28 July 2016

IFAC: IPSASB published impairment of revalued assets and new IPSAS on employee benefits

The IPSASB has published Impairment of Revalued Assets (Amendments to IPSAS 21, Impairment of Non-Cash-Generating Assets, and IPSAS 26, Impairment of Cash-Generating Assets) and IPSAS 39, Employee Benefits, which will replace IPSAS 25, Employee Benefits.

Impairment of Revalued Assets

The IPSASB has published Impairment of Revalued Assets which brings property, plant, and equipment and intangible assets on the revaluation model within the scope of IPSASB’s two standards on impairment, IPSAS 21 and IPSAS 26.

These amendments provide users with relevant information on impairment losses to property, plant, and equipment and intangible assets on the revaluation model. They also clarify that impairments to individual assets, or a group of assets within a class of property, plant, and equipment, in IPSAS 17, Property, Plant, and Equipment, do not necessitate a revaluation of the entire class to which that impaired asset or group of assets belongs.

The amendments have an effective date of January 1, 2018.

Press release

IPSAS 39, Employee Benefits

The main differences between IPSAS 39 and IPSAS 25 are:

-       Removal of an option that allowed an entity to defer the recognition of changes in the net defined benefit liability (the “corridor approach”);

-       Introduction of the net interest approach for defined benefit plans;

-       Amendment of certain disclosure requirements for defined benefit plans and multi-employer plans;

-       Simplification of the requirements for contributions from employees or third parties to a defined benefit plan when those contributions are applied to a simple contributory plan that is linked to service; and

-       Removal of the requirements for Composite Social Security Programs.

The first four changes above reflect those made by the International Accounting Standards Board to its equivalent standard, International Accounting Standard (IAS) 19, Employee Benefits, up to December 2015. The fifth change, removal of the Composite Social Security Programs section, reflects the IPSASB’s conclusion that the section was unnecessary in practice.

ED 59, Amendments to IPSAS 25, Employee Benefits, proposed significant changes to IPSAS 25 to converge with IAS 19. After considering constituents’ responses and a revised version of IPSAS 25, the IPSASB decided to issue a new standard, IPSAS 39, which reflects the revisions proposed in ED 59 in a more user-friendly format.

“IPSAS 39, Employee Benefits, ensures that financial statements provide faithfully representative and relevant information about the financial impact of employee benefits, particularly defined benefit pension plans, while maintaining convergence with IFRS,” said IPSASB Chair Ian Carruthers. “The issuance of a new standard is intended to present the new accounting requirements more clearly.”

IPSAS 39 will replace IPSAS 25, Employee Benefits,on January 1, 2018, with earlier adoption encouraged.

Press release

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