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Example accounting policies

21/09/202107/06/2021 by 75385885

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.

Disclosure non-financial assets and liabilities example

05/07/2021 by 75385885

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)]

Onerous

29/06/2021 by 75385885

This is an overview of the use of onerous in the IFRS Standards, the major Standard being IAS 37 (see below).

IAS 37: ‘Onerous Contracts – Cost of Fulfilling a Contract’

IAS 37 defines an onerous contract as one in which the unavoidable costs of meeting the entity’s obligations exceed the economic benefits to be received under that contract. If an entity has a contract that is onerous the present obligation under the contract should be recognized and measured as a provision. An onerous contract is one in which the unavoidable costs of meeting the obligations under the contract exceed the economic benefits expected to be received under it.

The amendment to IAS 37, that will become effective 1 January 2022, clarifies the meaning of ‘costs to fulfil a contract’. Contract costs Contract costs The amendment was part of some narrow-scope amendments issued by IASB in May 2020.

The amendment explains that the direct cost of fulfilling a contract comprises:

the incremental costs of fulfilling that contract (for example, direct labour and materials); and
an allocation of other costs that relate directly to fulfilling contracts (for example, an allocation of the depreciation charge for an item of PP&E used to fulfil the contract). (IAS 37.68A)

The amendment also clarifies that, before a separate provision for an onerous contract is established, an entity recognises any impairment loss that has occurred on assets used in fulfilling the contract, rather than on assets dedicated to that contract.

The amendment could result in the recognition of more onerous contract provisions, because previously some entities only included incremental costs in the costs to fulfil a contract.

Initial Coin Offering

02/06/2021 by 75385885

Initial Coin Offering

An Initial Coin Offering (‘ICO’) is a form of fundraising that harnesses the power of cryptographic assets and blockchain-based trading. Similar to a crowdfunding campaign, an ICO allocates (issues or promises to issue) digital token(s) instead of shares to the parties that provided contributions for the development of the digital token. These ICO tokens typically do not represent an ownership interest in the entity, but they often provide access to a platform (if and when developed) and can often be traded on a crypto exchange. The population of ICO tokens in an ICO is generally set at a fixed amount.

It should be noted that ICOs might be subject to local securities law, and significant regulatory considerations might apply.

Each ICO is bespoke and will have unique terms and conditions. It is critical for issuers to review the whitepaper (A whitepaper is a concept paper authored by the developers of a platform, to set out an idea and overall value proposition to prospective investors. The whitepaper commonly outlines the development roadmap and key milestones that the development team expects to meet) or underlying documents accompanying the ICO token issuance, and to understand what exactly is being offered to investors/subscribers. In situations where rights and obligations arising from a whitepaper or their legal enforceability are unclear, legal advice might be needed, to determine the relevant terms.

IAS 16 Generation assets for Power and Utilities

24/03/2021 by 75385885

Generation assets for Power and Utilities

– are often large and complex installations. They are expensive to construct, tend to be exposed to harsh operating conditions and require periodic replacement or repair. This environment leads to specific accounting issues.

1 Fixed assets and components

IFRS has a specific requirement for ‘component’ depreciation, as described in IAS 16 Property, Plant and Equipment. Each significant part of an item of property, plant and equipment is depreciated separately. Significant parts of an asset that have similar useful lives and patterns of consumption can be grouped together. This requirement can create complications for utility entities, because many assets include components with a shorter useful life than the asset as a whole.

Identifying components of an asset

Generation assets might comprise a significant number of components, many of which will have differing useful lives. The significant components of these types of assets must be separately identified. This can be a complex process, particularly on transition to IFRS, because the detailed record-keeping needed for componentisation might not have been required in order to comply with national generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). This can particularly be an issue for older power plants. However, some regulators require detailed asset records, which can be useful for IFRS component identification purposes.

An entity might look to its operating data if the necessary information for components is not readily identified by the accounting records. Some components can be identified by considering the routine shutdown or overhaul schedules for power stations and the associated replacement and maintenance routines. Consideration should also be given to those components that are prone to technological obsolescence, corrosion or wear and tear that is more severe than that of the other portions of the larger asset.

First-time IFRS adopters can benefit from an exemption under IFRS 1 First-time Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards. This exemption allows entities to use a value that is not depreciated cost in accordance with IAS 16, and IAS 23 Borrowing Costs as deemed cost on transition to IFRS. It is not necessary to apply the exemption to all assets or to a group of assets.

IFRS vs US GAAP Employee benefits

16/03/202111/03/2021 by 75385885

IFRS vs US GAAP Employee benefits

The following discussion captures a number of the more significant GAAP differences under both the impairment standards. It is important to note that the discussion is not inclusive of all GAAP differences in this area.

The significant differences and similarities between U.S. GAAP and IFRS related to accounting for investment property are summarized in the following tables.

Standards Reference

US GAAP¹

IFRS²

715 Compensation – Retirement benefits

710-10 Compensation- General – Overall

712-10 Compensation – Nonretirement Postemployment Benefits – Overall

IAS 19 Employee Benefits

IFRIC 14 The limit on a defined benefit asset minimum funding requirements and their interaction

Introduction

The guidance under US GAAP and IFRS as it relates to employee benefits contains some significant differences with potentially far-reaching implications.

This narrative deals with employee benefits provided under formal plans and agreements between an entity and its employees, under legislation or through industry arrangements, including those provided under informal practices that give rise to constructive obligations.

Environmental provision under IAS 37

25/02/202022/02/2020 by 75385885

Environmental provision under IAS 37 – Although there is no formal distinction between environmental and decommissioning provisions under IFRS, in general environmental provisions exclude provisions related to damage incurred in installing an asset (see decommissioning provisions).

In a dynamic economic and regulatory climate, bringing your future into focus can be a challenge. In the area of environmental accounting, this can prove to be an even more challenging proposition, given the inherent complexity of environmental liability reporting.

Moreover, companies should be aware that unexpected expenditures and accounting adjustments—like those arising from environmental obligations—can impact capital budgeting and future earnings. Companies have found that practices vary widely across sectors and both engineering and accounting expertise are critical in assessing environmental … Read more

Obligating event

23/02/202011/02/2019 by 75385885

An obligating event is an event that creates a legal or constructive obligation that results in an entity having no realistic alternative to settling that obligation. A legal obligation is an obligation that derives from: a) a contract (through its explicit or implicit terms); b) legislation; or c) other operation of law. A constructive obligation is an obligation that derives from an entity’s actions where: a) by an established pattern of past practice, published policies or a sufficiently specific current statement, the entity has indicated to other parties that it will accept certain responsibilities; and b) as a result, the entity has created a valid expectation on the part of those other parties that it will discharge those responsibilities.