Preparation of Single Entity Financial Statements - Part 1
Preparation of Single Entity Financial Statements - Part 1
The questions on the preparation of single entity financial statements typically contain a trial balance, which is a
list of all accounts, and the notes containing a number of adjustments. The financial statements have to be
prepared by taking the balances from the trial balance and adjusting them to arrive at the final values.
Example 1
(i) The equity shares and share premium balances in the trial balance above include a fully subscribed
1 for 5 rights issue at $1·60 per share which was made by Clarion on 1 October 2014.
(ii) On 31 March 2015, one quarter of the 8% loan notes were redeemed at par and six months’
outstanding loan interest was paid. The suspense account represents the double entry
corresponding to the cash payment for the capital redemption and the outstanding interest.
(iii) Included in property, plant and equipment is a major item of plant acquired on 1 April 2014.
The item had a cash cost $14 million, however, the plant will cause environmental damage which
will have to be rectified when it is dismantled at the end of its five-year life. The present value
(discounting at 8%) on 1 April 2014 of the rectification is $4 million. The environmental provision
has been correctly accounted for, however, no finance cost has yet been charged on the provision.
No depreciation has yet been charged on plant and equipment which should be charged to cost of
sales on a straight-line basis over a five-year life. No plant is more than four years old.
(iv) The investments through profit or loss are those held at 31 March 2015 (after the sale below). They
are carried at their fair value as at 1 April 2014, however, they had a fair value of $6·5 million on 31
March 2015. During the year an investment which had a carrying amount of $1·4 million was sold
for $1·6 million. Investment income in the trial balance above includes the profit on the sale of the
investment and dividends received during the year.
(v) A provision for current tax for the year ended 31 March 2015 of $3·5 million is required. The
balance on current tax in the trial balance above represents the under/over provision of the tax
liability for the year ended 31 March 2014. At 31 March 2015, the tax base of Clarion’s net assets
was $12 million less than their carrying amounts. The income tax rate of Clarion is 25%.
Required:
(a) Prepare the statement of profit or loss for Clarion for the year ended 31 March 2015.
Solution:
Clarion – Statement of profit or loss for the year ended 31 March 2015
$’000
Revenue 132,000
Cost of sales (W1) (103,700)
––––––––
Gross profit 28,300
Distribution costs (7,400)
Administrative expenses (8,000)
––––––––
Profit from operations 12,900
Finance costs (W2) (2,220)
Investment income (W3) 1,000
––––––
Profit before tax 11,680
Income tax expense (W4) (3,400)
––––––––
Profit for the year 8,280
––––––––
W1 – Cost of sales
Depreciation = $77,000 x 20%
Depreciation = $15,400
Cost of sales = $88,300 + 15,400
Cost of sales = $103,700
W2 – Finance cost
Loan interest = $800
W3 – Investment income
Investment income = $500 + ($6,500 - $6,000)
Investment income = $1,000
W4 – Income tax expense
Tax liability = Current tax – Overprovision
Tax liability = $3,500 - $400
Tax liability = $3,100
The questions on the preparation of single entity financial statements typically contain a trial balance, which is a
list of all accounts, and the notes containing a number of adjustments. The financial statements have to be
prepared by taking the balances from the trial balance and adjusting them to arrive at the final values.
Example 1
(i) The equity shares and share premium balances in the trial balance above include a fully subscribed
1 for 5 rights issue at $1·60 per share which was made by Clarion on 1 October 2014.
(ii) On 31 March 2015, one quarter of the 8% loan notes were redeemed at par and six months’
outstanding loan interest was paid. The suspense account represents the double entry
corresponding to the cash payment for the capital redemption and the outstanding interest.
(iii) Included in property, plant and equipment is a major item of plant acquired on 1 April 2014.
The item had a cash cost $14 million, however, the plant will cause environmental damage which
will have to be rectified when it is dismantled at the end of its five-year life. The present value
(discounting at 8%) on 1 April 2014 of the rectification is $4 million. The environmental provision
has been correctly accounted for, however, no finance cost has yet been charged on the provision.
No depreciation has yet been charged on plant and equipment which should be charged to cost of
sales on a straight-line basis over a five-year life. No plant is more than four years old.
(iv) The investments through profit or loss are those held at 31 March 2015 (after the sale below). They
are carried at their fair value as at 1 April 2014, however, they had a fair value of $6·5 million on 31
March 2015. During the year an investment which had a carrying amount of $1·4 million was sold
for $1·6 million. Investment income in the trial balance above includes the profit on the sale of the
investment and dividends received during the year.
