Recognition, measurement, impairment and derecognition (AASB14_06-14_COMPmay19_01-20)

An entity that has rate-regulated activities and that is within the scope of, and elects to apply, this Standard shall apply paragraphs 10 and 12 of AASB 108 when developing its accounting policies for the recognition, measurement, impairment and derecognition of regulatory deferral account balances.

Paragraphs 11–12 of AASB 108 specify sources of requirements and guidance that management is required or permitted to consider in developing an accounting policy for an item, if no relevant Standard applies specifically to that item. This Standard exempts an entity from applying paragraph 11 of AASB 108 to its accounting policies for the recognition, measurement, impairment and derecognition of regulatory deferral account balances. Consequently, entities that recognise regulatory deferral account balances, either as separate items or as part of the carrying value of other assets and liabilities, in accordance with their previous GAAP, are permitted to continue to recognise those balances in accordance with this Standard through the exemption from paragraph 11 of AASB 108, subject to any presentation changes required by paragraphs 18–19 of this Standard.

On initial application of this Standard, an entity shall continue to apply its previous GAAP accounting policies for the recognition, measurement, impairment and derecognition of regulatory deferral account balances, except for any changes permitted by paragraphs 13–15. However, the presentation of such amounts shall comply with the presentation requirements of this Standard, which may require changes to the entity’s previous GAAP presentation policies (see paragraphs 18–19).

An entity shall apply the policies established in accordance with paragraph 11 consistently in subsequent periods, except for any changes permitted by paragraphs 13–15.

An entity shall not change its accounting policies in order to start to recognise regulatory deferral account balances. An entity may only change its accounting policies for the recognition, measurement, impairment and derecognition of regulatory deferral account balances if the change makes the financial statements more relevant to the economic decision-making needs of users and no less reliable ^[1],[AusCF1], or more reliable and no less relevant to those needs. An entity shall judge relevance and reliability using the criteria in paragraph 10 of AASB 108.

This Standard does not exempt entities from applying paragraphs 10 or 14–15 of AASB 108 to changes in accounting policy. To justify changing its accounting policies for regulatory deferral account balances, an entity shall demonstrate that the change brings its financial statements closer to meeting the criteria in paragraph 10 of AASB 108. However, the change does not need to achieve full compliance with those criteria for the recognition, measurement, impairment and derecognition of regulatory deferral account balances.

Paragraphs 13–14 apply both to changes made on initial application of this Standard and to changes made in subsequent reporting periods.

Any specific exception, exemption or additional requirements related to the interaction of this Standard with other Standards are contained within this Standard (see paragraphs B7–B28). In the absence of any such exception, exemption or additional requirements, other Standards shall apply to regulatory deferral account balances in the same way as they apply to assets, liabilities, income and expenses that are recognised in accordance with other Standards.

In some situations, another Standard might need to be applied to a regulatory deferral account balance that has been measured in accordance with an entity’s accounting policies that are established in accordance with paragraphs 11–12 in order to reflect that balance appropriately in the financial statements. For example, the entity might have rate-regulated activities in a foreign country for which the transactions and regulatory deferral account balances are denominated in a currency that is not the functional currency of the reporting entity. The regulatory deferral account balances and the movements in those balances are translated by applying AASB 121 The Effects of Changes in Foreign Exchange Rates.