Application of the equity method (AASB128_08-15_ACOMPdec21_01-22)

An entity with joint control of, or significant influence over, an investee shall account for its investment in an associate or a joint venture using the equity method except when that investment qualifies for exemption in accordance with paragraphs 17–19.

An entity need not apply the equity method to its investment in an associate or a joint venture if the entity is a parent that is exempt from preparing consolidated financial statements by the scope exception in paragraphs 4(a), Aus4.1 and Aus4.2 of AASB 10 or if all the following apply:

(a) The entity is a wholly-owned subsidiary, or is a partially-owned subsidiary of another entity and its other owners, including those not otherwise entitled to vote, have been informed about, and do not object to, the entity not applying the equity method.

(b) The entity’s debt or equity instruments are not traded in a public market (a domestic or foreign stock exchange or an over-the-counter market, including local and regional markets).

(c) The entity did not file, nor is it in the process of filing, its financial statements with a securities commission or other regulatory organisation, for the purpose of issuing any class of instruments in a public market.

(d) The ultimate or any intermediate parent of the entity produces financial statements available for public use that comply with International Financial Reporting Standards, in which subsidiaries are consolidated or are measured at fair value through profit or loss in accordance with AASB 10.

Notwithstanding paragraph 17(d), an entity that meets the criteria in paragraphs 17(a), 17(b) and 17(c) need not apply the equity method in accounting for an interest in an associate or joint venture if its ultimate or any intermediate parent produces financial statements that are available for public use in which subsidiaries are consolidated or are measured at fair value through profit or loss in accordance with AASB 10 and:

(a) the investor or the joint venturer and its ultimate or intermediate parent are:

(i) both not-for-profit entities complying with Australian Accounting Standards; or

(ii) both entities complying with Australian Accounting Standards – Simplified Disclosures; or

(b) the investor or the joint venturer is an entity complying with Australian Accounting Standards – Simplified Disclosures and its ultimate or intermediate parent is a not-for-profit entity complying with Australian Accounting Standards.

Notwithstanding paragraphs 17 and Aus17.1, the ultimate Australian entity shall apply the equity method in accounting for interests in associates and joint ventures in accordance with this Standard when either the entity or the group is a reporting entity, or both the entity and the group are reporting entities, except if the ultimate Australian parent is required, in accordance with paragraph 31 of AASB 10, to measure all of its subsidiaries at fair value through profit or loss.

When an investment in an associate or a joint venture is held by, or is held indirectly through, an entity that is a venture capital organisation, or a mutual fund, unit trust and similar entities including investment-linked insurance funds, the entity may elect to measure that investment at fair value through profit or loss in accordance with AASB 9. An entity shall make this election separately for each associate or joint venture, at initial recognition of the associate or joint venture.

When an entity has an investment in an associate, a portion of which is held indirectly through a venture capital organisation, or a mutual fund, unit trust and similar entities including investment-linked insurance funds, the entity may elect to measure that portion of the investment in the associate at fair value through profit or loss in accordance with AASB 9 regardless of whether the venture capital organisation, or the mutual fund, unit trust and similar entities including investment-linked insurance funds, has significant influence over that portion of the investment. If the entity makes that election, the entity shall apply the equity method to any remaining portion of its investment in an associate that is not held through a venture capital organisation, or a mutual fund, unit trust and similar entities including investment-linked insurance funds.

An entity shall apply AASB 5 to an investment, or a portion of an investment, in an associate or a joint venture that meets the criteria to be classified as held for sale. Any retained portion of an investment in an associate or a joint venture that has not been classified as held for sale shall be accounted for using the equity method until disposal of the portion that is classified as held for sale takes place. After the disposal takes place, an entity shall account for any retained interest in the associate or joint venture in accordance with AASB 9 unless the retained interest continues to be an associate or a joint venture, in which case the entity uses the equity method.

When an investment, or a portion of an investment, in an associate or a joint venture previously classified as held for sale no longer meets the criteria to be so classified, it shall be accounted for using the equity method retrospectively as from the date of its classification as held for sale. Financial statements for the periods since classification as held for sale shall be amended accordingly.