(v) A provision for current tax for the year ended 31 March 2015 of $3·5 million is required. The
balance on current tax in the trial balance above represents the under/over provision of the tax
liability for the year ended 31 March 2014. At 31 March 2015, the tax base of Clarion’s net assets
was $12 million less than their carrying amounts. The income tax rate of Clarion is 25%.
Required:
(a) Prepare the statement of profit or loss for Clarion for the year ended 31 March 2015.
(b) Prepare the statement of changes in equity for Clarion for the year ended 31 March 2015.
(c) Prepare the statement of financial position for Clarion as at 31 March 2015.
Solution:
Clarion – Statement of profit or loss for the year ended 31 March 2015
$’000
Revenue 132,000
Cost of sales (W1) (103,700)
––––––––
Gross profit 28,300
Distribution costs (7,400)
Administrative expenses (8,000)
––––––––
Profit from operations 12,900
Finance costs (W2) (2,220)
Investment income (W3) 1,000
––––––
Profit before tax 11,680
Income tax expense (W4) (3,400)
––––––––
Profit for the year 8,280
––––––––
Clarion – Statement of changes in equity for the year ended 31 March 2015
Share capital Share premium Retained earnings Total equity
W1 – Cost of sales
Depreciation = $77,000 x 20%
Depreciation = $15,400
Cost of sales = $88,300 + 15,400
Cost of sales = $103,700
W2 – Finance cost
Loan interest = $800
W3 – Investment income
Investment income = $500 + ($6,500 - $6,000)
Investment income = $1,000
W5 – Rights issue
No. of new shares = 25,000 / 5
No. of new shares = 5,000
INTRODUCTION
Objective of IAS 7: To provide users of financial statements with a basis to assess an entity’s potential to
generate cash, as well as its cash needs.
This objective is achieved by requiring preparers of financial statements to present historical changes in cash
and cash equivalents in a statement which classifies cash flows during the period into those associated with:
1. Operating activities;
3. Financing activities.
Specific cash flows should be allocated to one of these three categories in a manner which reflects the business
of the reporting entity.
Note: A single transaction may comprise elements of cash flows which are classified differently (e.g., repayment
of the loan principal must be shown under cash flows from financing activities, whereas the interest portion may
be reported as an operating or financing cash flow).
Cash equivalents are short-term, highly liquid investments that are readily convertible to known amounts of cash
and which are subject to an insignificant risk of changes in value.
Remember: The statement of cash flows excludes any movements between cash on hand, demand deposits,
and cash equivalents, treating these as a component of the company’s cash management activities rather than
as part of its operating, investing or financing operations.
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF CASH FLOW STATEMENT
The statement of cash flows presents the following advantages compared to the income statement:
● A company’s potential to generate cash flows is more important than its ability to generate earnings;
● The statement of cash flows may be used to assess the quality of profits generated, to see what
proportion of those profits actually turns into cash; and
● The statement of cash flows is much less prone to manipulation or subjective judgement, and is not
easily affected by accounting policy choices made by the reporting entity.
On the other hand, the statement of cash flows has the following drawbacks:
● The information which it contains is historic and its use for forecasting or projection purposes requires
judgement and appropriate adjustments; and
● Short-term cash generation in some periods may have to be sacrificed if the company grows, so a
positive cash flow balance may not always be a sign of good management.
Some of the questions which ought to be asked when evaluating a company’s statement of cash flows are:
● Are there signs of overtrading (e.g., a combination of high earnings but low cash flows from operating
activities, significant increases in inventories, receivables, and payables)?
● Is cash from operating activities sufficient to sustain interest and dividend payments?
● Are investments in non-current assets sufficient to maintain operating capacity? This may be assessed
by comparing purchases of non-current assets with the level of depreciation:
Operating activities are defined as the principal revenue-producing activities of the entity and also include all
other activities which are not classified as investing or financing.
Information on cash flows from operating activities provides a critical indicator of the extent to which a company
is able to generate cash flows, which should allow it to make investments with the aim of maintaining or even
increasing its operating capacity, service its debts, and pay dividends to shareholders.
Moreover, information about the components of historical operating cash flows may assist analysts in the
process of forecasting future operating cash flows, especially when used in conjunction with other financial
statements' information.
The standard provides the following typical examples of cash flows from operating activities:
● Cash receipts from the sale of goods and the rendering of services;
● Cash payments or refunds of income taxes, unless they can be specifically identified with financing
or investing activities; and
● Specific examples of cash flows which relate to the operations of insurance companies and the
holders of some derivatives contracts.
As you know, cash flows from operating activities may be reported using the direct or indirect methods.
