ABSTRACT: (IFRS 9 FOR NON-FINANCIAL ENTITIES – AN OVERVIEW). In July 2014, the International Accounting Standards Board issued the final version of IFRS 9 Financial Instruments, bringing together the classification and measurement, impairment and hedge accounting sections of the IASB’s project to replace IAS 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement and all previous versions of IFRS 9. The standard is effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2018. Although the effect of IFRS 9 is not as great on non-financial entities, the impact of adopting IFRS 9 should not be underestimated. While the classification of financial liabilities will not normally change, the classification of financial assets will depend on their nature and how they are managed. More complex financial assets will need to be recorded at fair value through profit or loss, but there will no longer be a requirement to separate derivatives embedded in financial assets. The new expected credit losses (ECL) impairment requirements may not have a significant impact on short-term trade receivables, but they will for longer-term receivables, contract assets and debt securities, that are not recorded at fair value through profit or loss. If an entity prepares separate financial statements under IFRS, then the ECL model will also apply to intragroup loans. Finally, The most significant effect of IFRS 9 for most non-financial entities will be the application of the new hedge accounting model. This model is less rules-based than the model set out in IAS 39 and should enable a wider range of economic hedging strategies to achieve hedge accounting. There are, however, significant disclosure requirements to help communicate these risk management activities to users of the accounts.
KEYWORDS: IFRS 9, Classification and Measurement, Impairment, Hedge Accounting
