Accounting Standards in India – the Future Essay Example
Accounting Standards in India – the Future Essay Example

Accounting Standards in India – the Future Essay Example

Available Only on StudyHippo
  • Pages: 10 (2497 words)
  • Published: December 20, 2017
  • Type: Research Paper
View Entire Sample
Text preview

The aim of this Standard is to provide guidelines for how general purpose financial statements should be presented. This ensures that the entity's previous financial statements and those of other entities can be compared. The Standard sets out requirements for the overall presentation, structure, and content of financial statements. It applies to the preparation and presentation of general purpose financial statements in line with Indian Accounting Standards (Mind ASs). Other Mind ASS specify specific requirements for recognition, measurement, and disclosure of certain transactions and events. However, this Standard does not cover the structure and content of condensed interim financial statements prepared in accordance with Mind AS 34 Interim Financial Reporting.

Paragraphs 15-35 of this Standard apply to the financial statements. This Standard is applicable to all entities, including those that present consolidated financial statements or separate financial stat

...

ements according to Mind AS 27 Consolidated and Separate Financial Statements. It is designed for profit-oriented entities, including public sector business entities. Non-profit entities in the private or public sector may need to modify descriptions used for specific line items in the financial statements and the financial statements themselves if they use this Standard. Entities with different types of share capital may also need to adjust how they present members' interests in the financial statements.

General purpose financial statements (also known as financial statements) are intended for users who cannot request tailored reports from an entity. The term "impracticable" refers to situations where an entity is unable to apply a requirement even after making every reasonable effort to do so.

Indian Accounting Standards (Mind ASs) are Standards prescribed under Section 211(C) of the Companies Act, 1956.

Th

View entire sample
Join StudyHippo to see entire essay

significance of material omissions or misstatements in financial statements depends on their potential to impact the economic decisions made by users. Determining materiality considers the size and nature of the omission or misstatement, taking into account surrounding circumstances. Factors such as item size or nature can influence this assessment. Materiality also considers the characteristics of financial statement users, who are assumed to have reasonable knowledge and understanding of business, economics, and accounting. They are willing to thoroughly review information when making economic decisions. Additionally, accompanying notes provide additional information not found in specific financial statements.

These notes provide descriptions or summaries of items mentioned in the statements, along with information about items that do not meet the recognition criteria mentioned in those statements. Other comprehensive income consists of income and expense items, including reclassification adjustments, which are not recognized in profit or loss according to other Mind ASs.

The elements of other comprehensive income consist of: (a) (b) changes in revaluation surplus (see Mind AS 16 Property, Plant and Equipment and Mind AS 38) Intangible Assets); actuarial gains and losses on defined benefit plans recognized in accordance with paragraph 92 and AAA of Mind AS 19 Employee Benefits; gains and losses from translating the financial statements of a foreign operation (see Mind AS 21 The Effects of Changes in Foreign Exchange Rates); gains and losses on available-for-sale financial assets (see Mind AS 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement); the effective portion of gains and losses on hedging instruments in a cash flow hedge (see Mind AS 39). Owners are holders of equity instruments. Profit or loss is the total of income minus expenses, excluding the elements

of other comprehensive income. Reclassification adjustments are amounts that were recognized in other comprehensive income in the current or previous periods and reclassified to profit or loss in the current period. Total comprehensive income is the change in equity during a period resulting from transactions and other events, other than those included in profit or loss. [Refer to Appendix 1)] AAA.

The following text provides an explanation of different terms mentioned in Mind AS 32 Financial Instruments: Presentation. These terms are defined within Mind AS 32 and are utilized throughout the Standard. The initial term discussed is a beatable financial instrument, which falls under the classification of an equity instrument and is further elaborated upon in paragraphs AAA and BIB of Mind AS 32. This pertains to an instrument that requires the entity to distribute a proportionate share of its net assets to another party solely during liquidation, and is classified as an equity instrument according to paragraphs ICC and ADD of Mind AS 32. Financial statements function as a structured representation showcasing both an entity's financial position and financial performance.

