IFRS(or IAS) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

IFRS(or IAS) - Essay Example Following a series of recent discussion after the collapse of some large companies such as the Enron a recent discussions of the United States (US) financial reporting include implicit or explicit recommendations that the U.S. abandon the current allegedly "rules-based" system in favor of a "principles-based" system, with the implication that some or all of the current difficulties facing U.S. financial reporting would be alleviated or even eliminated by such a shift (Chand 2005). In addition, Section 108 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 instructs the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to conduct a study on the adoption of a principles-based accounting system (Chand 2005). International accounting standards (IAS 36) requires companies to test assets for impairment. Basically, the standard requires that tangible assets should be tested for impairment when there is an indication that an asset might be impaired. (Epstein and Jermacowicz, 2007). IAS 36 Impairment of Assets was issued in March 2004. It is applied to goodwill and intangible assets acquired in business combinations after 31 March 2004, and to all other assets for annual periods beginning on or after 31 March 2004. IAS 36 prescribes the procedures that an entity applies to ensure that its assets are carried at no more than their recoverable amount. According to Epstein and Jermacowicz, (2007), IAS 36 applies in accounting for impairment of all assets other than : - Inventories (IAS 2 Inventories); - Assets arising from construction contracts (IAS 11 Construction Contracts); - Deferred tax assets (IAS 12 Income Taxes); - Assets arising from employee benefits (IAS 19 Employee Benefits); - Financial assets within the scope of IAS 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement; - Investment property measured at fair value (IAS 40 Investment Property); - Biological assets related to agricultural activity that are measured at fair value less estimated point-of-sale costs (IAS 41 Agriculture); - Deferred acquisition costs and intangible assets, arising from insurance contracts within the scope of IFRS 4 Insurance Contracts; and - Non-current assets (or disposal groups) classified as held for sale in accordance Epstein and Jermacowicz, (2007) further states that, the recoverable amount of an asset is measured whenever there is an indication that the asset may be impaired. At each reporting date, an entity assesses whether there is any indication that an asset may be impaired. However, intangible assets having an indefinite useful life must be tested annually for impairment. The impairment test is required to be applied to a cash generating unit, that is, the smallest group of assets for which the entity has identifiable cash flows. Here the impairment test carried out according to Cairns (2005), If the recoverable amount of an asset is less than the asset's carrying amount the asset is impaired the asset's carrying amount should be reduced to recoverable amount debit expense, credit assetIn other words, the carrying amount of an asset or group of assets in the cash generating unit is compared with the fair value or value in use ( calculated as the present value of the cash flows expected to be generated from using the asset). The higher of value in use and fair value is taken and compared with the carrying amount and an impairment loss is recognized if the carrying amou