The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has published the Exposure Draft Business Combinations—Disclosures, Goodwill and Impairment. The proposals intend to enhance the way companies report on their acquisitions (referred to as ‘business combinations’).
Business Combinations—Disclosures, Goodwill and Impairment
About this consultation
Acquisitions are often significant transactions. The Exposure Draft aims to address investors’ calls for better information in the financial statements about acquisitions – as well as concerns about the effectiveness and complexity of the impairment requirements for goodwill arising from acquisitions.
The IASB proposes to amend IFRS 3 Business Combinations and IAS 36 Impairment of Assets. The Exposure Draft includes proposals in the following key areas:
1. Enhanced qualitative and quantitative disclosure requirements for strategic acquisitions (IFRS 3):
- Amendments to disclosure requirements for material acquisitions during the period, g. new requirement to quantify the expected synergies from material acquisitions – as well as additional disclosures on objectives and performance for acquisitions that are also considered strategic.
- These proposals aim to give investors a more comprehensive understanding of the rationale behind acquisitions, the expected synergies, and their subsequent performance, using the same information management uses to assess and monitor acquisitions.
2. Targeted amendments to the goodwill impairment requirements (IAS 36 ):
- Aim to improve the timely recognition of impairment losses on goodwill of poorly performing acquisitions, by providing further clarity on the allocation of goodwill to cash-generating-units (CGU), and by requiring further disclosure of which reportable segment a CGU that contains goodwill is included in.
- Reduce the complexity of impairment testing by removing the restriction on including cashflows from uncommitted future restructures or asset enhancements, and by removing the requirement to calculate value in use on a pre-tax basis.
Accessing the Exposure Draft
Read the full Exposure Draft here.
We also encourage you to view the IASB’s introductory video and Basis for Conclusions accompanying the Exposure Draft.
You may also want to read the IASB’s snapshot summary of the Exposure Draft proposals.
How to provide feedback
Please send us your comments — both formal and informal– by using the form below or emailing us at accounting@xrb.govt.nz
Comments must be submitted by 14 June 2024.
Comments can also be made directly to the IASB by 15 July 2024, by clicking here.
If submitting directly, please send a copy of your submission to accounting@xrb.govt.nz
We intend on publishing all comments on the XRB website, unless they may be defamatory. If you have any objection to this, we will not publish them. However, they will remain subject to the Official Information Act 1982 and, therefore, may be released in part or in full. The Privacy Act 2020 also applies.