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How IFRS 19 can help to reduce disclosures in the financial statements

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IFRS 19 allows for reduced disclosures without changing the fundamental reporting requirements of IFRS accounting standards.

In brief

  • The release of IFRS 19 gives eligible companies the opportunity to simplify their reporting processes and reduce the cost of preparing financial statements.
  • A subsidiary electing to apply IFRS 19 can align its accounting policies with the parent company for group reporting purposes and reduce its disclosure burden.
  • A subsidiary’s use of the parent’s recognition and measurement would remove the need for dual accounting records, one for local GAAP and one for IFRS purposes.    

In May 2024 the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) issued its latest International Financial Reporting Standards accounting standard – IFRS 19 Subsidiaries without Public Accountability: Disclosures. 

What is IFRS 19 all about

IFRS 19 aims to alleviate the cost of preparing financial statements for eligible entities, while maintaining the usefulness of their financial statements for users. IFRS 19 does not replace any previous accounting standards, but rather works alongside the existing IFRS accounting standards.

The application of the standard is optional for eligible companies and the standard is effective from 1 January 2027 (when endorsed in the relevant jurisdiction). 

Why is IFRS 19 needed

The IASB developed the standard in response to stakeholders advocating for some subsidiaries being permitted to apply IFRS accounting standards with reduced disclosure requirements.

 

On one hand, subsidiaries that apply local financial reporting frameworks or IFRS for SMEs (which also allows for reduced disclosures) for statutory reporting purposes face different recognition and measurement requirements for the amounts reported to their parents that apply IFRS for group reporting purposes. On the other hand, companies that elect to apply IFRS for statutory reporting purposes often find that the disclosure requirements are disproportionate to the information needs of users of their statutory financial statements. Companies found that providing extensive disclosures increases the cost and effort needed to prepare the subsidiary’s statutory financial statements. 



IFRS 19 provides a simplified financial reporting framework that allows eligible entities to apply IFRS accounting standards with a reduced disclosure burden.



Who can apply the standard

The following conditions must be met at the end of the reporting period before a company can elect to apply IFRS 19:

  • It is a subsidiary (including an intermediate parent) as defined in IFRS 10 Consolidated Financial Statements.
  • It does not have public accountability.
  • It has a parent (either ultimate or intermediate) that prepares consolidated financial statements, available for public use, which comply with IFRS.

An eligible company can apply IFRS 19 in its consolidated, separate or individual financial statements. IFRS 19 is applicable for both annual and interim reporting.

How does IFRS 19 work

An eligible company that opts to apply IFRS 19 needs to apply the requirements in other IFRS accounting standards for recognition, measurement and presentation, but not for disclosure purposes. Instead, it applies the reduced disclosure requirements in IFRS 19. The IFRS 19 disclosures are a reduced version of the disclosures set out in other IFRS accounting standards.

For example, an eligible subsidiary that holds items of inventory applies IAS 2 Inventories to their recognition, measurement and presentation. However, it does not apply disclosure requirements from IAS 2, but instead applies the reduced disclosure requirements in IFRS 19 that are listed under the subheading, ‘IAS 2 Inventories’.

IFRS 19 does not include disclosure requirements applicable to companies' reporting segments or earnings per share and insurance contracts. Therefore, an entity applying IFRS 19 involved in any of these three topics, will have to apply IFRS 8 Operating Segments, IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts and IAS 33 Earnings per Share, respectively, for disclosure purposes. The application of IFRS 19 is voluntary for companies that meet the eligibility criteria. An entity can revoke its election to apply IFRS 19 at any time and reapply it in a later period.

How do eligible subsidiaries, and the group, benefit from applying IFRS 19

IFRS 19’s impact on the disclosures will differ across companies depending on the specific facts and circumstances. However, the IASB believes that the benefit could be significant; indeed, an analysis of a sample of financial statements found that the reduction in the volume of disclosures from applying IFRS 19 could reach, for example, 68% for IFRS 12 Disclosure of Interests in Other Entities and 64% for IAS 16 Property, Plant and Equipment.

The application of IFRS 19 could bring cost savings to both the company and the group as a result of three factors:

  • Elimination of dual accounting records

Since subsidiaries applying IFRS 19 will use the same recognition and measurement requirements as the parent that are included in other IFRS accounting standards, this could eliminate the need for keeping dual accounting records - one, for instance, local GAAP or IFRS for SMEs, for statutory reporting purposes and another, IFRS accounting standards, for group reporting purposes. In addition to freeing up resources for other activities, the application of IFRS 19 could also remove the need for companies to maintain a knowledge of both IFRS and local GAAP requirements.

  • More efficient preparation process

The time, cost and effort to prepare the reduced disclosures required by IFRS 19 in the subsidiary’s financial statements will decrease. This, together with the alignment in presentation requirements of the subsidiary and the group that is enabled by IFRS 19, could reduce the need for multiple, or more complex, financial reporting IT systems.

  • Reduced auditing costs

The election to apply IFRS 19 eliminates the need for keeping a second set of accounting records for group reporting purposes, and as a result, any auditing costs incurred may also be reduced.



The adoption of IFRS 19 presents an opportunity for eligible companies to prepare their financial statements more efficiently, but without compromising their usefulness.



What are the transition costs

The transition costs will differ for each company. Eligible subsidiaries that currently apply a local financial reporting framework, or the IFRS for SMEs accounting standard, are likely to incur costs related to transitioning to IFRS accounting standards. Subsidiaries that already apply IFRS accounting standards will be required to identify redundant disclosure requirements and analyse the differences between their previous disclosures and those required under IFRS 19 (if any), which will involve time, cost and effort. 



The IASB believes that the expected total savings from the subsequent application of IFRS 19 will outweigh the transition costs.



Next steps

Overall, the IASB expects that the application of IFRS 19 will bring a number of benefits to the eligible subsidiaries and the groups they are part of. By simplifying the reporting for subsidiaries by permitting reduced disclosures and maintaining the measurement and recognition principles applied by the parent in its consolidated financial statements, IFRS 19 has addressed the challenge of preparing financial statements for subsidiaries. However, as mentioned, the costs and benefits will be specific to the facts and circumstances of each eligible subsidiary. Companies should be mindful that the initial application of IFRS 19 may involve interpretative issues. Also, as the standard is subject to local endorsement in many jurisdictions, the extent of its application remains to be seen, including in jurisdictions where local versions of “simplified IFRS” accounting standards have already been introduced.

Summary

IFRS 19 enables eligible subsidiaries to apply the same recognition and measurement requirements in IFRS accounting standards as their parent company. Importantly, it removes the requirement for disclosures that are not aimed at users of financial statements of companies without public accountability. This will lead to the elimination of dual accounting records. As a result, it is expected to reduce the time, effort and costs for eligible companies.

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