Accounting for Business combinations cash flows

Accounting for Business combinations cash flows

1. Presentation and disclosure of cash paid/acquired in a business combination

When an entity acquires a business and part or all of the consideration is in cash or cash equivalents, part of the net assets acquired may include the acquiree’s existing cash balance. This results in different amounts being presented in the statement of cash flows and the notes to the financial statements.

IAS 7.39 and 42 require the net cash flows arising from gaining or losing control of a business, to be classified as arising from investing activities. Consequently, the statement of cash flows will not include the gross cash flows arisingBusiness combinations cash flows from the acquisition, and will instead show a single net amount. IAS 7.40 then requires the gross amounts to be disclosed in the notes.

The disclosures required by IFRS 3 Business Combinations include:

  • The acquisition date fair value of total consideration transferred, analysed into each major class of consideration including the cash element (IFRS 3.B64(f)(i))
  • Major classes of assets and liabilities acquired, of which cash and cash equivalents would be a class (IFRS 3.B64(i)).

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The Statement of Cash Flows

Statement of Cash Flows

IAS 7.10 requires an entity to analyse its cash inflows and outflows into three categories:

  • Operating;
  • Investing; and
  • Financing.

IAS 7.6 defines these as follows:

‘Operating activities are the principal revenue producing activities of the entity and other activities that are not investing or financing activities.’

‘Investing activities are the acquisition and disposal of long-term assets and other investments not included in cash equivalents.’

‘Financing activities are activities that result in changes in the size and composition of the contributed equity and borrowings of the entity.’

1. Operating activities

It is often assumed that this category includes only those cash flows that arise from an entity’s principal revenue producing activities.

However, because cash flows arising from operating activities represents a residual category, which includes any cashStatement of cash flows flows that do not qualify to be recorded within either investing or financing activities, these can include cash flows that may initially not appear to be ‘operating’ in nature.

For example, the acquisition of land would typically be viewed as an investing activity, as land is a long-term asset. However, this classification is dependent on the nature of the entity’s operations and business practices. For example, an entity that acquires land regularly to develop residential housing to be sold would classify land acquisitions as an operating activity, as such cash flows relate to its principal revenue producing activities and therefore meet the definition of an operating cash flow.

2. Investing activities

An entity’s investing activities typically include the purchase and disposal of its intangible assets, property, plant and equipment, and interests in other entities that are not held for trading purposes. However, in an entity’s consolidated financial statements, cash flows from investing activities do not include those arising from changes in ownership interest of subsidiaries that do not result in a change in control, which are classified as arising from financing activities.

It should be noted that cash flows related to the sale of leased assets (when the entity is the lessor) may be classified as operating or investing activities depending on the specific facts and circumstances.

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Cash flows from discontinued operations IFRS 5 – 2 Detailed Examples

 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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Borrowing costs – Q&A IAS 23

Q&A Borrowing costs

Q&A Borrowing costs is a questions and answers lesson type of narrative following the captions of this rather simple IFRS Standard.

  1. General scope and definitions
  2. Borrowing costs eligible for capitalisation
  3. Foreign exchange differences
  4. Cessation of capitalisation
  5. Interaction IAS 23 and IFRS 15 Construction contracts with customers

General scope and definitions

1.1 A qualifying asset is an asset that ‘necessarily takes a substantial period of time to get ready for its intended use or sale’. Is there any bright line for determining the ‘substantial period of time’?

No. IAS 23 does not define ‘substantial period of time’. Management exercises judgement when determining which assets are qualifying assets, taking into account, among other factors, the nature of the asset. An asset that normally takes more than a year to be ready for use will usually be a qualifying asset. Once management chooses the criteria and type of assets, it applies this consistently to those types of asset.

Management discloses in the notes to the financial statements, when relevant, how the assessment was performed, which criteria were considered and which types of assets are subject to capitalisation of borrowing costs.

1.2 The IASB has amended the list of costs that can be included in borrowing costs, as part of its 2008 minor improvement project. Will this change anything in practice?

The amendment eliminates inconsistencies between interest expense as calculated under IAS 23 and IFRS 9. IAS 23 refers to the effective interest rate method as described in IFRS 9. The calculation includes fees, transaction costs and amortisation of discounts or premiums relating to borrowings. These components were already included in IAS 23. However, IAS 23 also referred to ‘ancillary costs’ and did not define this term.

This could have resulted in a different calculation of interest expense than under IFRS 9. No significant impact is expected from this change. Alignment of the definitions means that management only uses one method to calculate interest expense.

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11 Best fair value measurements under IFRS 13

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 class11 Best fair value measurements under IFRS 13, 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.

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EPS in IAS 33

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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Fair value of Cryptographic assets

Fair value of Cryptographic assets

The fair value of a cryptographic asset (‘CA’) might be accounted for or disclosed in financial statements. Fair value might be needed in a variety of situations, including:

Inventory of cryptographic assets held by a broker-trader applying fair value less costs to sell accounting

Expense for third party services paid for in cryptographic assets

Cryptographic assets classified as intangible assets in cases where the revaluation model is used

Expense for employee services paid for in cryptographic assets

Revenue from the perspective of an ICO issuer

Cryptographic assets acquired in a business combination

Disclosure of the fair value for cryptographic assets held on behalf of others

Cryptographic assets held by an investment fund (either measured at fair value or for which fair value is disclosed)

IFRS 13, ‘Fair Value Measurement’, defines fair value as “the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date”, and it sets out a framework for determining fair values under IFRS.

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What happened in the reporting period

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

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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Leveraged buyout IFRS 3 best reporting

Leveraged buyout IFRS 3 best reporting – In corporate finance, a leveraged buyout (LBO) is a transaction where a company is acquired using debt as the main source of consideration. These transactions typically occur when a private equity (PE) firm borrows as much as they can from a variety of lenders (up to 70 or 80 percent of the purchase price) and funds the balance with their own equity. Leveraged buyout IFRS 3 best reporting 1 The process and business reason The use of leverage (debt) enhances expected returns to the private equity firm. By putting in as little of their own money as possible, PE firms can achieve a large return on equity (ROE) and internal rate of return … Read more