Get ahead of the curve with IFRS 15 & 16 compliance — Financier Worldwide (2024)

With the introduction of new International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) just over a year or two away, companies should be gearing up for changes that may cause some upheaval.

Largely principles-based, IFRS are part of an ongoing process, leave room for interpretation and require evolving adoption. To manage the massive amounts of needed data and increasingly complex models, companies that have traditionally analysed and reported in their own data silos will need to upgrade their calculation systems. Data management, finance and risk technology will need to be integrated to fulfil regulatory requirements. But how can companies facilitate this progression, remain compliant and minimise duplications and errors?

Mandated for use in over 100 countries, IFRS are a set of international accounting guidelines stating how certain types of transactions should be reported in financial statements.

The standards are issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) in order to maintain stability and transparency throughout the financial world and they specify exactly how accountants must maintain and report their accounts.

IFRS were established in order to have a common accounting language so that business and accounts can be applied and understood by different companies in different countries on a globally consistent basis. The standards were also created to provide investors and other users of financial statements with the ability to compare the financial performance of publicly listed companies, allowing them to make educated financial decisions when looking at companies they are considering investing in.

With particular regard to the EU, the standards were established so that the EU capital market and the single market can operate efficiently.

IFRS cover a wide range of accounting activities, from balance sheets to profit and loss statements, from statements of comprehensive income to statements of cash flow and statements of changes in equity. Additional complexity is created by the fact that a parent company must create separate account reports for each of its subsidiaries.

An excessive number of standards have been issued over the past three years so company reporters have requested that no major new standards be announced in the next five years. Focus is instead being given to completing outstanding standards and here follows a breakdown of the two which should be a priority given their impending application.

IFRS 15 is the ‘revenue from contracts with customers’ standard and is to be applied as of 1 January 2018, though early application is permitted. The standard states that revenue recognition will have to be derived from changes in assets and liabilities. Firstly, the respective contract with the customer and the specific performance obligations must be identified within this contract. The total transaction price for the contract must then be determined and allocated to the individual performance obligations. The revenue recognition takes place immediately after the specific performance obligations have been fulfilled and in the amount of the correspondingly allocated partial transaction price.

A sector that can potentially be greatly impacted by these changes is telecoms, given the multiple-component contracts which prevail here. For example, a new requirement under IFRS 15 specifies that the individual sale price of the smart phone and the service provision contract must be regarded separately, whereas until now, to be able to consider the smart phone itself as revenue over the entire contract term period, companies would increase instalment payments to reflect the cost of the smart phone. With IFRS 15, the price for the smart phone is recognised as revenue as soon as it is handed over to the customer. The now reduced monthly instalment payments are still recognised as revenue over the term period. And although the total transaction price remains the same, the allocation of the recognised revenue to the individual accounting period changes. This could possibly also have a significant impact on performance based payment schemes.

IFRS users from all sectors are well advised – also with a view toward the retroactive application of the new rules – to evaluate the formulation of their customer contracts as to the effects of IFRS 15 at an early juncture. At most, essential modifications to IT systems are necessary (invoicing, interface to accounting and internal control systems), as well as appropriate checks by the auditors.

IFRS 16 is the ‘leases’ standard and is to be applied as of 1 January 2019, however early application is permitted if adopted with IFRS 15. This standard applies to all leases, except those shorter than 12 months and small assets. It also brings additional disclosure requirements for both lessees and lessors.

Leasing is a key financial solution enabling companies to use property, plant and equipment without needing to incur large initial cash outflows. Existing rules generally require lessees to account for lease transactions, either as off-balance sheet operating or as on balance sheet finance leases. Under IFRS 16, lessees will have to recognise almost all leases on the balance sheet which will reflect their right to use an asset for a period of time and the associated liability to pay rentals. The lessor’s accounting model remains mostly unchanged.

IFRS 16 will have many accounting and financial implications for companies: balance sheets will grow while capital ratios and leverage ratios will become smaller. The new standard modifies both the expense character and recognition pattern, affecting almost all commonly used financial metrics such as gearing ratio, current ratio, asset turnover, interest cover, EBIT, operating profit, net income, EPS, ROCE, ROE and operating cash flows. These rules may require companies to transform their business processes, not just in finance and accounting, but also in IT, operations, tax, treasury and legal among others.

