Definitions (AASB101_07-15_COMPmar20_07-21)

The following terms are used in this Standard with the meanings specified:

General purpose financial statements (referred to as ‘financial statements’) are those intended to meet the needs of users who are not in a position to require an entity to prepare reports tailored to their particular information needs.

Impracticable Applying a requirement is impracticable when the entity cannot apply it after making every reasonable effort to do so.

International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) are Standards and Interpretations issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). They comprise:

(a)            International Financial Reporting Standards;

(b)            International Accounting Standards;

(c)            IFRIC Interpretations; and

(d)            SIC Interpretations.^[1]

Material:

Information is material if omitting, misstating or obscuring it could reasonably be expected to influence decisions that the primary users of general purpose financial statements make on the basis of those financial statements, which provide financial information about a specific reporting entity.

Materiality depends on the nature or magnitude of information, or both. An entity assesses whether information, either individually or in combination with other information, is material in the context of its financial statements taken as a whole.

Information is obscured if it is communicated in a way that would have a similar effect for primary users of financial statements to omitting or misstating that information. The following are examples of circumstances that may result in material information being obscured:

(a)            information regarding a material item, transaction or other event is disclosed in the financial statements but the language used is vague or unclear;

(b)            information regarding a material item, transaction or other event is scattered throughout the financial statements;

(c)            dissimilar items, transactions or other events are inappropriately aggregated;

(d)            similar items, transactions or other events are inappropriately disaggregated; and

(e)            the understandability of the financial statements is reduced as a result of material information being hidden by immaterial information to the extent that a primary user is unable to determine what information is material.

Assessing whether information could reasonably be expected to influence decisions made by the primary users of a specific reporting entity’s general purpose financial statements requires an entity to consider the characteristics of those users while also considering the entity’s own circumstances.

Many existing and potential investors, lenders and other creditors cannot require reporting entities to provide information directly to them and must rely on general purpose financial statements for much of the financial information they need. Consequently, they are the primary users to whom general purpose financial statements are directed. Financial statements are prepared for users who have a reasonable knowledge of business and economic activities and who review and analyse the information diligently. At times, even well-informed and diligent users may need to seek the aid of an adviser to understand information about complex economic phenomena.

Notes contain information in addition to that presented in the statement of financial position, statement(s) of profit or loss and other comprehensive income, statement of changes in equity and statement of cash flows. Notes provide narrative descriptions or disaggregations of items presented in those statements and information about items that do not qualify for recognition in those statements.

Other comprehensive income comprises items of income and expense (including reclassification adjustments) that are not recognised in profit or loss as required or permitted by other Australian Accounting Standards.

The components of other comprehensive income include:

(a)            changes in revaluation surplus (see AASB 116 Property, Plant and Equipment and AASB 138 Intangible Assets);

(b)            remeasurements of defined benefit plans (see AASB 119 Employee Benefits);

(c)            gains and losses arising from translating the financial statements of a foreign operation (see AASB 121 The Effects of Changes in Foreign Exchange Rates);

(d)            gains and losses from investments in equity instruments designated at fair value through other comprehensive income in accordance with paragraph 5.7.5 of AASB 9 Financial Instruments;

(da)          gains and losses on financial assets measured at fair value through other comprehensive income in accordance with paragraph 4.1.2A of AASB 9.

(e)            the effective portion of gains and losses on hedging instruments in a cash flow hedge and the gains and losses on hedging instruments that hedge investments in equity instruments measured at fair value through other comprehensive income in accordance with paragraph 5.7.5 of AASB 9 (see Chapter 6 of AASB 9);

(f)            for particular liabilities designated as at fair value through profit or loss, the amount of the change in fair value that is attributable to changes in the liability’s credit risk (see paragraph 5.7.7 of AASB 9);

(g)            changes in the value of the time value of options when separating the intrinsic value and time value of an option contract and designating as the hedging instrument only the changes in the intrinsic value (see Chapter 6 of AASB 9); and

(h)            changes in the value of the forward elements of forward contracts when separating the forward element and spot element of a forward contract and designating as the hedging instrument only the changes in the spot element, and changes in the value of the foreign currency basis spread of a financial instrument when excluding it from the designation of that financial instrument as the hedging instrument (see Chapter 6 of AASB 9).

Owners are holders of instruments classified as equity.

Profit or loss is the total of income less expenses, excluding the components of other comprehensive income.

Reclassification adjustments are amounts reclassified to profit or loss in the current period that were recognised in other comprehensive income in the current or previous periods.

Total comprehensive income is the change in equity during a period resulting from transactions and other events, other than those changes resulting from transactions with owners in their capacity as owners.

Total comprehensive income comprises all components of ‘profit or loss’ and of ‘other comprehensive income’.

Although this Standard uses the terms ‘other comprehensive income’, ‘profit or loss’ and ‘total comprehensive income’, an entity may use other terms to describe the totals as long as the meaning is clear. For example, an entity may use the term ‘net income’ to describe profit or loss.

The following terms are described in AASB 132 Financial Instruments: Presentation and are used in this Standard with the meaning specified in AASB 132:

(a)            puttable financial instrument classified as an equity instrument (described in paragraphs 16A and 16B of AASB 132)

(b)            an instrument that imposes on the entity an obligation to deliver to another party a pro rata share of the net assets of the entity only on liquidation and is classified as an equity instrument (described in paragraphs 16C and 16D of AASB 132).