Insights

This publication guides management through the top 20 disclosure and accounting issues identified by Grant Thornton as potential challenges for IFRS preparers.

IAS 39 ‘Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement’, the previous Standard that dealt with hedge accounting, was heavily criticised for containing complex rules which either made it impossible for entities to use hedge accounting or, in some cases, simply put them off doing so.

This guide includes practical guidance on the detection of intangible assets in a business combination and also discusses the most common methods used in practice to estimate their fair value. It provides examples of intangible assets commonly found in business combinations and explains how they might be valued.

Classification of a financial instrument as either liability or as equity has an immediate and significant effect on an entity’s reported results and financial position. Liability classification for instance affects an entity’s gearing ratios and typically results in any payments being treated as interest and charged to earnings. This guide addresses the key application issues to consider and includes interpretational guidance in certain problematic areas.

Many companies find the accounting for deferred tax causes significant practical difficulties. This guide summarises the approach required by IAS 12 'Income Taxes' and provides examples of the disclosures required by it. It also looks in detail at some of the more complex areas of preparation of a deferred tax computation, for example the calculation of deferred tax balances arising from business combinations.

Increasing attention on companies’ cash generation and liquidity position has led financial statement users, regulators and other commentators to focus increasingly on the Statement of Cash Flows. However, this additional focus and scrutiny has also highlighted some common errors and inconsistencies in its preparation. This Guide aims to remind management of IAS 7's basic requirements; highlight interpretative and practical application issues; and provide insights to address these issues.