IFRS 15 Real estate Revenue complete and accurate recognition

IFRS 15 Real estate

Under IFRS 15 real estate entities recognize revenue over the construction period if certain conditions are met.

Key points

  • An entity must judge whether the different elements of a contract can be separated from each other based on the distinct criteria. A more complex judgment exists for real estate developers that provide services or deliver common properties or amenities in addition to the property being sold.
  • Contract modifications are common in the real estate development industry. Contract modifications might needIFRS 15 Real estate to be accounted for as a new contract, or combined and accounted for together with an existing contract.
  • Real estate managers may structure their arrangements such that services and fees are in different contracts. These contracts may meet the requirements to be accounted for as a combined contract when applying IFRS 15.
  • Real estate management entities are often entitled to several different fees. IFRS 15 will require a manager to consider whether the services should be viewed as a single performance obligation, or whether some of these services are ‘distinct’ and should therefore be treated as separate performance obligations.
  • Variable consideration for entities in the real estate industry may come in the form of claims, awards and incentive payments, discounts, rebates, refunds, credits, price concessions, performance bonuses, penalties or other similar items.
  • Real estate developers will need to consider whether they meet any of the three criteria necessary for recognition of revenue over time.

IFRS 15 core principle

The core principle of IFRS 15 is that revenue reflects the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services.

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EBITDA – 1 Best complete read

EBITDA – Earnings before interest taxes depreciation and amortisation

– is a measure of a company’s overall financial performance and is used as an alternative to simple earnings or net income in some circumstances. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, however, can be misleading because it strips out the cost of capital investments like property, plant, and equipment.

This metric also excludes expenses associated with debt by adding back interest expense and taxes to earnings. Nonetheless, it is a more precise measure of corporate performance since it is able to show earnings before the influence of accounting and financial deductions.EBITDA

Simply put, Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation is a measure of profitability. While there is no legal requirement for companies to disclose their EBITDA (here also written as EBIT-DA), according to the U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (US GAAP) or International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), it can be worked out and reported using information found in a company’s financial statements.

The earnings, tax, and interest figures are found on the income statement, while the depreciation and amortisation figures are normally found in the notes to operating profit or on the cash flow statement. The usual shortcut to calculate EBITDA is to start with operating profit, also called earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) and then add back depreciation and amortisation.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/EBITDA

Origins of EBITDA

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IRR How to calculate

IRR How to calculate

The Internal Rate of Return (IRR) is the discount rate that makes the net present value (NPV) of a project zero. In other words, it is the expected compound annual rate of return that will be earned on a project or investment.

When calculating IRR, expected cash flows for a project or investment are given and the NPV equals zero. Put another way, the initial cash investment for the beginning period will be equal to the present value of the future cash flows of that investment. (Cost paid = present value of future cash flows, and hence, the net present value = 0).

Once the internal rate of return is determined, it is typically compared to a company’s hurdle rate or cost of capital. If the IRR is greater than or equal to the cost of capital, the company would accept the project as a good investment. (That is, of course, assuming this is the sole basis for the decision).

In reality, there are many other quantitative and qualitative factors that are considered in an investment decision). If the IRR is lower than the hurdle rate, then it would be rejected, if IRR is the only investment consideration.

Under IFRS 16 ‘Leases’, a similar calculation is used to calculate discount rates are used to determine the present value of the lease payments used to measure a lessee’s lease liability. Discount rates are also used to determine lease classification for a lessor and to measure a lessor’s net investment in a lease.

For lessees, the lease payments are required to be discounted using:

For lessors, the discount rate will always be the interest rate implicit in the lease.

The interest rate implicit in the lease is defined in IFRS 16 as ‘the rate of interest that causes the present value of (a) the lease payments and (b) the unguaranteed residual value to equal the sum of (i) the fair value of the underlying asset and (ii) any initial direct costs of the lessor.’

The lessee’s incremental borrowing rate is defined in IFRS 16 as ‘the rate of interest that a lessee would have to pay to borrow over a similar term, and with a similar security, the funds necessary to obtain an asset of a similar value to the right-of-use asset in a similar economic environment’.

The incremental borrowing rate is determined on the commencement date of the lease. As a result, it will incorporate the impact of significant economic events and other changes in circumstances arising between lease inception and commencement.

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Separate lease and non-lease components for real estate under IFRS 16

Separate lease and non-lease components

Many real estate leases contain multiple lease and non-lease components, which landlords need to identify and account for separately.

1 Overview

IFRS 16 requires a landlord to separate the lease and non-lease components of a contract. (IFRS 16.12, IFRS 16.BC135(b))

In practice, real estate contracts may contain:

  • one or more lease components: e.g. the right to use land and/or a building; and
  • one or more non-lease components: e.g. maintenance, cleaning and provision of utilities.

For lessors, identifying components and allocating consideration will determine the split of lease income vs revenue from contracts with customers. These amounts are often presented and have to be disclosed separately. For example, a real estate company will need to distinguish lease income from revenue for other property related services – e.g. common area maintenance (CAM). (IFRS 15.110, IFRS 15.114, IFRS 16.90)

The key steps in accounting for the components of a contract are as follows.

Identify separate lease components (go here)

Identify non-lease components (go here)

Allocate consideration (go here)

Reallocate consideration on lease modification (go here)

2 Typical lease components in real estate contracts

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Measurement of investment property

Measurement of investment property

Introduction

Control of real estate can be obtained through:

  • direct acquisition of real estate;
  • construction of real estate; or
  • leasing of real estate, under either operating or finance leases.

Entities normally perform strategic planning before the acquisition, construction or leasing, to assess the feasibility of the project.

Entities might incur costs attributable to the acquisition, construction or leasing of real estate, during this first step of the cycle. Entities might also enter into financing arrangements to secure the liquidity required for the acquisition and construction of real estate.

The direct acquisition of investment property is presented here and the lease of investment property is presented here (Landlord lease accounting).

In this narrative the investment properties under construction (i.e. initial recognition of the development of real estate) and subsequent measurement of investment properties are handled.

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Acquisition of investment properties – How 2 best account it

Acquisition of investment properties

– When should a purchase of investment property (or properties) be accounted for as a business combination, and when as a simple asset purchase? This is an important issue because the IFRS accounting requirements for a business combination are very different from asset purchases.

Asset acquisition or business combination

The IASB’s new guidance changes the definition of a business and will likely result in more transactions being recorded as asset acquisitions. The new definition of a business could have a significant impact in the real estate (RE) industry.

New guidance (from 1 January 2020 or earlier)

IFRS 3 ‘Business Combinations’ has been amended to update the definition of a business. The new model introduces an optional concentration test that, if met, eliminates the need for further assessment. To be considered a business, an acquisition would have to include an input and a substantive process that together significantly contribute to the ability to create outputs. The new guidance provides a framework to evaluate when an input and a substantive process are present.

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Example accounting policies

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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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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