipment (note 8(a))
- leases (note 8(b))
- investment properties (note 8(c))
- intangible assets (note 8(d))
- deferred tax balances (note 8(e))
- inventories (note 8(f))
- other assets, including assets classified as held for sale (note 8(g))
- employee benefit obligations (note 8(h))
- provisions (note 8(i))
accounting policies
information about determining the fair value of the assets and liabilities, including judgements and estimation uncertainty involved (note 8(j)).

8(a) Property, plant and equipment

Amounts in CU’000	Freehold land	Buildings	Furniture, fittings and equipment	Machinery and vehicles	Assets under construction	Total
At 1 January 2019
Cost or fair value	11,350	28,050	27,510	70,860	–	137,770
Accumulated depreciation	–	–	-7,600	-37,025	–	-44,625
Net carrying amount	11,350	28,050	19,910	33,835	–	93,145

Movements in 2019
Exchange differences	–	–	-43	-150	–	-193
Revaluation surplus	2,700	3,140	–	–	–	5,840
Additions	2,874	1,490	2,940	4,198	3,100	14,602
Assets classified as held for sale and other disposals	-424	–	-525	-2,215	–	3,164
Depreciation charge	–	-1,540	-2,030	-4,580	–	8,150
Closing net carrying amount	16,500	31,140	20,252	31,088	3,100	102,080

At 31 December 2019
Cost or fair value	16,500	31,140	29,882	72,693	3,100	153,315
Accumulated depreciation	–	–	-9,630	-41,605	–	-51,235
Net carrying amount	16,500	31,140	20,252	31,088	3,100	102,080

Movements in 2020
Exchange differences	–	–	-230	-570	–	-800
Revaluation surplus	3,320	3,923	–	–	–	7,243
Acquisition of subsidiary	800	3,400	1,890	5,720	–	11,810
Additions	2,500	2,682	5,313	11,972	3,450	25,917
Assets classified as held for sale and other disposals	-550	–	-5,985	-1,680	–	-8,215
Transfers	–	–	950	2,150	-3,100	–
Depreciation charge	–	-1,750	-2,340	-4,380	–	-8,470
Impairment loss (ii)	–	-465	-30	-180	–	-675
Closing net carrying amount	22,570	38,930	19,820	44,120	3,450	128,890

At 31 December 2020
Cost or fair value	22,570	38,930	31,790	90,285	3,450	187,025
Accumulated depreciation	–	–	-11,970	-46,165	–	-58,135
Net carrying amount	22,570	38,930	19,820	44,120	3,450	128,890

(i) Non-current assets pledged as security

Refer to note 24 for information on non-current assets pledged as security by the group.

(ii) Impairment loss and compensation

The impairment loss relates to assets that were damaged by a fire – refer to note 4(b) for details. The whole amount was recognised as administrative expense in profit or loss, as there was no amount included in the asset revaluation surplus relating to the relevant assets. [IAS 36.130(a)]

11 Best fair value measurements under IFRS 13

29/06/2021

11 Best fair value measurements under IFRS 13

Several IFRS standards provide guidance regarding the scope and application of the fair value option for assets and liabilities. Here they are from 1 to 11…….

1 Investments in associates and joint ventures

Investments held by venture capital organizations and the like are exempt from IAS 28’s requirements only when they are measured at fair value through profit or loss (FVPL) in accordance with IFRS 9. Changes in the fair value (FV) of such investments are recognized in profit or loss in the period of change.

The IASB acknowledged that FV information is often readily available in venture capital organizations and entities in similar industries, even for start-up and non-listed entities, as the methods and basis for fair value measurement are well established. The IASB also confirmed that the reference to well-established practice is to emphasize that the exemption applies generally to those investments for which fair value is readily available.

2 Intangible assets

Subsequent to initial recognition of intangible assets, an entity may adopt either the cost model or the revaluation model as its accounting policy. The policy should be applied to the whole of a class of intangible assets and not merely to individual assets within a class, unless there is no active market for an individual asset.

The revaluation model may only be adopted if the intangible assets are traded in an active market; hence it is not frequently used. Further, the revaluation model may not be applied to intangible assets that have not previously been recognized as assets. For example, over the years an entity might have accumulated for nominal consideration a number of licenses of a kind that are traded on an active market. 11 Best fair value measurements under IFRS 13

The entity may not have recognized an intangible asset as the licenses were individually immaterial when acquired. If market prices for such licenses significantly increased, the value of the licenses held by the entity would substantially increase. In this case, the entity would be prohibited by IAS 38 from applying the revaluation model to the licenses, because they were not previously recognized as an asset.

Ordinary shares issued and EPS

28/06/2021

Ordinary shares issued and EPS

Ordinary shares issued and EPS summarises the effects of three events involving share issued on EPS calculations including comprehensive examples:

Ordinary shares issued to settle liabilities,
Ordinary shares issued to acquire assets, and
Ordinary shares issued to acquire a business.

