At present, entities lodging financial statements with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) are required, as a minimum where general purpose financial statements are not prepared, to comply with all the requirements (recognition, measurement and disclosures) in the following Australian Accounting Standards:
However, despite ASIC’s Regulatory Guide 85 Reporting requirements for non-reporting entities, there has historically been diversity in practice regarding the extent of compliance with the recognition and measurement requirements of all the other (i.e. remaining) standards for these types of entities.
This decision was made at the AASB’s April 2019 meeting, and it was outlined in its Action Alert.
Both for-profit and not-for-profit (NFP) entities that prepare special purpose financial statements and fall within the scope of AASB 1054 Australian Additional Disclosures (for example, entities lodging with ASIC or the ACNC) will need to disclose:
No. The AASB has indicated that this Exposure Draft will NOT require entities to change their accounting policies. However, they will need to clearly state whether or not their accounting policies comply with all the recognition and measurement requirements.
An Exposure Draft is expected to be issued by the AASB in June 2019 with a comment period of 45 days, with the intention of issuing a final standard before December 2019. However, the AASB notes that given clear stakeholder expectations of trust and transparency from directors, early voluntary disclosure for 30 June 2019 financial statements is encouraged.