Topic 405 - Disclosure of interests in other entities

IFRS 12 Disclosure of Interests in Other Entities

• 405.3.1.1

• IFRIC Agenda Decision - Disclosures for a subsidiary with a material non-controlling interest

• 405.5.1.1

• IFRIC Agenda Decision - Disclosure of summarised financial information about material joint ventures or associates

405.3.1.1

IFRIC Agenda Decision - Disclosures for a subsidiary with a material non-controlling interest

January 2015 - The Interpretations Committee received a request for clarification in respect of the requirements in paragraphs 12(e)⁠–⁠(g) of IFRS 12 Disclosure of Interests in Other Entities to disclose information about a subsidiary that has non-controlling interests that are material to the reporting entity.

The submitter asked whether the information required by paragraphs 12(e)⁠–⁠(g) should be provided:

The Interpretations Committee noted that, within the context of the disclosure objective in paragraph 10 of IFRS 12, materiality should be assessed by the reporting entity on the basis of the consolidated financial statements of the reporting entity. In this assessment, a reporting entity would consider both quantitative considerations (ie the size of the subsidiary) and qualitative considerations (ie the nature of the subsidiary).

The Interpretations Committee noted that the decision on which approach is used to present the disclosures required by paragraphs 12(e)⁠–⁠(g) should reflect the one that best meets the disclosure objective of paragraph 10 of IFRS 12 in the circumstances. According to this objective, ‘An entity shall disclose information that enables users of its consolidated financial statements to understand (i) the composition of the group; and (ii) the interest that non-controlling interests have in the group’s activities and cash flows’.

The Interpretations Committee observed that this judgement would be made separately for each subsidiary or subgroup that has a material non-controlling interest.

Disclosures required by paragraphs 12(e) and (f) of IFRS 12

The Interpretations Committee observed that a reporting entity would meet the requirements in paragraphs 12(e) and (f) by disclosing disaggregated information from the amounts included in the consolidated financial statements of the reporting entity in respect of subsidiaries that have non-controlling interests that are material to the reporting entity. The Interpretations Committee further observed that a reporting entity should apply judgement in determining the level of disaggregation of this information; that is, whether:

Disclosures required by paragraph 12(g) of IFRS 12

The Interpretations Committee observed that:

The Interpretations Committee observed that in order to meet the disclosure objective in paragraph B10(b), that information would need to be prepared on a basis that was consistent with the information included in the consolidated financial statements of the reporting entity. The Interpretations Committee understood this to mean that the information would be prepared from the perspective of the reporting entity. For example, if the subsidiary was acquired in a business combination, the amounts disclosed should reflect the effects of the acquisition accounting.

The Interpretations Committee further observed that in providing the information required by paragraph 12(g) the entity would apply judgement in determining whether:

However, the Interpretations Committee noted that the information provided in respect of paragraph 12(g) would include transactions between the subgroup/subsidiary and other members of the reporting entity’s group without elimination in order to meet the requirements in paragraph B11 of IFRS 12. The transactions within the subgroup would be eliminated.

On the basis of this analysis, the Interpretations Committee determined that, in the light of the existing IFRS requirements, sufficient guidance exists and that neither an Interpretation nor an amendment to a Standard was necessary. Consequently, the Interpretations Committee decided not to add this issue to its agenda.

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405.5.1.1

IFRIC Agenda Decision - Disclosure of summarised financial information about material joint ventures or associates

January 2015 - The Interpretations Committee received a request to clarify the requirement to disclose summary financial information on material joint ventures or associates in paragraph 21(b)(ii) of IFRS 12 Disclosure of Interests in Other Entities and its interaction with the aggregation principle in paragraphs 4 and B2⁠–⁠B6 of IFRS 12.

The submitter asserts that there are two ways in which to interpret the application of those paragraphs. Either the information required in paragraph 21(b)(ii) of IFRS 12 can be disclosed in aggregate for all material joint ventures or associates, or such information should be disclosed individually for each material joint venture or associate.

The submitter also asked the Interpretations Committee to clarify the requirements in paragraph 21(b)(ii) of IFRS 12 when the information relates to a listed joint venture or associate, and local regulatory requirements would prevent the investor from disclosing such information until the joint venture or associate has released its own financial statements. Would the investor be excused from disclosing the information?

The Interpretations Committee noted that it expected the requirement in paragraph 21(b)(ii) of IFRS 12 to lead to the disclosure of summarised information on an individual basis for each joint venture or associate that is material to the reporting entity (ie this information should not be presented in aggregate for all material joint ventures or associates). The Interpretations Committee observed that this reflects the IASB's intentions as described in paragraph BC50 of IFRS 12.

The Interpretations Committee also noted that there is no provision in IFRS 12 that permits the non-disclosure of the information required in paragraph 21(b)(ii) of IFRS 12.

The Interpretations Committee was made aware of another concern relating to the disclosures required by IFRS 12 for joint ventures or associates in paragraphs 21(b)(ii), and paragraphs B12 and B13. Some think that these paragraphs do not specify the basis on which an entity should prepare the required summarised financial information for joint ventures and associates. The question raised is whether this information should be presented for each material joint venture or associate on an individual basis, or whether this information should be disclosed for the subgroup of the joint venture or associate together with its investees.

The Interpretations Committee observed that a reporting entity should present the summarised financial information required by paragraph 21(b)(ii) about a joint venture or an associate that is material to the reporting entity based on the consolidated financial statements for the joint venture or associate, if it has subsidiaries. If it does not have subsidiaries, the presentation should be based on the financial statements of the joint venture or associate in which its own joint ventures or associates are equity-accounted. The Interpretations Committee noted that these views are consistent with paragraph B14(a), which states that ‘the amounts included in the IFRS financial statements of the joint venture or associate shall be adjusted to reflect adjustments made by the entity using the equity method, such as fair value adjustments made at the time of acquisition and adjustments for differences in accounting policies’.

The Interpretations Committee analysed the results of the outreach request performed by the staff. This outreach indicated that no significant diversity has been observed in the application of IFRS 12 related to these issues.

In the light of the existing IFRS requirements, and on the basis of the outreach results received, the Interpretations Committee determined that neither an Interpretation nor an amendment to a Standard was necessary and therefore decided not to add this issue to its agenda.

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