So, how can companies achieve IFRS 15 & 16 compliance without disruption? With the help of technology.

Finding and implementing a solution for IFRS that suits existing processes is going to be a challenge for any company. Data comes from disparate sources and multiple systems and this makes validation more complex. You will need a single, client-specific, end-to-end solution and a modular approach that allows you to manage inventory, modelling and data processes at entity level and that ultimately gives you integration with consolidation, disclosure, reporting and other financial processes.

Building your own solution as a stop-gap could be an option, however an automated system centred on a reporting database is the optimal choice. Reporting needs to be repeatable and auditable on a regular basis and spreadsheets require manual intervention that consumes loads of staff resource, and the evolving nature of regulation means future-proofing will always be required of the software. Are you prepared to keep up with shifting regulations using internal resources?

There are automated solutions available in the market and understanding the pros, cons and level of suitability to your business for each option takes time. Obviously it is essential to conduct a thorough analysis of the options and consider the likely ease of implementation. This analysis requires input both from the finance and IT functions.

Any such solution needs to deliver, at least: (i) reporting that requires minimal effort from the business; (ii) good integration with current IT architecture; (iii) built-in validations and data integrity checks; (iv) ease of use, auditability maintenance and results traceability; (v) consolidation functionality; (vi) flexible configuration ready to adapt to changes; and (vii) operational workflow management.

Many companies may address IFRS 15 & 16 requirements by rushing to create a manual submission first, and then automating the process later. This strategy can, however, be more expensive, more time consuming and less accurate than automating the process from the outset.

Corporates are currently analysing the impacts of these new standards and are starting to implement them.

These projects require a strong involvement from legal and IT departments as more and more data needs to be captured by the reporting. The extent of these projects – especially with regard to the expectations of the auditors – should not be underestimated. The best way to address new and expanding compliance requirements is an automated, agile and non-disruptive approach.

Nick Nesbitt is managing director at Tagetik UK. He can be contacted on +44 (0) 870 851 0540 or by email: info@tagetik.com.

© Financier Worldwide

Get ahead of the curve with IFRS 15 & 16 compliance — Financier Worldwide (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between IFRS 15 and 16? ›

IFRS 16 is the 'leases' standard and is to be applied as of 1 January 2019, however early application is permitted if adopted with IFRS 15. This standard applies to all leases, except those shorter than 12 months and small assets. It also brings additional disclosure requirements for both lessees and lessors.

Why is it difficult to compare IFRS 15 ASC606 revenue to US GAAP? ›

Why is it difficult to compare IFRS15/ASC606, Revenue, to U.S. GAAP? A) The IASB definition of revenue is very complicated, whereas the defination of revenue under U.S> GAAP is straighforward. Which of the following statements is true of the treatment of actuarial gains and losses under IFRS and U.S. GAAP?

What is the level of compliance with IFRS 16? ›

This study documented that the average compliance score with IFRS 16 MPDR was 58.72% with a maximum of 83% and minimum of 15%.

What is global IFRS fundamentals IFRS 15 revenue from contracts with customers? ›

International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) 15: Revenue from Contracts with Customers was introduced by the International Accounting Standards Board to provide one comprehensive revenue recognition model for all contracts with customers to improve comparability within industries, across industries, and across ...

What is the disadvantage of IFRS 15? ›

Disadvantages of IFRS include a lack of detail, significant adoption costs, and the perception that IFRS is a less stringent standard than what is already in place in some countries.

What is IFRS 15 for dummies? ›

IFRS 15 establishes the principles that an entity applies when reporting information about the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows from a contract with a customer.

Why most countries more prefer to adopt IFRS framework compared to US GAAP? ›

The balance sheets prepared under IFRS tends to be more useful due to its layout and the consistency, and the level of complexity compared to GAAP that tended to be more detailed.

Why is US GAAP better than IFRS? ›

Which is better IFRS or GAAP? It depends on the context. Generally speaking, IFRS is more widely used globally and is better for companies that operate in multiple countries, while GAAP is more focused on the US and is better for companies that only operate in the US.

Is GAAP or IFRS more accurate? ›

By being more principles-based, IFRS, arguably, represents and captures the economics of a transaction better than GAAP.