An entity shall discontinue the use of the equity method from the date when its investment ceases to be an associate or a joint venture as follows:

(a) If the investment becomes a subsidiary, the entity shall account for its investment in accordance with AASB 3 Business Combinations and AASB 10.

(b) If the retained interest in the former associate or joint venture is a financial asset, the entity shall measure the retained interest at fair value. The fair value of the retained interest shall be regarded as its fair value on initial recognition as a financial asset in accordance with AASB 9. The entity shall recognise in profit or loss any difference between:

(i) the fair value of any retained interest and any proceeds from disposing of a part interest in the associate or joint venture; and

(ii) the carrying amount of the investment at the date the equity method was discontinued.

(c) When an entity discontinues the use of the equity method, the entity shall account for all amounts previously recognised in other comprehensive income in relation to that investment on the same basis as would have been required if the investee had directly disposed of the related assets or liabilities.

Therefore, if a gain or loss previously recognised in other comprehensive income by the investee would be reclassified to profit or loss on the disposal of the related assets or liabilities, the entity reclassifies the gain or loss from equity to profit or loss (as a reclassification adjustment) when the equity method is discontinued. For example, if an associate or a joint venture has cumulative exchange differences relating to a foreign operation and the entity discontinues the use of the equity method, the entity shall reclassify to profit or loss the gain or loss that had previously been recognised in other comprehensive income in relation to the foreign operation.

If an investment in an associate becomes an investment in a joint venture or an investment in a joint venture becomes an investment in an associate, the entity continues to apply the equity method and does not remeasure the retained interest.

If an entity’s ownership interest in an associate or a joint venture is reduced, but the investment continues to be classified either as an associate or a joint venture respectively, the entity shall reclassify to profit or loss the proportion of the gain or loss that had previously been recognised in other comprehensive income relating to that reduction in ownership interest if that gain or loss would be required to be reclassified to profit or loss on the disposal of the related assets or liabilities.

Many of the procedures that are appropriate for the application of the equity method are similar to the consolidation procedures described in AASB 10. Furthermore, the concepts underlying the procedures used in accounting for the acquisition of a subsidiary are also adopted in accounting for the acquisition of an investment in an associate or a joint venture.

A group’s share in an associate or a joint venture is the aggregate of the holdings in that associate or joint venture by the parent and its subsidiaries. The holdings of the group’s other associates or joint ventures are ignored for this purpose. When an associate or a joint venture has subsidiaries, associates or joint ventures, the profit or loss, other comprehensive income and net assets taken into account in applying the equity method are those recognised in the associate’s or joint venture’s financial statements (including the associate’s or joint venture’s share of the profit or loss, other comprehensive income and net assets of its associates and joint ventures), after any adjustments necessary to give effect to uniform accounting policies (see paragraphs 35–36A).

Gains and losses resulting from ‘upstream’ and ‘downstream’ transactions between an entity (including its consolidated subsidiaries) and its associate or joint venture are recognised in the entity’s financial statements only to the extent of unrelated investors’ interests in the associate or joint venture. ‘Upstream’ transactions are, for example, sales of assets from an associate or a joint venture to the investor. ‘Downstream’ transactions are, for example, sales or contributions of assets from the investor to its associate or its joint venture. The investor’s share in the associate’s or joint venture’s gains or losses resulting from these transactions is eliminated.

When downstream transactions provide evidence of a reduction in the net realisable value of the assets to be sold or contributed, or of an impairment loss of those assets, those losses shall be recognised in full by the investor. When upstream transactions provide evidence of a reduction in the net realisable value of the assets to be purchased or of an impairment loss of those assets, the investor shall recognise its share in those losses.

