会计准则外文文献翻译-财务会计专业

1、会计准那么外文文献及翻译-财务会计专业 (含：英文原文及中文译文) 文献出处：Buschhüter M, Striegel A. IAS 37 Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent AssetsM/ Kommentar Internationale Rechnungslegung IFRS. Gabler, 2021:955-974. 英文原文 Accounting Standard (AS) 37Contingent Liabilities and Contingent AssetsBuschhüter M,

2、Striegel AThis International Accounting Standard was approved by the IASC Board in July 1998 and became effective for financial statements covering periods beginning on or after 1 July 1999.Introduction 1. IAS 37 prescribes the accounting and disclosure for all provisions, contingent liabilities and

3、 contingent assets, except: (a) those resulting from financial instruments that are carried at fair value; (b) those resulting from executory contracts, except where the contract is onerous. Executory contracts are contracts under which neither party has performed any of its obligations or both part

4、ies have partially performed their obligations to an equal extent; (c) those arising in insurance enterprises from contracts with policyholders; (d) those covered by another International Accounting Standard. Provisions 2. The Standard defines provisions as liabilities of uncertain timing or amount.

5、 A provision should be recognised when, and only when: (a) an enterprise has a present obligation (legal or constructive) as a result of a past event; (b) it is probable (i.e. more likely than not) that an outflow of resources embodying economic benefits will be required to settle the obligation; (c

6、) a reliable estimate can be made of the amount of the obligation. The Standard notes that it is only in extremely rare cases that a reliable estimate will not be possible. 3. The Standard defines a constructive obligation as an obligation that derives from an enterprise's actions where: (a) by

7、an established pattern of past practice, published policies or a sufficiently specific current statement, the enterprise has indicated to other parties that it will accept certain responsibilities; (b) as a result, the enterprise has created a valid expectation on the part of those other parties tha

8、t it will discharge those responsibilities. 4. In rare cases, for example in a law suit, it may not be clear whether an enterprise has a present obligation. In these cases, a past event is deemed to give rise to a present obligation if, taking account of all available evidence, it is more likely tha

9、n not that a present obligation exists at the balance sheet date. An enterprise recognises a provision for that present obligation if the other recognition criteria described above are met. If it is more likely than not that no present obligation exists, the enterprise discloses a contingent liabili

10、ty, unless the possibility of an outflow of resources embodying economic benefits is remote. 5. The amount recognized as a provision should be the best estimate of the expenditu required to settle the present obligation at the balance sheet date, in other words, the amount that an enterprise would r

11、ationally pay to settle the obligation at the balance sheet date or to transfer it to a third party at that time. 6. The Standard requires that an enterprise should, in measuring a provision: (a) take risks and uncertainties into account. However, uncertainty does not justify the creation of excessi

12、ve provisions or a deliberate overstatement of liabilities; (b) discount the provisions, where the effect of the time value of money is material, using a pre-tax discount rate (or rates) that reflect(s) current market assessments of the time value of money and those risks specific to the liability t

13、hat have not been reflected in the best estimate of the expenditure. Where discounting is used, the increase in the provision due to the passage of time is recognised as an interest expense; (c) take future events, such as changes in the law and technological changes, into account where there is suf

14、ficient objective evidence that they will occur; and (d) not take gains from the expected disposal of assets into account, even if the expected disposal is closely linked to the event giving rise to the provision. 7. An enterprise may expect reimbursement of some or all of the expenditure required t

15、o settle a provision (for example, through insurance contracts, indemnity clauses or suppliers' warranties). An enterprise should: (a) recognise a reimbursement when, and only when, it is virtually certain that reimbursement will be received if the enterprise settles the obligation. The amount r

16、ecognised for the reimbursement should not exceed the amount of the provision; and (b) recognise the reimbursement as a separate asset. In the income statement, the expense relating to a provision may be presented net of the amount recognised for a reimbursement. 8. Provisions should be reviewed at

17、each balance sheet date and adjusted reflect thecurrent best estimate. If it is no longer probable that an outflow of resources embodying economic benefits will be required to settle the obligation, the provisioshould be reversed. 9. A provision should be used only for expenditures for which the pro

18、vision was originally recognised. Provisions - Specific Applications 10. The Standard explains how the general recognition and measurement requirements for provisions should be applied in three specific cases: future operating losses; onerous contracts; and restructurings. Contingent Liabilities 11.