Under the direct method, major classes of gross cash receipts and gross cash payments are presented. In fact,
IAS 7 encourages preparers of financial statements to apply the direct approach, on the grounds that it provides
information which is more useful in making projections of future performance than is the case if the indirect
method is used.
The information about those major categories of gross cash receipts and payments may be derived either:
Cash inflow/outflow from changes in Receivables = Opening balance + Credit sales - Closing
balance
Cash inflow/outflow from changes in Inventory = Closing balance + Cost of sales - Opening balance
Cash inflow/outflow from changes in Payables = Opening balance + Purchases - Closing balance
c) Those items whose cash effect should be included under investing or financing activities.
FR - Accounting for transactions in financial
statements
IAS 7 - Module 3
The indirect method arrives at exactly the same value for net cash flows from operating activities as under the
direct approach but does so by working back from amounts reported in the income statement. This is typically
achieved by adjusting reported profit or loss for the effect of:
- Changes in inventories, as well as trade receivables and payables during the period;
- Non-cash items such as depreciation, provisions, deferred taxes, unrealised foreign currency gains and
losses, and undistributed profits of associates;
- All other items for which the cash effects are classified under investing or financing cash flows.
To utilise the indirect method, we need to start with the reported net income. Then, we will apply a series of
standardised adjustments, with the goal of arriving at the net cash flow from operating activities:
Description $’000
Profit before tax (net profit) X
Adjustments
Finance cost X
Investment income (X)
Depreciation charge X
Loss/(profit) on disposal of NCA X/(X)
(Increase)/decrease in inventory (X)/X
(Increase)/decrease in trade receivables (X)/X
(Increase)/decrease in trade payables X/(X)
Net cash flow from operating activities AAA
Each of the adjustments posted to net income under the indirect method has the aim of either:
- Eliminating the impact of a non-cash item, such as depreciation;
- Eliminating the effect of a transaction which should be reported under a different heading, as was the case
with the gain on disposal of the fixed asset;
- Adjusting the level of an item of income or expense to its true cash amount.
You should remember the direction of the adjustments which need to be made to net income to take account of
the changes to trade receivables, inventory and trade payables:
- Rising trade receivables are associated with customers not paying, hence the negative adjustment, whereas
falling receivables are typically associated with the receipt of cash which fits in with the positive sign of the
adjustment;
- An increase in the inventory balance may be associated with cash being spent, whereas a fall, would
generally be interpreted as having a positive impact on cash flow;
- An increase in trade payables may be associated with the company taking longer to pay its suppliers, giving
rise to a cash saving and thus necessitating a positive adjustment, whereas the opposite would be true if
payables are falling.
FR - Financial Reporting
IAS 7 - Module 4
The standard provides the following examples of cash flows from investing activities:
● Payments to acquire, and receipts from the sale of, property, plant and equipment, intangibles and
other long-terms assets (e.g., items of investment property).
● Payments to acquire, and receipts from the sale of, equity and debt instruments of other entities
(e.g., the cash used to buy shares in other companies, invest in their bonds, or extend loans to
them, providing that such instruments do not meet the definition of a cash equivalent).
● Payments for and receipts from derivative contracts (e.g., forwards, futures, options, and swaps,
under the condition that these contracts are not held for trading purposes).
Interest received X
Dividends received X
Remember: Only those cash outflows which result in the recognition of an asset in the statement of financial
position are eligible for inclusion under investing activities. Accordingly, an expenditure that is recognised in P&L
as it is incurred, for example, maintenance expenses in relation to items of property, plant and equipment,
cannot be classified as investing cash flows.
● Interest and dividends received may be included in either operating or investing cash flows.
From an analytical perspective, the requirement to show, separately from other cash flows, those cash flows
which are associated with investing, allows readers of financial statements to make important judgements with
regard to:
● Whether the company is making sufficient investments in non-current assets, so as to maintain its
future revenue-generating potential; and
● Whether it is not resorting to asset disposals to generate funds, so as to fill the cash gap left by
inefficient operations and the need to repay providers of external financing.
FR - Accounting for transactions in financial
statements
IAS 7 - Module 5
IAS 7 defines financing activities as those activities which result in changes in the size and composition of the
contributed equity and borrowings of the company.
Typical examples of cash flows which ought to be classified under financing are:
As you remember, IAS 7 allows preparers of financial statements a choice with regard to which segment of the
statement of cash flows to use to present interest and dividend payments. These may be classified under either
operating or financing activities.
The standard also requires the total amount of interest paid during a reporting period, to be disclosed in the
statement of cash flows, irrespective of whether it has been expensed to profit or loss or capitalised in
accordance with IAS 23 Borrowing costs.