Events after the reporting period

If the widespread impact of COVID-19 began during the entity’s reporting period, the impact will be reflected in its financial statements for that period. However, to the extent that the widespread impact of COVID-19 occurred during the entity’s ‘subsequent events period’ (ie the period between the end of the reporting period and the date when the financial statements are authorised for issue), management must determine how material developments after the year-end should be reflected in the entity’s financial statements for the period under audit or review.

In accordance with IAS 10 ‘Events after the Reporting Period’, entities are required to distinguish between subsequent events that are adjusting (ie those that provide further evidence of conditions that existed at the reporting date) and non-adjusting (ie those that are indicative of conditions that arose after the reporting date). Entities are required to update the carrying amounts of any assets or liabilities recognised in their financial statements to reflect any adjusting events that occur during the subsequent events period.

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When does COVID-19 not become an adjusting event?

In our view, the impact of COVID-19 would be a non-adjusting subsequent event for reporting periods ended on or before 31 December 2019. Consequently, there would be no impact on the recognition and measurement of assets and liabilities in an entity’s financial statements. Although cases of the virus in Wuhan City, China were reported to the World Health Organisation (WHO) on 31 December 2019, there was little confirmed evidence of human-to-human transmission at that time and the WHO did not declare the outbreak to be a public health emergency of international concern until 31 January 2020.

As such, it is presumed that the significant development and spread of COVID-19 did not take place until January 2020. Financial statements for an entity with a reporting period ending on or before 31 December 2019 should only reflect the conditions that existed at 31 December 2019 and must therefore exclude the significant effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, all reporting entities should determine whether or not they should make additional disclosures to describe the impacts of the outbreak in the subsequent events period. Generally, disclosure should be made of those events during the subsequent events period that do not relate to conditions that existed at the date of the financial statements but cause significant changes to assets or liabilities in the subsequent period and either will, or may, have a significant effect on the future operations of the entity.

For material non-adjusting events, IAS 10 stipulates an entity must disclose (a) a description of the nature of the event; and (b) an estimate of the financial effect, or a statement that such an estimate cannot be made.

Examples of non-adjusting events that would generally result in disclosure include:

• management’s plans to deal with the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak and whether there is material uncertainty over the entity’s ability to continue as a going concern
• breaches of covenants, waivers or modifications of contractual terms in lending arrangements
• supply chain disruptions
• the assessment of certain purchase or sale agreements as onerous contracts
• announcing a plan to discontinue an operation
• announcing, or commencing the implementation of, a major restructuring or downsizing (temporarily or permanently)
• declines in the fair value of investments held after the reporting period (eg pension plan investments)
• abnormally large changes in asset prices or foreign exchange rates, and
• entering into significant commitments or contingencies, such as issuing significant guarantees to related parties.