IFRS 18 Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements – Best read

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.
    • Investingincome/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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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:

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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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Acquisitions and mergers as per IFRS 3

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 Acquisitions and mergersmerger 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.

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Example Disclosure financial instruments

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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Goodwill or bargain on acquisition

Goodwill or bargain on acquisition – in short

Goodwill is initially measured at cost, being the excess of the aggregate of the consideration transferred, the amount recognised for non-controlling interests and any fair value of the Group’s previously held equity interests in the acquiree over the identifiable net assets acquired and liabilities assumed.

If the sum of this consideration and other items is lower than the fair value of the net assets acquired, the difference is, after reassessment, recognised in profit or loss as a gain on bargain purchase.

Business combinations

Business combinations are accounted for using the acquisition method. Cost of an acquisition is measured at the fair value of the assets given and liabilities incurred or assumed at the date of exchange. Identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed in a business combination (including contingent liabilities) are measured initially at their fair values at the acquisition date. There are no non-controlling interest in the Group’s subsidiaries.

The Dorolco acquisition – On xx October 202x Dorco Loan PLC acquired 100% of the Dorolco operations, by acquiring 100% of all voting shares in the legal entities now part of this Group.

Assets acquired and liabilities assumed – Because the holding companies established in structuring the Dorolco acquisition have been incorporated on behalf of this transaction, the opening balance sheet as at xx October 202x shown in the Consolidated Financial Statements as comparatives to the balance sheet as at 31 December 202x is the balance sheet at incorporation date. Shares issued were paid on acquisition date, except for the share option plan shares issued at closing date (1,000,000 shares issued, of which as at 31 December 202x 155,000 were not yet granted and paid up).

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Operating cash flows under IAS 7

Operating cash flows

Cash flows must be analysed between operating, investing and financing activities.

For operating cash flows, the direct method of presentation is preferred, but the indirect method is acceptable.

Here are the differences and similarities between the direct and indirect method. Note the subtotals for operating, investing and financing activities are the same amount in both methods!

Indirect method cash flow statement

Direct method cash flow statement

Starts with:

Starts with:

  • Profit before tax
  • Adjustment for:
    • non-cash items
    • depreciation/amortization (add back to profit)
    • gain on disposal of NCA (deduct)
    • loss in disposal of NCA (add back)
    • remove impact of accruals
    • Interest expense (add back)
    • Interest income (deduct and relocate to Investing activities)
  • Movement on working capital items
    • Receivables (deduct increase, add decrease)
    • Payables (add increase, deduct decrease)
    • Inventory (deduct increase, add decrease)
    • Interest paid (deduct)
    • Taxation (including deferred tax movements) (deduct).
  • Acquisition cash flows
  • Receipts from customers
  • Less Payments to:
    • suppliers
    • employees
    • other operating expenses
    • interest charges
    • taxation

Operating cash flows

Cash Flows from Operating activities

Cash Flows from Operating activities

  • purchase of non-current assets
  • sale/disposal of non-current assets
  • acquisition cash flows
  • interest received/dividend received on investment.

Cash Flows from Investing activities

Cash Flows from Investing activities

  • purchase of (treasure) shares
  • cash from shares issued
  • dividend payments to owners
  • take loan/issue bonds
  • acquisition cash flows
  • payments under lease agreements

Cash Flows from Financing activities

Cash Flows from Financing activities

Common cash flow classification errors in practice

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