Discontinued operations

IFRS 18 Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements – Best read

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IFRS 18 Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements

The IASB’s newly issued standard IFRS 18 mainly deals with the presentation of the income statement, balance sheet and certain footnotes. At the same time, certain aspects of the cash flow statement are modified. IFRS 18 does not change the recognition and measurement of the components of financial statements; therefore, the amounts reported as shareholders’ equity and net income are both unchanged. However, it will have a significant impact on the presentation and disaggregation of what is reported (primarily in the income statement and footnotes), including what subtotals companies must provide and how these are defined.

There are five main areas where we think the new standard will help investors as users of IFRS Financial Statements:IFRS 18 Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements

Operating–Investing–Financing classification

IFRS 18 aims to establishes a structured statement of profit or loss by implementing the following measures:

  • It introduces three defined categories for income and expenses: operating, investing, and financing.
    • Operating – income/expenses resulting from the company’s main business operations.
    • Investing – income/expenses from:
      • investments in associates, joint ventures and unconsolidated subsidiaries;
      • cash and cash equivalents;
      • assets that generate a return individually and largely independently (e.g. rental income from investment properties).
    • Financing – consisting of:
      • income/expenses from liabilities related to raising finance only (e.g. interest expense on borrowings); and
      • interest income/expenses and effects of changes in interest rates from other liabilities (e.g. interest expense on lease liabilities).
  • It mandates to present new defined totals and subtotals, including operating profit, thereby enhancing the clarity and consistency of financial reporting.

Entities primarily engaged in investing in assets or providing finance to customers are subject to specific categorisation requirements. This entails that additional income and expense items, which would typically be classified as investing or financing activities, are instead categorised under operating activities. Consequently, operating profit reflects the outcomes of an entity’s core business operations. Identifying the main business activity involves exercising judgment based on factual circumstances.

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Example accounting policies

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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

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.

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Cash flows from discontinued operations IFRS 5 – 2 Detailed Examples

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 Cash flows from discontinued operations – Detailed Examples

IAS 7 requires an entity to include all of its cash flows in the statement of cash flows, including those generated from both continuing and discontinued activities.

IFRS 5 Non-current Assets Held for Sale and Discontinued Operations requires an entity to disclose its net cash flows derived from operating, investing and financing activities in respect of discontinued operations. There are two ways in which this can be achieved:

===1) Presentation in the statement of cash flows

Net cash flows from each type of activity (operating, investing and financing) derived from discontinued operations are presented separately in the statement of cash flows.

===2) Presentation in a note

Cash flows from discontinued operations are included together with cash flows from continuing operations in each line Cash flows from discontinued operationsitem in the statement of cash flows. The net cash flows relating to each type of activity (operating, investing and financing) derived from discontinued operations are then disclosed separately in a note to the financial statements.

When a disposal group that meets the definition of a discontinued operation is classified as held for sale in the current period, and has not been realised/disposed of at the entity’s reporting date, the closing balance of cash and cash equivalents presented in the statement of cash flows will not reconcile to the cash and cash equivalents balances that are included in the statement of financial position at the reporting date.

This is because the cash and cash equivalents related to the disposal group are subsumed into the assets and liabilities of the disposal group and presented within the single line item in the statement of financial position.

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Example Disclosure financial instruments

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Example Disclosure financial instruments

The guidance for this example disclosure financial instruments is found here.

7 Financial assets and financial liabilities

This note provides information about the group’s financial instruments, including:

The group holds the following financial instruments: [IFRS 7.8]

Amounts in CU’000

Notes

2020

2019

Financial assets

Financial assets at amortised cost

– Trade receivables

7(a)

15,662

8,220

– Other financial assets at amortised cost

7(b)

4,598

3,471

– Cash and cash equivalents

7(e)

55,083

30,299

Financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive income (FVOCI)

7(c)

6,782

7,148

Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss (FVPL)

7(d)

13,690

11,895

Derivative financial instruments

– Used for hedging

12(a)

2,162

2,129

97,975

63,162
Example Disclosure financial instruments

Financial liabilities

Liabilities at amortised cost

– Trade and other payables1

7(f)

13,700

10,281

– Borrowings

7(g)

97,515

84,595

– Lease liabilities

8(b)

11,501

11,291

Derivative financial instruments

– Used for hedging

12(a)

766

777

– Held for trading at FVPL

12(a)

610

621

124,092

107,565

The group’s exposure to various risks associated with the financial instruments is discussed in note 12. The maximum exposure to credit risk at the end of the reporting period is the carrying amount of each class of financial assets mentioned above. [IFRS 7.36(a), IFRS 7.31, IFRS 7.34(c)]

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EPS Calculation – IAS 33 Best complete read

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EPS Calculation

Here is full example of an EPS Calculation. This narrative builds on the basic principles introduced in the narrative EPS, and sets out the specific basic and diluted EPS calculation rules as per IAS 33 Earnings per share.

Case

Company P earns a consolidated net profit of 4,600,000 during the year ended 31 December Year 1 and 5,600,000 during the year ended 31 December Year 2. The total number of ordinary shares outstanding on 1 January Year 1 is 3,000,000.

Various POSs are issued before 1 January Year 1 and during the years ended 31 December Year 1 and Year 2. During this period, the outstanding number of ordinary shares also changes.

The statement of changes in equity below summarises only the actual movements in the outstanding number of ordinary shares, followed by detailed information about such movements and POSs outstanding during the periods.