What is the difference between US GAAP and IFRS 16 leases? ›

Under US GAAP, a lessee remeasures the payments only when it is required to reassess the lease obligation for other purposes. IFRS, however, requires an entity to remeasure these payments every time an adjustment to the lease payments takes effect.

What is IFRS 16 in US GAAP? ›

IFRS 16 accounts for one type of lease for lessees: finance leases. Unlike ASC 842 which contains specific lease classification criteria, no specific finance lease classification rules exist for lessees under IFRS 16.

What are the new rules of IFRS 16? ›

IFRS 16 takes a totally new approach to accounting for leases, called the 'right-of-use' model. This means that if a company has control over, or right to use, an asset they are renting, it is classified as a lease for accounting purposes and, under the new rules, must be recognised on the company's balance sheet.

How does IFRS 15 affect financial statements? ›

The objective of IFRS 15 is to establish the principles that an entity shall apply to report useful information to users of financial statements about the nature, amount, timing, and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from a contract with a customer.

What are the two types of contract dealt with in IFRS 15? ›

IFRS 15: Contract Combinations Vs Contract Modifications.

How does IFRS 16 leases affect financial statements? ›

Under IAS 17, lease expenses were accounted as operating expenses. However, IFRS 16 will recognize them as the depreciation of the right-of-use assets as well as an interest expense. Therefore, under IFRS 16, deprecation will be higher, operating expenses will be lower and interest expense will be higher.

How does IFRS 16 affect financials? ›

What is the impact and effect of IFRS 16 on financial statements? The introduction of IFRS 16 / AASB 16 will lead to an increase in leased assets and financial liabilities on the balance sheet of the lessee. Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) of the lessee increases as well.

How does IFRS 15 affect banks? ›

Under IFRS 15, the bank accounts for consideration payable to a customer (such as a cashback award) as a reduction of the transaction price, and therefore of revenue, unless the payment to the customer is in exchange for a distinct good or service that the customer transfers to the bank.

What are the key highlights of IFRS 15? ›

About the standard
  • Identify the contract(s) with a customer.
  • Identify the performance obligations in the contract.
  • Determine the transaction price.
  • Allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract.
  • Recognize revenue when (or as) the entity satisfies a performance obligation.

What is the supersede of IFRS 15? ›

IFRS 15 replaces IAS 11, IAS 18, IFRIC 13, IFRIC 15, IFRIC 18 and SIC-31. IFRS 15 provides a comprehensive framework for recognising revenue from contracts with customers.

When did IFRS 15 become effective? ›

IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers was issued by the IASB on 28 May 2014 and applies to an entity's first annual IFRS financial statements for a period beginning on or after 1 January 2018.

Why is USA not adopting IFRS? ›

Declaring (and rightfully so) that their main goal is to protect US investors' interests, the SEC notes that IFRS lacks consistent application, allows too much leeway with judgment, and is underdeveloped in many specific areas, for which the US GAAP has detailed and accepted guidance and established practice ( ...

Does Walmart use GAAP or IFRS? ›

Walmart uses US GAAP while Carrefour uses IFRS to present and prepare their financial statements. Review their financial statement footnotes and disclosures.

Is US GAAP stricter than IFRS? ›

GAAP tends to be more rules-based, while IFRS tends to be more principles-based. Under GAAP, companies may have industry-specific rules and guidelines to follow, while IFRS has principles that require judgment and interpretation to determine how they are to be applied in a given situation.

Is IFRS more conservative than GAAP? ›

GAAP is more conservative, while IFRS encourages reporting financial results that align with current realities. For example, GAAP requires recording fixed assets at their historical cost, then regularly depreciating the fixed assets. IFRS allows for assets to be revalued on a periodic basis to reflect their fair value.

Why should the US switch to IFRS? ›

Switching to IFRS will help companies, investors, and the public globally compare their financial statements more easily. “By adopting IFRS, a business can present its financial statements on the same basis as its foreign competitors, making comparisons easier” (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants).

Does IFRS 16 apply to US GAAP? ›

IFRS 16 and Topic 842 became effective for IFRS Standards preparers and US GAAP public companies in 2019. Both require lessees to report most of their leases on-balance sheet, as assets and liabilities.