Financial statements serve as a means to convey information regarding the financial position, performance, and cash flows of an organization to users who are involved in making economic decisions. They also demonstrate the responsibility of management in handling entrusted resources. In order to fulfill this objective, financial statements provide details about assets, liabilities, equity, income and expenses (including gains and losses), contributions made by owners, distributions given to owners, and cash flows. This information is supplemented with additional explanations in the notes section, which aids users in predicting future cash flows and evaluating their

dependability within specific timeframes.

Complete Set of Financial Statements

A full set of financial statements includes a balance sheet at the end of the period, which incorporates an equity statement. It also includes a profit and loss statement and cash flow statement for that same period. Important accounting policies and explanatory information are provided in accompanying notes. If there are any changes or adjustments to items within the financial statements, a balance sheet from the start of the earliest comparative period must be included. All financial statements should be given equal importance in a complete set.

According to paragraph 81, an organization must display the elements of profit or loss and elements of other comprehensive income together within one statement of profit and loss.

Apart from the uncial statements, several entities provide a financial review by management. This review describes and explains the key aspects of the entity's financial performance and position, as well as the primary uncertainties it encounters.

Such a report may contain an assessment of the key factors influencing financial performance, such as changes in the business environment, how the entity adapted to those changes, and the resulting impact. It will also cover the entity's investment policy aimed at maintaining and improving financial performance, including their approach to dividends. Additionally, it will discuss the entity's sources of funding and its debt-to-equity ratio. The report will also address any resources that are not recognized on the balance sheet in accordance with Mind ASs 14. Many entities also provide separate reports and statements, such as environmental reports and value added statements. This is particularly common in industries where environmental factors are important and

when employees are considered important users. These reports and statements fall outside the scope of Mind ASs.

General features: Presentation of True and Fair View and compliance with Mind ASS

Financial tenements should accurately depict an entity's financial position, financial performance, and cash flows. In order to present a true and fair view, all transactions, events, and conditions must be faithfully represented according to the definitions and recognition criteria for assets, liabilities, income, and expenses outlined in the Framework. By applying Mind ASs, financial statements are expected to provide a true and fair view, with additional disclosure if necessary. An entity that complies with Mind ASS must explicitly declare such compliance in the notes.

An entity must comply with all the requirements of Mind ASs to describe financial statements as complying with Mind ASS. In most cases, compliance with applicable Mind ASs achieves the presentation of a true and fair view. To achieve a true and fair view, an entity also needs to select and apply accounting estimates and errors, following the hierarchy of authoritative guidance set out in Mind AS 8 when there is no specific Mind AS for an item. Additionally, the entity must present information, including accounting policies, in a way that provides relevant, reliable, comparable, and understandable information. If compliance with specific requirements in Mind ASS is inadequate to enable users to understand the impact of certain transactions, events, and conditions on the entity's financial position and performance, additional disclosures must be provided.

In accordance with the relevant regulatory framework, an entity is unable to correct inappropriate accounting policies through the disclosure of used accounting policies, notes, or explanatory material. However,

if compliance with a requirement in a Mind AS would conflict with the objective of financial statements outlined in the Framework and is deemed to be misleading, the entity may depart from that requirement. When such a departure occurs, the entity must disclose that management believes the financial statements accurately reflect the entity's financial position, performance, and cash flows; comply with applicable Mind ASs except for the specific requirement that is departed from; state the title of the Mind AS from which the departure is made, describe the nature of the departure and the treatment it would require, explain why this treatment would be misleading under the circumstances, and disclose the alternative treatment chosen.When an entity departs from a requirement of an Mind AS in a prior period, and this departure affects the amounts recognized in the financial statements for the applicable paragraph, it applies to situations where the entity departed in a prior period from a requirement in an Mind AS for the measurement of assets or liabilities, and this departure impacts the measurement of changes in assets and liabilities recognized in the current period's financial statements. In rare cases where management determines that compliance with a requirement in an Mind AS would be so misleading that it conflicts with the objective of financial statements outlined in the Framework, but the relevant regulatory framework prohibits departure from that requirement, the entity should disclose as much as possible to mitigate the perceived misleading aspects of compliance. This includes disclosing the title of the Mind AS being questioned, the nature of the requirement, and the reason why management believes compliance with that requirement is so misleading

in these circumstances that it conflicts with the objective of financial statements set out in the Framework.The following text outlines the necessary adjustments to each item in the financial statements that management has determined should be made in order to present an accurate and unbiased view. The adjustments will be discussed for each period presented, while keeping the and their contents intact.

