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AASB 101 - Presentation of Financial Statements - July 2015
42When it is impracticable to reclassify comparative amounts, an entity shall disclose:
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42 When it is impracticable to reclassify comparative amounts, an entity shall disclose:
(a) the reason for not reclassifying the amounts, and
(b) the nature of the adjustments that would have been made if the amounts had been reclassified.
43 Enhancing the inter-period comparability of information assists users in making economic decisions, especially by allowing the assessment of trends in financial information for predictive purposes. In some circumstances, it is impracticable to reclassify comparative information for a particular prior period to achieve comparability with the current period. For example, an entity may not have collected data in the prior period(s) in a way that allows reclassification, and it may be impracticable to recreate the information.
44 AASB 108 sets out the adjustments to comparative information required when an entity changes an accounting policy or corrects an error.
Consistency of presentation
45 An entity shall retain the presentation and classification of items in the financial statements from one period to the next unless:
(a) it is apparent, following a significant change in the nature of the entity’s operations or a review of its financial statements, that another presentation or classification would be more appropriate having regard to the criteria for the selection and application of accounting policies in AASB 108; or
(b) an Australian Accounting Standard requires a change in presentation.
46 For example, a significant acquisition or disposal, or a review of the presentation of the financial statements, might suggest that the financial statements need to be presented differently. An entity changes the presentation of its financial statements only if the changed presentation provides information that is reliable and more relevant to users of the financial statements and the revised structure is likely to continue, so that comparability is not impaired. When making such changes in presentation, an entity reclassifies its comparative information in accordance with paragraphs 41 and 42.
Structure and content
Introduction
47 This Standard requires particular disclosures in the statement of financial position or the statement(s) of profit or loss and other comprehensive income, or in the statement of changes in equity and requires disclosure of other line items either in those statements or in the notes. AASB 107 Statement of Cash Flows sets out requirements for the presentation of cash flow information.
48 This Standard sometimes uses the term ‘disclosure’ in a broad sense, encompassing items presented in the financial statements. Disclosures are also required by other Australian Accounting Standards. Unless specified to the contrary elsewhere in this Standard or in another Australian Accounting Standard, such disclosures may be made in the financial statements.
Identification of the financial statements
49 An entity shall clearly identify the financial statements and distinguish them from other information in the same published document.
50 Australian Accounting Standards apply only to financial statements, and not necessarily to other information presented in an annual report, a regulatory filing, or another document. Therefore, it is important that users can distinguish information that is prepared using Australian Accounting Standards from other information that may be useful to users but is not the subject of those requirements.
51 An entity shall clearly identify each financial statement and the notes. In addition, an entity shall display the following information prominently, and repeat it when necessary for the information presented to be understandable:
(a) the name of the reporting entity or other means of identification, and any change in that information from the end of the preceding reporting period;
(b) whether the financial statements are of an individual entity or a group of entities;
(c) the date of the end of the reporting period or the period covered by the set of financial statements or notes;
(d) the presentation currency, as defined in AASB 121; and
(e) the level of rounding used in presenting amounts in the financial statements.
52 An entity meets the requirements in paragraph 51 by presenting appropriate headings for pages, statements, notes, columns and the like. Judgement is required in determining the best way of presenting such information. For example, when an entity presents the financial statements electronically, separate pages are not always used; an entity then presents the above items to ensure that the information included in the financial statements can be understood.
53 An entity often makes financial statements more understandable by presenting information in thousands or millions of units of the presentation currency. This is acceptable as long as the entity discloses the level of rounding and does not omit material information.
Statement of financial position
Information to be presented in the statement of financial position