What are the pros and cons of IFRS? ›

International Financial Reporting Standards - Advantages & Disadvantages
  • Advantage: Greater Comparability. ...
  • Disadvantage: Not Globally Accepted. ...
  • Advantage: More Flexibility. ...
  • Disadvantage: Standards Manipulation. ...
  • Disadvantage: Increased Costs.

Which IFRS is the most complicated? ›

IFRS 9 is probably the most complicated accounting standard ever issued, written to address the accounting weaknesses claimed to have contributed to the global financial crisis and intended to be fit for purpose for the most complex banking and financial services companies.

What are the issues between GAAP and IFRS? ›

Key Takeaways
  • One major difference between GAAP and IFRS is their methodology, with GAAP being rules-based and the latter being principles-based.
  • This difference has posed a challenge in areas such as consolidation, the income statement, inventory, the earnings-per-share (EPS) calculation, and development costs.

How does IFRS 16 affect Ebitda? ›

Enterprise Values increase due to capitalisation of the present value of future lease payments2 (resulting in higher financial debt). EBITDA increases: due to the removal of operational lease expenses. Based on our research, the vast majority of EV/EBITDA multiples are expected to decrease.

How do you compare IFRS standards and US GAAP? ›

The primary difference between the two systems is that GAAP is rules-based and IFRS is principles-based. This disconnect manifests itself in specific details and interpretations. Basically, IFRS guidelines provide much less overall detail than GAAP.

How does IFRS 16 affect US companies? ›

IFRS 16 results in an increase in assets, liabilities and net debt where leases are brought on to the balance sheet, and can also affect key accounting and financial ratios impacting a company's attractiveness to investors and its ability to raise finance.

Does IFRS 16 apply to all companies? ›

IFRS 16 applies only to leases, or lease components of a contract. IFRS 16 changes significantly how a company accounts for leases that were off balance sheet applying IAS 17, other than short-term leases (leases of 12 months or less) and leases of low-value assets (such as personal computers and office furniture).

What is the difference between US GAAP and IFRS financial assets? ›

US GAAP requires that fixed assets are measured at their initial cost; their value can decrease via depreciation or impairments, but it cannot increase. IFRS allows companies to elect fair value treatment of fixed assets, meaning their reported value can increase or decrease as their fair value changes.

What are the key points of IFRS 16? ›

The key objective of IFRS 16 is to ensure that lessees recognise assets and liabilities for their major leases. A lessee applies a single lease accounting model under which it recognises all leases on-balance sheet, unless it elects to apply the recognition exemptions (see Section 2.6).

What are the benefits of IFRS 16? ›

Consider the benefits of a solution developed specifically for IFRS 16 that is likely to be relevant to all those accounting for long-term lease liabilities.
  • Accuracy. ...
  • Change Management. ...
  • Periodic Data Transfer. ...
  • Reporting. ...
  • Historical Contracts. ...
  • Solution know-how.

What are the key changes in IFRS 16 leases? ›

Under IFRS 16 lessees may elect not to recognise assets and liabilities for leases with a lease term of 12 months or less. In such cases a lessee recognises the lease payments in profit or loss on a straight-line basis over the lease term. The exemption is required to be applied by class of underlying assets.

What are the five steps of IFRS 15? ›

Identify the contract. Identify separate performance obligations. Determine the transaction price. Allocate transaction price to performance obligations.

How does IFRS 16 leases affect cash flow? ›

Are there any implications for cash flows? Changes in accounting requirements do not change amount of cash transferred between the parties to a lease. Consequently, IFRS 16 will not have any effect on the total amount of cash flows reported.

What are the negative effects of IFRS? ›

In other words, IFRS encourages managers to be creative, and to use professional judgment, which tends to decrease the comparability, transparency, relevance and reliability of financial information, and hence, have negative impact on the quality of financial reporting (Barth et al., 2006.

What costs can be capitalized under IFRS 15? ›

In order to fulfil the capitalisation criterion as required in IFRS 15:95(b), the cost incurred has to be used in satisfying the performance obligation in the future. During the process of construction, there is no resource created in order to satisfy the performance obligation in the future.

What are the 4 classifications of contracts? ›

In general, contracts are classified along four different dimensions: explicitness, mutuality, enforceability, and degree of completion.