The contribution of a non-monetary asset to an associate or a joint venture in exchange for an equity interest in the associate or joint venture shall be accounted for in accordance with paragraph 28, except when the contribution lacks commercial substance, as that term is described in AASB 116 Property, Plant and Equipment. If such a contribution lacks commercial substance, the gain or loss is regarded as unrealised and is not recognised unless paragraph 31 also applies. Such unrealised gains and losses shall be eliminated against the investment accounted for using the equity method and shall not be presented as deferred gains or losses in the entity’s consolidated statement of financial position or in the entity’s statement of financial position in which investments are accounted for using the equity method.

If, in addition to receiving an equity interest in an associate or a joint venture, an entity receives monetary or non-monetary assets, the entity recognises in full in profit or loss the portion of the gain or loss on the non-monetary contribution relating to the monetary or non-monetary assets received.

An investment is accounted for using the equity method from the date on which it becomes an associate or a joint venture. On acquisition of the investment, any difference between the cost of the investment and the entity’s share of the net fair value of the investee’s identifiable assets and liabilities is accounted for as follows:

(a) Goodwill relating to an associate or a joint venture is included in the carrying amount of the investment. Amortisation of that goodwill is not permitted.

(b) Any excess of the entity’s share of the net fair value of the investee’s identifiable assets and liabilities over the cost of the investment is included as income in the determination of the entity’s share of the associate or joint venture’s profit or loss in the period in which the investment is acquired.

Appropriate adjustments to the entity’s share of the associate’s or joint venture’s profit or loss after acquisition are made in order to account, for example, for depreciation of the depreciable assets based on their fair values at the acquisition date. Similarly, appropriate adjustments to the entity’s share of the associate’s or joint venture’s profit or loss after acquisition are made for impairment losses such as for goodwill or property, plant and equipment.

The most recent available financial statements of the associate or joint venture are used by the entity in applying the equity method. When the end of the reporting period of the entity is different from that of the associate or joint venture, the associate or joint venture prepares, for the use of the entity, financial statements as of the same date as the financial statements of the entity unless it is impracticable to do so.

When, in accordance with paragraph 33, the financial statements of an associate or a joint venture used in applying the equity method are prepared as of a date different from that used by the entity, adjustments shall be made for the effects of significant transactions or events that occur between that date and the date of the entity’s financial statements. In any case, the difference between the end of the reporting period of the associate or joint venture and that of the entity shall be no more than three months. The length of the reporting periods and any difference between the ends of the reporting periods shall be the same from period to period.

The entity’s financial statements shall be prepared using uniform accounting policies for like transactions and events in similar circumstances.

Except as described in paragraph 36A, if an associate or a joint venture uses accounting policies other than those of the entity for like transactions and events in similar circumstances, adjustments shall be made to make the associate’s or joint venture’s accounting policies conform to those of the entity when the associate’s or joint venture’s financial statements are used by the entity in applying the equity method.

Notwithstanding the requirement in paragraph 36, if an entity that is not itself an investment entity has an interest in an associate or joint venture that is an investment entity, the entity may, when applying the equity method, elect to retain the fair value measurement applied by that investment entity associate or joint venture to the investment entity associate’s or joint venture’s interests in subsidiaries. This election is made separately for each investment entity associate or joint venture, at the later of the date on which (a) the investment entity associate or joint venture is initially recognised; (b) the associate or joint venture becomes an investment entity; and (c) the investment entity associate or joint venture first becomes a parent.

If an associate or a joint venture has outstanding cumulative preference shares that are held by parties other than the entity and are classified as equity, the entity computes its share of profit or loss after adjusting for the dividends on such shares, whether or not the dividends have been declared.

If an entity’s share of losses of an associate or a joint venture equals or exceeds its interest in the associate or joint venture, the entity discontinues recognising its share of further losses. The interest in an associate or a joint venture is the carrying amount of the investment in the associate or joint venture determined using the equity method together with any long-term interests that, in substance, form part of the entity’s net investment in the associate or joint venture. For example, an item for which settlement is neither planned nor likely to occur in the foreseeable future is, in substance, an extension of the entity’s investment in that associate or joint venture. Such items may include preference shares and long-term receivables or loans, but do not include trade receivables, trade payables or any long-term receivables for which adequate collateral exists, such as secured loans. Losses recognised using the equity method in excess of the entity’s investment in ordinary shares are applied to the other components of the entity’s interest in an associate or a joint venture in the reverse order of their seniority (ie priority in liquidation).