EPS Calculation

Details of the instruments and ordinary share transactions during Year 1 and Year 2

1. Convertible preference shares

At 1 January Year 1, P has 500,000 outstanding convertible preference shares. Dividends on these shares are discretionary and non-cumulative. Each preference share is convertible into two ordinary shares at the holder’s option.

The preference shares are classified as equity in P’s financial statements.

On 15 October Year 1, a dividend of 1.20 per preference share is declared. The dividend is paid in cash on 15 December Year 1. Preference dividends are not tax-deductible.

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EPS in IAS 33

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EPS (Earnings per share)

EPS measures are intended to represent the income earned (or loss incurred) by each ordinary share during a reporting period and therefore provide an indicator of reported performance for the period.

The EPS measure is also widely used by users of financial statements as part of the price-earnings ratio, which is calculated by dividing the price of an ordinary share by its EPS amount. This ratio is therefore an indicator of how many times (years) the earnings would have to be repeated to be equal to the share price of the entity.

Users of financial statements also use the EPS measure as part of the dividend cover calculation. This measure is calculated by dividing the EPS amount for a period by the dividend per share for that period. It therefore provides an indication of how many times the earnings cover the distribution being made to the ordinary shareholders.

Basic EPS and diluted EPS are presented by entities whose ordinary shares or potential ordinary shares (POSs) are traded in a public market or that file, or are in the process of filing, their financial statements for the purpose of issuing any class of ordinary shares in a public market. (IAS 33.2)

Basic EPS and diluted EPS for both continuing and total operations are presented in the statement of profit or loss and OCI, with equal prominence, for each class of ordinary shares that has a differing right to share in the profit or loss for the period. (IAS 33.66-67A)

Separate EPS information is disclosed for discontinued operations, either in the statement of profit or loss and OCI or in the notes to the financial statements. (IAS 33.66-68A)

Basic EPS is calculated by dividing the profit or loss attributable to ordinary shareholders by the weighted-average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the period. (IAS 33.10)

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Accounting Policies to First IFRS FS

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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]Accounting Policies to First IFRS FS

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

Disclosure financial assets and liabilities

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Disclosure financial assets and liabilities

– provides a narrative providing guidance on users of financial statements’ needs to present financial disclosures in the notes to the financial statements grouped in more logical orders. But there is and never will be a one-size fits all.

Here it has been decided to separately disclose financial assets and liabilities and non-financial assets and liabilities, because of the distinct different nature of these classes of assets and liabilities and the resulting different types of disclosures, risks and tabulations.

Disclosure financial assets and liabilities guidance

Disclosing financial assets and liabilities (financial instruments) in one note

Users of financial reports have indicated that they would like to be able to quickly access all of the information about the entity’s financial assets and liabilities in one location in the financial report. The notes are therefore structured such that financial items and non-financial items are discussed separately. However, this is not a mandatory requirement in the accounting standards.

Accounting policies, estimates and judgements

For readers of Financial Statements it is helpful if information about accounting policies that are specific to the entityDisclosure financial assets and liabilitiesand about significant estimates and judgements is disclosed with the relevant line items, rather than in separate notes. However, this format is also not mandatory. For general commentary regarding the disclosures of accounting policies refer to note 25. Commentary about the disclosure of significant estimates and judgements is provided in note 11.

Scope of accounting standard for disclosure of financial instruments

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IFRS 7 does not apply to the following items as they are not financial instruments as defined in paragraph 11 of IAS 32:

  1. prepayments made (right to receive future good or service, not cash or a financial asset)
  2. tax receivables and payables and similar items (statutory rights or obligations, not contractual), or
  3. contract liabilities (obligation to deliver good or service, not cash or financial asset).

While contract assets are also not financial assets, they are explicitly included in the scope of IFRS 7 for the purpose of the credit risk disclosures. Liabilities for sales returns and volume discounts (see note 7(f)) may be considered financial liabilities on the basis that they require payments to the customer. However, they should be excluded from financial liabilities if the arrangement is executory. the Reporting entity Plc determined this to be the case. [IFRS 7.5A]

Classification of preference shares

Preference shares must be analysed carefully to determine if they contain features that cause the instrument not to meet the definition of an equity instrument. If such shares meet the definition of equity, the entity may elect to carry them at FVOCI without recycling to profit or loss if not held for trading.

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What happened in the reporting period

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What happened in the reporting period

There is no requirement to disclose a summary of significant events and transactions that have affected the company’s financial position and performance during the period under review (or simply what happened in the reporting period). However, information such as this could help readers understand the entity’s performance and any changes to the entity’s financial position during the year and make it easier finding the relevant information. However, information such as this could also be provided in the (unaudited) operating and financial review rather than the (audited) notes to the financial statements.

Covid-19
At the time of writing, the biggest impact on the financial statements of entities all around the world is related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Most entities will be affected by this in one form or another and should discuss the impact prominently in their financial statements. However, as the events are still unfolding, this publication is not providing any illustrative examples or guidance. See how to account for Covid-19 to get an up-to-date discussion.

Going concern disclosures [IAS1.25]
When preparing financial statements, management shall make an assessment of an entity’s ability to continue as a going concern. Financial statements shall be prepared on a going concern basis unless management either intends to liquidate the entity or to cease trading, or has no realistic alternative but to do so.

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Better Communication in Financial Reporting

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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.

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