For the purposes of paragraphs 19-23, an item of information is considered to conflict with the objective of financial statements when it fails to accurately represent the transactions, events, and conditions that it is intended to represent or could reasonably be expected to represent. This lack of faithful representation could potentially influence economic decisions made by users of financial statements. When evaluating whether compliance with a specific requirement in an Mind AS would be misleading enough to conflict with the objective of financial statements outlined in the Framework, management takes into account: (a) why the objective of financial statements is not being achieved in the specific circumstances, and (b) how the entity's circumstances differ from those of other entities that do comply with the requirement.

If other entities in similar circumstances fulfill the requirement, it is assumed that their compliance would not conflict with the objective of financial statements stated in the Framework. When creating financial statements, management must assess whether the entity can continue as a going concern. Financial statements should be prepared on a going concern basis, unless management intends to liquidate or is aware of material uncertainties that may cast doubt on the entity's ability to continue. In such cases, the entity must disclose those uncertainties.

The entity should

disclose if it does not prepare financial statements on a going concern basis, along with the basis and the reason for not being considered a going concern. When determining the appropriateness of the going concern assumption, management considers all available future information within at least twelve months from the end of the reporting period. The extent of consideration depends on the specific circumstances. If an entity has a history of profitable operations and easy access to financial resources, it may conclude that the going concern basis of accounting is appropriate without conducting a detailed analysis.

When evaluating the appropriateness of the going concern basis, management may need to analyze various factors such as current and projected profitability, debt repayment schedules, and potential sources of replacement financing. The accrual basis of accounting requires the entity to prepare financial statements (excluding cash flow information) using this method. Under this basis, assets, liabilities, equity, income, and expenses are recognized when they meet the definitions and recognition criteria outlined in the Framework. Materiality and aggregation guidelines dictate that material classes of similar items should be presented separately unless required by law. Financial statements are derived from numerous transactions or events grouped based on their nature or function. The final step is presenting condensed and classified data as line items in the financial statements. Non-material line items can be combined with other items within the statements or accompanying notes.

The text suggests that although some items may not be significant enough to present separately in a particular context, they are still important to include in the notes. If certain information is immaterial, an entity does not have to disclose it

unless required by law. The text also states that assets and liabilities, as well as income and expenses, should not be offset unless it accurately reflects the transaction or event. Offsetting in the profit and loss statement or balance sheet negatively affects users' comprehension of previous transactions and events, as well as their ability to assess the entity's future cash flows.

Measuring assets net of valuation allowances, such as obsolescence allowances on inventories and doubtful debts allowances on receivables, is not offsetting. Revenue defines revenue and requires an entity to measure it at the fair value of the consideration received or receivable, taking into account the amount of any trade discounts and volume rebates the entity allows. In the course of its ordinary activities, an entity undertakes other transactions that do not generate revenue but are incidental to the main revenue-generating activities. The results of such transactions are presented by netting any income with related expenses arising on the same transaction, when this presentation reflects the substance of the transaction or other event.

When disposing of nonoccurrence assets, such as investments and operating assets, an entity deducts the carrying amount of the asset and related selling expenses from the proceeds on disposal. The entity can also offset spending related to a provision recognized in accordance with Mind AS Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets ND against the reimbursement received under a contractual arrangement with a third party (e.g., supplier's warranty agreement). Furthermore, gains and losses resulting from similar transactions, like foreign exchange gains and losses or gains and losses from financial instruments held for trading, are presented on a net basis. However, if these gains

and losses are significant, they are presented separately. At least once a year, an entity must present a complete set of financial statements (including comparative information).

Get an explanation on any task
Get unstuck with the help of our AI assistant in seconds
New