(This article was published on 23 March 2022 and updated on 31 October 2023)
What’s the issue?
External events that cause economic uncertainty – e.g. geopolitical unrest and natural disasters – can evolve rapidly and impact how companies evaluate and disclose events after the reporting date (‘subsequent events’). Depending on a company’s reporting date, the impacts of specific external events could be adjusting or non-adjusting events.
Under IAS 10 Events After the Reporting Period, both favourable and unfavourable events that occur between the reporting date and the date when the financial statements are authorised for issue require disclosure or possibly affect recognition and measurement in the financial statements. [Insights 2.9.20–30]
IAS 10 identifies two types of events.
Companies need to exercise significant judgement in determining which events after the reporting date are adjusting events.
Getting into more detail
Illustrative example - Assessing events after the reporting period
This chart illustrates how companies with different reporting dates would evaluate and disclose the impacts of significant external events – e.g. conflict between different countries/territories – under IAS 10.
Impact at reporting date(s)
31 December 2023 and 31 January 2024
For 31 December 2023 and 31 January 2024 financial statements, the financial reporting effects of these events and resulting market conditions are generally non-adjusting events (with the exception of going concern). This is because the significant adverse changes in market conditions developed as a direct consequence of events arising after the reporting date – i.e. Country X’s invasion of Y and the resulting implementation of sanctions by the international community.
Although certain events may have already occurred before 31 December 2023 or 31 January 2024 due to the political unrest between the two countries, the invasion of Country Y was a specific, defined event that occurred only on 10 February 2024 – i.e. after the reporting date – and the sanctions imposed by the international community were a direct response to that invasion. Therefore, based on information about these events and market conditions that was reasonably available as at 31 December 2023 and 31 January 2024, although market participants may have reflected the risks as a result of the uncertainty arising from the political unrest in the region in their assumptions, they would not have reflected the impacts of the invasion and the significant response from the international community that followed.
Subsequent reporting periods – including 28 February and 31 March 2024
For companies with reporting periods ending on or after 10 February and calendar year-end companies reporting in the first quarter of 2024, these events and market conditions are likely to be current-period events. These will require ongoing evaluation to determine the extent to which developments after the respective reporting dates are recognised in that reporting period.
Disclosures
For material non-adjusting events, companies are required to disclose the nature of the event and an estimate of its financial effect, or a statement that an estimate cannot be made. A non-adjusting event is considered material if it is of such importance that non-disclosure would affect the ability of the financial statements’ users to make proper evaluations and decisions. [Insights 2.9.30.30]
As the date of authorisation moves further from the reporting date, users might expect that a company would have more information available to disclose an estimate of the financial effects of a non-adjusting event.
Actions for management
When assessing the impact of events after the reporting date, management needs to do the following.
- Identify and consider all subsequent events until the date the financial statements are authorised for issue and determine whether these events are adjusting – i.e. they provide evidence of conditions that existed as at the reporting date or indicate that the going concern assumption is inappropriate.
- Disclose the nature and financial effects of events that are considered to be material, even if they are non-adjusting.
References to ‘Insights’ mean our publication Insights into IFRS®
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