Summary of IFRS 5
Summary of IFRS 5
Summary of IFRS 5
Background
IFRS 5 achieves substantial convergence with the requirements of US SFAS
144 Accounting for the Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets with respect to
the timing of the classification of operations as discontinued operations and the
presentation of such operations. With respect to long-lived assets that are not being
disposed of, the impairment recognition and measurement standards in SFAS 144 are
significantly different from those in IAS 36 Impairment of Assets. However those
differences were not addressed in the short-term IASB-FASB convergence project.
Key provisions of IFRS 5 relating to assets held for sale
Held-for-sale classification
In general, the following conditions must be met for an asset (or 'disposal group') to be
classified as held for sale: [IFRS 5.6-8]
management is committed to a plan to sell
the asset is being actively marketed for sale at a sales price reasonable in
relation to its fair value
actions required to complete the plan indicate that it is unlikely that plan
will be significantly changed or withdrawn
The assets need to be disposed of through sale. Therefore, operations that are
expected to be wound down or abandoned would not meet the definition (but may be
classified as discontinued once abandoned). [IFRS 5.13]
An entity that is committed to a sale involving loss of control of a subsidiary that
qualifies for held-for-sale classification under IFRS 5 classifies all of the assets and
liabilities of that subsidiary as held for sale, even if the entity will retain a noncontrolling interest in its former subsidiary after the sale. [IFRS 5.8A]
Held for distribution to owners classification
The classification, presentation and measurement requirements of IFRS 5 also apply
to a non-current asset (or disposal group) that is classified as held for distribution to
owners. [IFRS 5.5A and IFRIC 17] The entity must be committed to the distribution,
the assets must be available for immediate distribution and the distribution must be
highly probable. [IFRS 5.12A]
Disposal group concept
A 'disposal group' is a group of assets, possibly with some associated liabilities, which
an entity intends to dispose of in a single transaction. The measurement basis
required for non-current assets classified as held for sale is applied to the group as a
whole, and any resulting impairment loss reduces the carrying amount of the noncurrent assets in the disposal group in the order of allocation required by IAS 36.
[IFRS 5.4]
Measurement
The following principles apply:
At the time of classification as held for sale. Immediately before the initial
classification of the asset as held for sale, the carrying amount of the asset will be
measured in accordance with applicable IFRSs. Resulting adjustments are also
recognised in accordance with applicable IFRSs. [IFRS 5.18]
Assets carried at fair value prior to initial classification. For such assets,
the requirement to deduct costs to sell from fair value may result in an immediate
charge to profit or loss.