Control assessment

IFRS 10 Special control approach

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IFRS 10 Special control approach

– determines which entities are consolidated in a parent’s financial statements and therefore affects a group’s reported results, cash flows and financial position – and the activities that are ‘on’ and ‘off’ the group’s balance sheet. Under IFRS, this control assessment is accounted for in accordance with IFRS 10 ‘Consolidated financial statements’.

Some of the challenges of applying the IFRS 10 Special control approach include:

  • identifying the investee’s returns, which in turn involves identifying its assets and liabilities. This may appear straightforward but complications arise when the legal ownership of assets diverges from the accounting depiction (for example, in financial asset transfers that ‘fail’ de-recognition, and in finance leases). In general, the assessment of the investee’s assets and returns should be consistent with the accounting depiction in accordance with IFRS
  • it may not always be clear whether contracts and other arrangements between an investor and an investee
    • create rights or exposure to a variable return from the investee’s performance for the investor; or
    • transfer risk or variability from the investor to the investee IFRS 10 Special control approach
  • the relevant activities of an SPE may not be obvious, especially when its activities have been narrowly specified in its purpose and design IFRS 10 Special control approach
  • the rights to direct those activities might also be difficult to identify, because for example, they arise only in particular circumstances or from contracts that are outside the legal boundary of the SPE (but closely related to its activities).

IFRS 10 Special control approach sets out requirements for how to apply the control principle in less straight forward circumstances, which are detailed below:  IFRS 10 Special control approach

  • when voting rights or similar rights give an investor power, including situations where the investor holds less than a majority of voting rights and in circumstances involving potential voting rights
  • when an investee is designed so that voting rights are not the dominant factor in deciding who controls the investee, such as when any voting rights relate to administrative tasks only and the relevant activities are directed by means of contractual arrangements IFRS 10 Special control approach
  • involving agency relationships IFRS 10 Special control approach
  • when the investor has control only over specified assets of an investee
  • franchises. IFRS 10 Special control approach

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Control Structured entity with Credit-linked notes

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Control Structured entity with Credit-linked notes provides a case regarding control through contractual arrangements in a Special Purpose Vehicle or better NO control. Following is a case on the assessment whether certain stakeholders in a transaction/structure have obtained control over a certain entity in the transaction in line with the requirements of IFRS 10 Consolidated financial statements. Only one stakeholder can be in control! [ IFRS10 B16 ] Or no stakeholder is in control. Or one stakeholder is in control and has to consolidate the investigated entity  in its consolidated financial statements. Here is the case. [glossary_exclude]Control Structured entity with Credit-linked notes[/glossary_exclude] THE CASE – Assessing control of an issuer of credit-linked notes with limited activities and derivatives that enhance … Read more

Control of an investee

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Control of an investee exists when an investor controls an investee as it’s exposed, or has rights, to variable returns from its involvement with the investee

Protective rights

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Protective rights relate to fundamental changes to the activities of an investee or apply in exceptional circumstances. However, not all rights that apply in exceptional circumstances or are contingent on events are protective. Because protective rights are designed to protect the interests of their holder without giving that party power over the investee to which those rights relate, an investor that holds only protective rights cannot have power or prevent another party from having power over an investee.

Continuous assessment of control

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Continuous assessment of control is part of documenting your consolidation routines. Control is reassessed if facts and circumstances say there are changes

Ability to use power to affect the returns

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The ability to use power to affect the returns means that an investor controls not only by power and exposure but also use power to affect these returns.