After the entity’s interest is reduced to zero, additional losses are provided for, and a liability is recognised, only to the extent that the entity has incurred legal or constructive obligations or made payments on behalf of the associate or joint venture. If the associate or joint venture subsequently reports profits, the entity resumes recognising its share of those profits only after its share of the profits equals the share of losses not recognised.

After application of the equity method, including recognising the associate’s or joint venture’s losses in accordance with paragraph 38, the entity applies paragraphs 41A–41C to determine whether there is any objective evidence that its net investment in the associate or joint venture is impaired.

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The net investment in an associate or joint venture is impaired and impairment losses are incurred if, and only if, there is objective evidence of impairment as a result of one or more events that occurred after the initial recognition of the net investment (a ‘loss event’) and that loss event (or events) has an impact on the estimated future cash flows from the net investment that can be reliably estimated. It may not be possible to identify a single, discrete event that caused the impairment. Rather the combined effect of several events may have caused the impairment. Losses expected as a result of future events, no matter how likely, are not recognised. Objective evidence that the net investment is impaired includes observable data that comes to the attention of the entity about the following loss events:

(a) significant financial difficulty of the associate or joint venture;

(b) a breach of contract, such as a default or delinquency in payments by the associate or joint venture;

(c) the entity, for economic or legal reasons relating to its associate’s or joint venture’s financial difficulty, granting to the associate or joint venture a concession that the entity would not otherwise consider;

(d) it becoming probable that the associate or joint venture will enter bankruptcy or other financial reorganisation; or

(e) the disappearance of an active market for the net investment because of financial difficulties of the associate or joint venture.

The disappearance of an active market because the associate’s or joint venture’s equity or financial instruments are no longer publicly traded is not evidence of impairment. A downgrade of an associate’s or joint venture’s credit rating or a decline in the fair value of the associate or joint venture, is not of itself, evidence of impairment, although it may be evidence of impairment when considered with other available information.

In addition to the types of events in paragraph 41A, objective evidence of impairment for the net investment in the equity instruments of the associate or joint venture includes information about significant changes with an adverse effect that have taken place in the technological, market, economic or legal environment in which the associate or joint venture operates, and indicates that the cost of the investment in the equity instrument may not be recovered. A significant or prolonged decline in the fair value of an investment in an equity instrument below its cost is also objective evidence of impairment.

Because goodwill that forms part of the carrying amount of the net investment in an associate or a joint venture is not separately recognised, it is not tested for impairment separately by applying the requirements for impairment testing goodwill in AASB 136 Impairment of Assets. Instead, the entire carrying amount of the investment is tested for impairment in accordance with AASB 136 as a single asset, by comparing its recoverable amount (higher of value in use and fair value less costs of disposal) with its carrying amount whenever application of paragraphs 41A–41C indicates that the net investment may be impaired. An impairment loss recognised in those circumstances is not allocated to any asset, including goodwill, that forms part of the carrying amount of the net investment in the associate or joint venture. Accordingly, any reversal of that impairment loss is recognised in accordance with AASB 136 to the extent that the recoverable amount of the net investment subsequently increases. In determining the value in use of the net investment, an entity estimates:

(a) its share of the present value of the estimated future cash flows expected to be generated by the associate or joint venture, including the cash flows from the operations of the associate or joint venture and the proceeds from the ultimate disposal of the investment; or

(b) the present value of the estimated future cash flows expected to arise from dividends to be received from the investment and from its ultimate disposal.

Using appropriate assumptions, both methods give the same result.

The recoverable amount of an investment in an associate or a joint venture shall be assessed for each associate or joint venture, unless the associate or joint venture does not generate cash inflows from continuing use that are largely independent of those from other assets of the entity.