19、 An enterprise should not recognise a contingent liability. , unless the 12. A contingent liability is disclosed, as required by paragraph 86possibility of an outflow of resources embodying economic benefits is remote. 13. Where an enterprise is jointly and severally liable for an obligation, the pa

20、rt of tobligation that is expected to be met by other parties is treated as a contingentThe enterprise recognises a provision for the part of the obligation for which an outflow of resources embodying economic benefits is probable, except in the extremely rare circumstances where no reliable estimat

21、e can be made. 14. Contingent liabilities may develop in a way not initially expected. Therefore, theare assessed continually to determine whether an outflow of resources embodying probable. If it becomes probable that an outflow of economic benefits has become future economic benefits will be requi

22、red for an item previously dealt with as a contingent liability, a provision is recognised in the financial statements of the period in which the change in probability occurs (except in the extremely rare circumstances where no reliable estimate can be made). Contingent Assets 15. An enterprise shou

23、ld not recognise a contingent asset. 16. Contingent assets usually arise from unplanned or other unexpected events that give rise to the possibility of an inflow of economic benefits to the enterprise. An example is a claim that an enterprise is pursuing through legal processes, where the outcome is

24、 uncertain. 17. Contingent assets are not recognised in financial statements since this may result in the recognition of income that may never be realised. However, when the realisation of income is virtually certain, then the related asset is not a contingent asset and its recognition is appropriat

25、e. 18. A contingent asset is disclosed, as required by paragraph 89 economic benefits is probable. 19. Contingent assets are assessed continually to ensure that developments are appropriately reflected in the financial statements. If it has become virtually certain that an inflow of economic benefit

26、s will arise, the asset and the related income are recognised in the financial statements of the period in which the change occurs. If an inflow of economic benefits has become probable, an enterprise discloses the contingent asset. Measurement 20. The amount recognised as a provision should be the

27、best estimate of the expenditure required to settle the present obligation at the balance sheet date. 21. The best estimate of the expenditure required to settle the present obligation is the amount that an enterprise would rationally pay to settle the obligation at the balance sheet date or to tran

28、sfer it to a third party at that time. It will often be impossible or prohibitively expensive to settle or transfer an obligation at the balance sheet date. However, the estimate of the amount that an enterprise would rationally pay to settle or transfer the obligation gives the best estimate of the

29、 expenditure required to settle the present obligation at the balance sheet date. 22. The estimates of outcome and financial effect are determined by the judgement of the management of the enterprise, supplemented by experience of similar transactions and, in some cases, reports from independent exp

30、erts. The evidence considered 23. Uncertainties surrounding the amount to be recognised as a provision are dealt with by various means according to the circumstances. Where the provision being measured involves a large population of items, the obligation is estimated by weighting all possible outcom

31、es by their associated probabilities. The name for thistatistical method of estimation is 'expected value'. The provision will therefore be different depending on whether the probability of a loss of a given amount is, for example, 60 per cent or 90 per cent. Where there is a continuous rang

32、e of possible outcomes, and each point in that range is as likely as any other, the mid-point of thrange is used. 24. Where a single obligation is being measured, the individual most likely outcome may be the best estimate of the liability. However, even in such a case, the enterprise considers othe

33、r possible outcomes. Where other possible outcomes are either mostly higher or mostly lower than the most likely outcome, the best estimate will be a higher or lower amount. For example, if an enterprise has to rectify a serious fault in a major plant that it has constructed for a customer, the indi

34、vidual most likely outcome may be for the repair to succeed at the first attempt at a cost of 1,000, but a provision for a larger amount is made if there is a significant chance that further attempts will be necessary. 25. The provision is measured before tax, as the tax consequences of the provisio

35、n, , Income Taxes. and changes in it, are dealt with under IAS 12,Income Taxes. Risks and Uncertainties 26. The risks and uncertainties that inevitably surround many events and the best estimate of a circumstances should be taken into account in reachin the best estmeate of a provision. 27. Risk des

36、cribes variability of outcome. A risk adjustment may increase the amount at which a liability is measured. Caution is needed in making judgements under conditions of uncertainty, so that income or assets are not overstated and expenses or liabilities are not understated. However, uncertainty does no

37、t justify the creation of excessive provisions or a deliberate overstatement of liabilities. For example, if the projected costs of a particularly adverse outcome are estimated on a prudent basis, that outcome is not then deliberately treated as more probable than is realistically the case. Care is

38、needed to avoid duplicating adjustments for risk and uncertainty with consequent overstatement of a provision. Present Value 28. Where the effect of the time value of money is material, the amount of a provision should be the present value of the expenditures expected to be required to settle the ob

39、ligation.29. The discount rate (or rates) should be a pre-tax rate (or rates) that reflect(s) current market assessments of the time value of money and the risks specific to the liability. The discount rate(s) should not reflect risks for which future cash flow estimates have been adjusted. Future E