What is an example of a performance obligation IFRS 15? ›

The resale of goods purchased by an entity (for example, a retailer selling its inventory) Performing a contractually agreed-upon task for a customer. Providing a service of standing ready to provide goods or services to a customer (such as software updates that are provided on a when-and-if-available basis)

What are the 3 principles of revenue recognition? ›

Seller has no control over goods sold. The collection of payment from goods or services is reasonably assured. Amount of revenue can be reasonably measured. Cost of revenue can be reasonably measured.

Can you recognize revenue without a signed contract? ›

To recognize revenue, you must begin by identifying the contract or contracts with the customer. Not all contracts need to be formal and signed to complete this step in the revenue recognition process. Verbal agreements and stated terms and conditions of your service or product can be considered a contract.

What is the GAAP rule for revenue recognition? ›

Generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) require that revenues are recognized according to the revenue recognition principle, a feature of accrual accounting. This means that revenue is recognized on the income statement in the period when realized and earned—not necessarily when cash is received.

How is IFRS 16 different? ›

IFRS 16 specifies how an IFRS reporter will recognise, measure, present and disclose leases. The standard provides a single lessee accounting model, requiring lessees to recognise assets and liabilities for all leases unless the lease term is 12 months or less or the underlying asset has a low value.

Why is IFRS 15 better? ›

The objective of IFRS 15 is to establish the principles that an entity shall apply to report useful information to users of financial statements about the nature, amount, timing, and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from a contract with a customer.

What does IFRS 16 change? ›

IFRS 16 takes a totally new approach to accounting for leases, called the 'right-of-use' model. This means that if a company has control over, or right to use, an asset they are renting, it is classified as a lease for accounting purposes and, under the new rules, must be recognised on the company's balance sheet.

What is the difference between GAAP and IFRS 16 lease accounting? ›

Under US GAAP, a lessee remeasures the payments only when it is required to reassess the lease obligation for other purposes. IFRS, however, requires an entity to remeasure these payments every time an adjustment to the lease payments takes effect.

What is the most significant impact of IFRS 16? ›

What is the impact and effect of IFRS 16 on financial statements? The introduction of IFRS 16 / AASB 16 will lead to an increase in leased assets and financial liabilities on the balance sheet of the lessee. Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) of the lessee increases as well.

What is IFRS 16 in the US? ›

IFRS 16 applies to leases of property, plant and equipment (PP&E), and other assets, with limited exclusions. The standard may be applied to leases of intangible assets, other than certain rights held under licensing agreements for items such as motion picture films, video recordings, copyrights, etc.

What are the major changes brought by IFRS 15? ›

The new Standard:

IFRS 15 replaces all previous revenue requirements in IFRS (mainly IAS 11 Construction Contracts, IAS 18 Revenue, and related IFRICs IFRIC/SIC) and applies to all revenue arising from contracts with customers, unless the contracts are in the scope of other standards, such as IAS 17/IFRS 16 “Leases”.

What are the major changes made on IFRS 15? ›

One of the key changes introduced by IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers is that revenue recognition is now based on the transfer of control over goods or services to a customer, rather than just the transfer of risks and rewards.

What are the challenges of IFRS 16? ›

The challenges to IFRS 16 implementation were, of course, exacerbated by the pandemic. The need for time and investment was undermined by furloughed staff, the difficulties of remote work, social distancing and/or isolation constraints.

What are the positives of IFRS 16? ›

The benefits that IFRS 16 produces are: - The quality of financial statements for companies recording off-balance sheet leasing contracts will increase. - The comparability of the financial statements will improve.

What are the advantages of IFRS 16? ›

Consider the benefits of a solution developed specifically for IFRS 16 that is likely to be relevant to all those accounting for long-term lease liabilities.
  • Accuracy. ...
  • Change Management. ...
  • Periodic Data Transfer. ...
  • Reporting. ...
  • Historical Contracts. ...
  • Solution know-how.

Do finance leases still exist under IFRS 16? ›

It was for this reason that IFRS 16 was introduced. Although the concept of operating leases and finance leases still exists from the perspective of the lessor, they do not relate to the accounting of the lessee and lessor accounting is beyond the scope of this article.

Does IFRS 16 apply to all leases? ›

IFRS 16 introduces a single lessee accounting model and requires a lessee to recognise assets and liabilities for all leases with a term of more than 12 months, unless the underlying asset is of low value.

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