The Australian financial reporting environment is one of the most complex in the world.
Whether you’re a small, medium or large enterprise, with or without foreign investment, or family- or private equity-owned, there can be a number of legally-mandated reporting requirements to navigate.
Further complexities arise when companies are required to dual report: meeting both the Australian accounting standards for Australian reporting, as well as foreign accounting standards in group reporting.
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Our team has a single overarching purpose: to simplify high quality and current financial reporting for our clients. We can help you understand changes in accounting standards, develop change strategies and clearly communicate your plans to your stakeholders.
In Focus & On Topic
Interpretation 23
Effective for financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2019, Interpretation 23 Uncertainty Over Income Tax Treatments requires that companies consider the potential for adverse tax determinations being made by taxing authorities while under a hypothetical audit. This involves a process of:
- Identifying tax treatments for which the outcome is uncertain;
- Estimating the probability of an adverse finding as it relates to that tax treatment; and
- Estimating the value of the liability associated with that treatment.
Many entities will not experience a significant impact on financial reporting as a result of the interpretation becoming effective, however certain entities, based on their structures and nature of operations may be more adversely impacted. Some examples of characteristics of such entities are those that:
- Enter into related party transactions (especially internationally); or
- Enter into more aggressive tax positions.
Effective for financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2019, Interpretation 23 Uncertainty Over Income Tax Treatments requires that companies consider the potential for adverse tax determinations being made by taxing authorities while under a hypothetical audit. Many entities will not experience a significant impact on financial reporting as a result of the interpretation becoming effective, however certain entities, based on their structures and nature of operations may be more adversely impacted.
A key element of the Commonwealth’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been the subsidisation of wages of employees for entities experiencing the most severe financial impacts, known as “JobKeeper”. A lesser known element is the business-focused “Cash Boost” regime, whereby eligible entities receive cash flow assistance through the BAS system. In these guides, we explain how the accounting standards apply and specific decisions and judgements that preparers of financial statements will be required to make in the process of presenting their results.
Whether arising from COVID-19 or from other causes, lease modifications introduce complexity into accounting from both a lessee and lessor perspective. This guide addresses lease modification accounting from both perspectives and incorporates the recently released AASB 2020-4 COVID-19-related Rent Concessions, including practical examples and a discussion of the various decisions and judgements that need to be made.
Debt restructuring is an area that most entities do not encounter on a regular basis – or may be a topic not encountered after the adoption of AASB 9 Financial Instruments and Loan Restructuring. This guide, and its included examples, seeks to demystify some of the accounting around this highly technical area.
After adopting AASB 16 Leases for the first time, entities must now undertake impairment analyses in a new environment – historic practice no longer complies with accounting standards. Entities also face specific challenges in preparing impairment analyses in the context of COVID-19 and the resulting significant increases in forecasting uncertainty. These documents explain in practical terms, with examples, how to adapt your existing forecast process to the current reporting environment.
Grant Thornton prepares and provides IFRS-compliant model financial statements that meet the Tier-1 requirements of the Australian Accounting Standards, as issued by the Australian Accounting Standards Board, when applied in the context of the Grant Thornton Australia’s Australian-Specific Disclosures Companion.