Hedge Accounting Draft

ACCA P2考試：Hedge Accounting Draft

In September 2012, the IASB issued a draft of the new hedge accounting requirements which, when finalised, will form part of IFRS 9 Financial Instruments.

This draft is an additional step in the IASB's due process and has been included between the ED stage and final incorporation into IFRS 9. The purpose of this additional step is to allow:

interested parties to review the proposals and give feedback to the IASB;

FASB the opportunity to consider the proposals; and

IASB to undertake additional research.

The IASB has determined that the hedging requirements of IAS 39 are quite onerous and do not match the risk management policies pursued by many entities.

The proposals in the draft aim to simplify the hedging requirements and allow an entity to hedge account for their inherent business risks.

1 Hedging Instruments

The draft allows certain non-derivative financial instruments measured at fair value through profit or loss to be classified as hedging instruments. This would be rare in practice, but could include an investment in a commodity-linked fund being used to hedge the price risk of a forecast purchase of that commodity.

If an entity uses an option contract as a hedging instrument, the draft requires that the time value of that option be accounted for through other comprehensive income rather than profit or loss. This will reduce volatility in profit or loss.

? When the spot element of a forward contract is designated as a hedge the fair value change can be recognised immediately through profit or loss or the effect may be deferred through other comprehensive income.

2 Hedged Items

The draft allows a specific risk of a non-financial item to be classified as a hedged item if it is separately identifiable and can be measured reliably.

 It also allows a hedged item to include a derivative. Under IAS 39, this cannot be classified as a hedged item.

 It further allows the hedge of a group of items, or a net position. This will better reflect the risk management strategies followed by an entity.

The draft also allows equity investments designated at fair value through other comprehensive income to be designated as hedged items (with both the effective and ineffective changes recognised in other comprehensive income).

3 Qualifying Hedges

The draft replaces the quite onerous effective test

(80%–125%) with more principles-based criteria:

there should be an economic relationship between the hedging instrument and the hedged item;

the effect of credit risk should not dominate the value changes which result from the economic relationship; and

the hedge ratio should reflect the actual quantity of hedging instrument used to hedge the actual quantity of the hedged item.

This new assessment method is fairly subjective, and may need support from a quantitative and/or qualitative assessment of the economic relationship.

4 Hedge Accounting

Cash flow hedge accounting will require that when a forecast transaction results in the recognition of a non-financial item then the cash flow reserve recognised in equity must be offset against the value of the non-financial item (the "basis" adjustment). Under IAS 39, the basis adjustment was one of two options allowed.

 Accounting for fair value hedges will be unchanged from IAS 39.