HA2032 Corporate And Financial Accounting
Assignment Question:
The regulatory environment and financial reporting
You are employed in a large accounting firm which specialises in preparing general purpose financial reports for large companies that are listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). As the training manager, one of your key tasks is to prepare a regular newsletter for staff involved in the preparation of the above financial reports. The purpose of the newsletter is to keep staff updated on the latest financial reporting news, alerting staff of changes and developments that may impact their work, and provide enough information to staff to satisfy the following:
- For staff to understand the nature of the news / change / development and its potential impact (so staff can decide whether they need to investigate further given the nature of their own work);
- Provide directions to staff of where they can access further information on the news / change / development if they wish to (including website links where appropriate).
Required:
Newsletter that identifies and summarises changes / developments and news in the financial reporting environment for the period from 1 May 2018 to 31 July 2018.
Assignment Answer:
AASB Standard setting frameworks Finalised: 9th May 2018:
The Australian Accounting Standard Board (AASB) has done the finalization of the framework for standard setting on 9th May 2018. It needs to be mentioned that AASB has finalized this standard setting framework with the help of the process of public consultation for the for-profit making entities along with the not-for profit making entities. This framework has been majorly helpful for AASB to use the standards of IFRS for the formulation, issue and maintain the accounting standards in Australia. Moreover, this particular framework has provided AASB with the idea about the right time or taking up the project for the modification of IFRS along with the needed amendments.
New compilations for reporting periods commencing from or after 1-1-18: 17th May:
AASB has recently released new compilations that will be applicable for the accounting period starring from 1st January, 2018 and all the business entities will be mandatorily responsible for the adoption and application for AASB 15. There is a delay in the mandatory implementation of the standards of AASB 15 from 1st January 2018 to 1st January 2019. In addition, the not-for profit companies are needed to adopt the standards of AASB 111 and AASB 118 between the periods of 1st January 2018 to 1st January 2019 before this regulation becomes outdated.
Amendment in AASB 16 Leases:
The new regulation of AASB 16 has put the obligation on the business entities not to consider the classification between the finance lease and operating lease; and they are now needed to consider all the leases as the finance leases. However, the short-term leases, the leases with a period of less than 12 months and the leases with lower value assts like computers and others are subjected to exception from the regulation of AASB 16. Moreover, this regulation brings changes in the lease life cycle accounting. It puts the obligation on the auditors to recognize front loaded pattern of the lease expenditure even the presence of yearly rents.
AASB 22 Interpretation: Transactions relating to Foreign Currency and Advance Considerations:
According to this particular amendment in the regulation, at the time of the ascertainment of the spot exchange rate for the initial recognition of the assets, the business entities are needed to take into consideration the incomes as well as expenditures for the de-recognition of the non-financial assets or liability related to the advance consideration along with the date of the recognition. In this aspect, the transaction date refers to the date of the identification of the non-financial assets or liabilities developing from the advance considerations. At the time to notice multiple payments or receipts in advance, the entities must ascertain the date of transaction for each income or receipts.
References
Accounting standards . (2018). Aasb.gov.au. Retrieved 18 August 2018, from https://www.aasb.gov.au/Pronouncements/Current-standards.aspx
