IFRS 15

Abstract

From 2020 (at early adoption from 2018), compagnies that prepare the annual report in accordance with The Danish Financial Statements Art have the option of choosing IFRS 15 as an interpretation to The Danish Financial Statements Art. With this amendment of the law, it is mentioned that IFRS 15 can be burdensome, which can cause companies and advisers to avoid it. The application of IFRS 15 is expected to increase over time concurrently with greater knowledge and more advanced IT systems. The thesis will among other things contribute to an increased awareness of the effects caused using IFRS 15.
The companies should actively make their choice based on a considered and professional basis whether they choose the opportunity to use IFRS 15 or not. Many companies will not experience any changes by using IFRS 15, deeper consideration is therefore far from relevant for everyone. The thesis purpose is to identify the different types of companies or specific conditions and characteristics that will indicate why IFRS 15 may be relevant for the company’s financial reporting.
Furthermore, the thesis will examine whether IFRS 15 can help to provide a more true and fair view of the company's financial position, which is crucial when presenting accounts in accordance with The Danish Financial Statements Art.
The thesis is systematically created with the use of a theoretic literature review of the two sets of international accounting standards that are relevant for the recognition of revenue. This is followed by an analysis of the theoretical differences and their effects, which is supplemented by a small case, in which a few of the differences are rationalised. The analysis is basically done using the comparative method.
The analysis of the thesis identifies the differences between IAS 11/18 and IFRS 15 as well as it examines which companies these differences will affect. The effect of some of the differences is clarified by calculations based on a case company, where especially the impact on the true and fair view is discussed. Finally, the challenges and benefits of selecting IFRS 15 are discussed and compared to the thesis “prior analysis” as well as other companies and advisers’ experiences of implementing and using IFRS 15.
The changes that a company will experience by using IFRS 15 are found within specific topics, but generally they affect different areas in the recognition and measurement. One company will often only experience some of the changes depending on the conditions in its contracts with customers. It is a combination of the type of companies and some characteristics which best describe the companies that will experience the differences.
The clear advantages that make use of IFRS 15 relevant have been identified in companies that carry out group reporting in accordance with IFRS 15, companies that want leases recognised with IFRS 16, as well as companies with long-term contracts that currently cannot be recognised over time.
The calculations done in the case shows shifts in recognition between IAS11 and IFRS15, at the same time the two standards showed both weaknesses and strengths in relation to the fulfillment of the quality requirements for a true and fair view. It has been concluded that IFRS 15 does not directly contribute to a more true and fair view for this case company. Nevertheless, this does not preclude that it may be the case in other situations.
Furthermore, it can be concluded that IFRS 15 in general creates better terms for comparison. The advantage of this is naturally limited because the comparison requires that the other companies have implemented IFRS 15 too.
As mentioned above, the application of IFRS 15 can be burdensome and therefore will benefits such as better terms for comparison not necessarily be sufficient to make use of IFRS 15 relevant. The challenges that follow the conversion and documentation can particularly affect the assessment. But also, the changes that need to be made regarding to registration systems, processes and workflows can lead to a large administrative use of resources. How great these challenges will be, are assessed individually, and depend on current workflows and aids/systems.
The thesis' studies have generally concluded that selecting IFRS 15 may be relevant because some companies will be able to gain sufficient benefits that make up for the challenges of using IFRS 15. Exactly when this is the case depends specifically on the conditions of the individual company. Furthermore, using IFRS 15 does not necessarily contribute to a more true and fair view of the company's financial position.
The study raises other questions. As an example, it could be relevant to do a deeper research on exactly which system changes that would be necessary to make the information and registrations required by IFRS 15 more manageable.
At the same time, the study leads to considerations about the tax consequences of choosing IFRS 15 as well as an examination of IFRS 15 from an auditing point of view. In addition, corporate stakeholders may have a particular interest in the impact of IFRS 15 on the financial key ratios. While the politicians who have passed the amendment may have a special interest in whether IFRS 15 has had the anticipated effect.