
Paper F7: Financial reporting (International)
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1 Definitions
Definitions
An asset is:
a resource controlled by the entity
as a result of past events
from which economic benefits are expected to flow.
A liability is:
a present obligation of the entity
arising from past events
the settlement of which is expected to result in an outflow of economic benefits.
Income includes both revenue and gains.
Revenue is income arising in the course of the ordinary activities of the entity
such as sales revenue and income from investments.
Gains include, for example, the gain on disposal of a non-current asset. They
might arise in the normal course of business activities. They might be realised or
unrealised. Unrealised gains occur whenever an asset is revalued upwards, such
as the upward revaluation of marketable securities.
Expenses include:
expenses arising in the normal course of activities, such as the cost of sales and
other operating costs, including depreciation of non-current assets.
losses, including, for example, the loss on disposal of a non-current asset, and
losses arising from damage due to fire or flooding.
Appraisal of statement
‘Statement of financial position all that is required’
The statement of financial position does show the position of a business at a
point in time (like a snapshot), but by itself is insufficient to give a
comprehensive view of performance and/or adaptability.
The IASB Framework states that information on financial performance is
provided by the statement of comprehensive income. This is because the
statement of financial position fails to give any account of transactions leading
up to the statement of position.
It is the statement of comprehensive income and the SOCIE that show the
performance of a business in a given period and reconcile the opening and
closing statements of financial position.
Information on financial adaptability is given primarily by the statement of cash
flows. This is because financial adaptability is the ability to take effective action
to alter the amount and timing of cash flows. Some information comes from the
statement of financial position (e.g. the note about future finance lease
commitments) but the statement of financial position is by no means ‘all that is
required’.
‘Income statement is a superfluous statement’
Although income (revenue and gains) and expenses (and losses) would be reflected
in an increase/decrease in the assets and liabilities in the statement of financial
position, the volume and type of income generated would give a better indication of