Tag: Intangible

Recognising revenue from sales-based royalties

One type of transaction within the scope of IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers is licensing intellectual property to a customer in return for a royalty based on the licensee’s (future) sales. IFRS 15 sometimes requires the licensor to recognise its royalty as revenue before the licensee recognises its own related revenue. Also, estimating… Continue reading Recognising revenue from sales-based royalties

When IASC removed many options

The predecessor of the International Accounting Standards Board (the IASB) was the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC). IASC’s early standards typically contained several options that allowed different companies to choose freely between different accounting transactions for similar transactions. E32 Comparability of Financial Statements On 1 January 1989, IASC published exposure draft E32 Comparability of Financial… Continue reading When IASC removed many options

We call too many things ‘intangible assets’

The definition of an intangible asset in IAS 38 Intangible Assets is too broad, in my view.  The assets it captures do not form a single natural class of assets that all have a common feature. As a result, IAS 38 may not provide the most useful information about every type of asset captured by… Continue reading We call too many things ‘intangible assets’

Why has research on ‘conservatism’ told standard setters so little?

There is a vast and burgeoning academic literature on conservatism in accounting, and a slightly less flourishing literature on the somewhat related notion of accounting prudence. When I worked in standard setting, I didn’t find that literature as helpful as I had hoped. My impression is that my colleagues and other standard setters didn’t find… Continue reading Why has research on ‘conservatism’ told standard setters so little?

Saying how likely something is: research methodology

In a separate post today, I summarised research by the Korea Accounting Standards Board (KASB) and Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB). That research looked into how preparers of financial statements and auditors interpret various terms used in IFRS Standards to denote how likely an event is. https://accountingmiscellany.com/saying-how-likely-something-is In this post, I comment on 2 aspects… Continue reading Saying how likely something is: research methodology

Putting the wrong kinds of numbers in P&L won’t help save the planet

Many companies will need to spend a lot of money reshaping their businesses to help save the planet. Some environmental campaigners say that companies should book all that spending as liabilities today. They argue that booking that spending today would make investors focus on that information and that investors would then put pressure on companies… Continue reading Putting the wrong kinds of numbers in P&L won’t help save the planet

Emission trading schemes: a fresh look

The most difficult question in accounting for emission trading schemes is deciding what to do with emission trading certificates received free of charge. Does the recipient have a liability on day 1? If not, should it recognise an immediate gain? Previous answers to this question have been unconvincing because they did not reflect the nature… Continue reading Emission trading schemes: a fresh look