40、vents 30. Future events that may affect the amount required to settle an obligation should be reflected in the amount of a provision where there is sufficient objective evidence that they will occur. 31. Expected future events may be particularly important in measuring provisions. For example, an en

41、terprise may believe that the cost of cleaning up a site at the end of its life will be reduced by future changes in technology. The amount recognised reflects a reasonable expectation of technically qualified, objective observers, taking account of all available evidence as to the technology that w

42、ill be available at the time of the clean-up. Thus it is appropriate to include, for example, expected cost reductions associated with increased experience in applying existing technology or the expected cost of applying existing technology to a larger or more complex clean-up operation than has pre

43、viously been carried out. However, an enterprise does not anticipate the new technology for cleaning up unless it is supported by development of a completel sufficient objective evidence. 32. The effect of possible new legislation is taken into consideration in measuring an existing obligation when

44、sufficient objective evidence exists that the legislation is virtually certain to be enacted. The variety of circumstances that arise in practice makes it impossible to specify a single event that will provide sufficient, objective evidence in every case. Evidence is required both of what legislatio

45、n will demand and of whether it is virtually certain to be enacted and implemented in due course. In many cases sufficient objective evidence will not exist until the new legislation is enacted. Expected Disposal of Assets 33. Gains from the expected disposal of assets should not be taken into accou

46、nt in measuring a provision. 34. Gains on the expected disposal of assets are not taken into account in measuring a provision, even if the expected disposal is closely linked to the event giving rise to the provision. Instead, an enterprise recognises gains on expected disposals of assets at the tim

47、e specified by the International Accounting Standard dealing with the assets concerned. Reimbursements 35. Where some or all of the expenditure required to settle a provision is expected to be reimbursed by another party, the reimbursement should be recognised when, and only when, it is virtually ce

48、rtain that reimbursement will be received if the enterprise settles the obligation. The reimbursement should be treated as a separate asset. The amount recognised for the reimbursement should not exceed the amount of the provision. 36. In the income statement, the expense relating to a provision may

49、 be presented net of the amount recognised for a reimbursement. 37. Sometimes, an enterprise is able to look to another party to pay part or all of the expenditure required to settle a provision (for example, through insurance contracts, indemnity clauses or suppliers' warranties). The other par

50、ty may either reimburse amounts paid by the enterprise or pay the amounts directly. 38. In most cases the enterprise will remain liable for the whole of the amount in question so that the enterprise would have to settle the full amount if the third party failed to pay for any reason. In this situati

51、on, a provision is recognised for the full amount of the liability, and a separate asset for the expected reimbursement is recognised when it is virtually certain that reimbursement will be received if the enterprise settles the liability. 39. In some cases, the enterprise will not be liable for the

52、 costs in question if the third party fails to pay. In such a case the enterprise has no liability for those costs and they are not included in the provision. 40. As noted in paragraph 29,severally liable is a contingent liability to the extent that it is expected that the obligation will be settled

53、 by the other parties. Changes in Provisions 41. Provisions should be reviewed at each balance sheet date and adjusted to reflect the current best estimate. If it is no longer probable that an outflow of resources embodying economic benefits will be required to settle the obligation, the provision s

54、hould be reversed. 42. Where discounting is used, the carrying amount of a provision increases in each period to reflect the passage of time. This increase is recognised as borrowing cost. Use of Provisions 43. A provision should be used only for expenditures for which the provision was originally r

55、ecognised. 44. Only expenditures that relate to the original provision are set against it. Setting expenditures against a provision that was originally recognised for another purpose would conceal the impact of two different events. Future Operating Losses 45. Provisions should not be recognised for

56、 future operating losses. 46. Future operating losses do not meet the definition of a liability in paragraph 10.the general recognition criteria set out for provisions in paragraph 14 47. An expectation of future operating losses is an indication that certain assets of the operation may be impaired.

57、 An enterprise tests these assets for impairment under IAS 36, Impairment of Assets. Onerous Contracts 48. If an enterprise has a contract that is onerous, the present obligation under the contract should be recognised and measured as a provision. 49. Many contracts (for example, some routine purcha

58、se orders) can be cancelled without paying compensation to the other party, and therefore there is no obligation. Other contracts establish both rights and obligations for each of the contracting parties. Where events make such a contract onerous, the contract falls within the scope of this Standard

59、 and a liability exists which is recognised. Executory contracts that are not onerous fall outside the scope of this Standard. 50. This Standard defines an onerous contract as a contract in which the unavoidable costs of meeting the obligations under the contract exceed the economic benefits expected to be received under it. The unavoidable costs under a contract reflect the least net cost of exiting from the contract, which is the lower of the cost of fu