5 Ambush, a public limited company, is assessing the impact of implementing the revised IA

Question

5 Ambush, a public limited company, is assessing the impact of implementing the revised IAS39 ‘Financial Instruments:

Recognition and Measurement’. The directors realise that significant changes may occur in their accounting treatment

of financial instruments and they understand that on initial recognition any financial asset or liability can be

designated as one to be measured at fair value through profit or loss (the fair value option). However, there are certain

issues that they wish to have explained and these are set out below.

Required:

(a) Outline in a report to the directors of Ambush the following information:

(i) how financial assets and liabilities are measured and classified, briefly setting out the accounting

method used for each category. (Hedging relationships can be ignored.) (10 marks)

Answer 1

正确答案：

5 Report to the Directors of Ambush, a public limited company
(a) The following report sets out the principal aspects of IAS 39 in the designated areas.
(i) Classification of financial instruments and their measurement
Financial assets and liabilities are initially measured at fair value which will normally be the fair value of the
consideration given or received. Transaction costs are included in the initial carrying value of the instrument unless it
is carried at ‘fair value through profit or loss’ when these costs are recognised in the income statement.
Financial assets should be classified into four categories:
(i) financial assets at fair value through profit or loss
(ii) loans and receivables
(iii) held-to-maturity investments (HTM)
(iv) available-for-sale financial assets (AFS).
The first category above has two sub categories which are ‘held for trading’ and those designated to this category at
inception/initial recognition. This latter designation is irrevocable.
Financial liabilities have two categories: those at fair value through profit or loss, and ‘other’ liabilities. As with financial
assets those liabilities designated as at fair value through profit or loss have two sub categories which are the same as
those for financial assets.
Reclassifications between categories are uncommon and restricted under IAS 39 and are prohibited into and out of the
fair value through profit or loss category. Reclassifications between AFS and HTM are possible but it is not possible from
loans and receivables to AFS. The held to maturity category is limited in its application as if the company sells or
reclassifies more than an immaterial amount of the portfolio, it is barred from using the category for at least two years.
Also all remaining HTM investments would be reclassified to AFS.
Subsequent measurement of financial assets and liabilities depends on the classification. The following tablesummarises the position:

Amortised cost is the cost of an asset or liability adjusted to achieve a constant effective interest rate over the life of the
asset or liability.
It is not possible to compute amortised cost for instruments that do not have fixed or determinable payments, such as
for equity instruments, and such instruments therefore cannot be classified into these categories.
A company must apply the effective interest rate method in the measurement of amortised cost. The effective interest
rate method determines how much interest income or interest expense should be reported in profit and loss.
For financial assets at fair value through profit or loss and financial liabilities at fair value through profit or loss, all
changes in fair value are recognised in profit or loss when they occur. This includes unrealised holding gains and losses.
For available-for-sale financial assets, unrealised holding gains and losses are deferred in reserves until they are realised
or impairment occurs. Only interest income and dividend income, impairment losses, and certain foreign currency gains
and losses are recognised in profit or loss.
Investments in unquoted equity instruments that cannot be reliably measured at fair value are subsequently measureat cost. Unrealised holding gains/losses are not normally recognised in profit/loss.