Ordinary shares issued to settle liabilities

This chapter deals with ordinary shares issued to fully or partially extinguish a financial or non-financial liability, as a result of a renegotiation of the terms of the liabilities.

This chapter does not deal with:

the issuance of ordinary shares to settle financial liabilities that have an option of conversion to shares. For further discussion of this scenario, see the following chapters:
- options, warrants and their equivalents: check it here;
- written put options and forwards: check it here; and
- convertible instruments: check it here; and
- the issuance of ordinary shares subject to conditions other than the passage of time: see Unvested ordinary shares and Contingently issuable ordinary shares.

EPS implications

Generally, ordinary shares issued to settle liabilities impact only basic EPS.

Accounting Policies to First IFRS FS

18/06/2021

Accounting Policies to First IFRS FS – An entity must use the same accounting policies in its opening IFRS statement of financial position and throughout all periods presented in its first IFRS financial statements. Those accounting policies must comply with each IFRSs effective at the end of its first IFRS reporting period, unless there is a mandatory exception to retrospective application or an optional exemption from the requirements of IFRSs.

[IFRS 1, paras 7 – 9]

Note that:

An entity may apply a new IFRS that is not yet mandatory if that IFRSs permits early application.
The transitional provisions in IFRSs do not apply to a first-time adopter’s transition to IFRSs.

Mandatory Exceptions to Retrospective Application and Optional Exemptions from … Read more

M and A

01/06/2021

M and A or Mergers and Acquisitions

in IFRS language Business Combinations.

1 Identifying a business combination

An entity’s purchase of a controlling interest in another unrelated operating entity will usually be a business combination (see Simple case – Straightforward business combination below). However, a business combination (M and A) may be structured, and an entity may obtain control of that structure, in a variety of ways.

Examples of business combinations structurings	Examples of ways an entity may obtain control
A business becomes the subsidiary of an acquirer	The entity transfers cash, cash equivalents or other assets(including net assets that constitute a business)
Net assets of one or more businesses are legally merged with an acquirer	The entity incurs liabilities
One combining entity transfers its net assets, or its owners transfer their equity interests, to another combining entity or its owners	The entity issues shares
	The entity transfers more than one type of consideration, or
Two or more entities transfer their net assets, or the owners of those entities transfer their equity interests to a newly created entity, which in exchange issues shares, or	The entity does not transfer consideration and obtains control for example by contract alone Some examples of this: ‘dual listed companies’ or ‘stapled entity structures’ acquiree repurchases a sufficient number of its own shares for an existing shareholder to obtain control a condition in the shareholder agreement that prevents the majority shareholder exercising control of the entity has expired, or a call option over a controlling interest that becomes exercisable.
A group of former owners of one of the combining entities obtains control of the combined entity, i.e. former owners, as a group, retain control of the entity they previously owned.

Therefore, identifying a business combination transaction requires the determination of whether:

what is acquired constitutes a ‘business’ as defined in IFRS3, and
control has been obtained.

Disclosures Principles of consolidation and equity accounting for IAS 1

17/05/2021

Disclosures Principles of consolidation and equity accounting

This is a separated part of the example accounting policies, it is separated because of the size of this note and the specific nature of principles of consolidation and equity accounting.

Example accounting policies – Introduction

Example accounting policies guidance

Whether to disclose an accounting policy

Change in accounting policy – new and revised accounting standards

Better Communication in Financial Reporting

15/04/2021

Better Communication in Financial Reporting

Better Communication in Financial Reporting is an IFRS.org initiative to focus financial reporting on users. There is a general view that financial reports have become too complex and difficult to read and that financial reporting tends to focus more on compliance than communication. See also narrative reporting as a discussion on alternative ways of reporting.

At the same time, users’ tolerance for sifting through information to find what they need continues to decline.

This has implications for the reputation of companies who fail to keep pace. A global study confirmed this trend, with the majority of analysts stating that the quality of reporting directly influenced their opinion of the quality of management.

To demonstrate what companies could do to make their financial report more relevant, there are several suggestions to ‘streamline’ the financial statements to reflect some of the best practices that have been emerging globally over the past few years. In particular:

Information is organized to clearly tell the story of financial performance and make critical information more prominent and easier to find.
Additional information is included where it is important for an understanding of the performance of the company. For example, we have included a summary of significant transactions and events as the first note to the financial statements even though this is not a required disclosure.

Improving disclosure effectiveness

Terms such as ’disclosure overload’ and ‘cutting the clutter’, and more precisely ‘disclosure effectiveness’, describe a problem in financial reporting that has become a priority issue for the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB or Board), local standard setters, and regulatory bodies. The growth and complexity of financial statement disclosure is also drawing significant attention from financial statement preparers, and more importantly, the users of financial statements.