IAS 36 - Overview of the Standard

The overall principle in IAS 36 is that assets should not be carried above their recoverable amount.

IAS 36 applies to all assets other than those for which the measurement requirements of other IFRS are such that an IAS 36-based impairment review is irrelevant or unnecessary. Assets outside IAS 36’s scope include:

• inventories
• financial assets in the scope of IFRS 9 ‘Financial Instruments’
• contract assets and assets arising from costs to obtain or fulfill a contract recognised in accordance with IFRS 15 ‘Revenue from Contracts with Customers’
• deferred tax assets
• assets arising from employee benefits
• assets classified as held for sale
• investment property measured using the fair value model
• biological assets related to agricultural activity within the scope of IAS 41 ‘Agriculture’ measured at fair value less costs to sell, and
• contracts that are assets and any assets for insurance acquisition cash flows in the scope of IFRS 17 ‘Insurance Contracts’.

IAS 36 does apply to:

• financial assets classified as subsidiaries, associates and joint ventures (unless measured at fair value)
• property, plant and equipment and intangible assets carried at a revalued amount in accordance with other IFRS, and
• Right-of-use assets measured in accordance with IFRS 16 ‘Leases’.

IAS 36 defines key terms that are essential to understanding its guidance including, but not limited to:

• CGU
• corporate assets
• costs of disposal
• impairment loss
• recoverable amount
• VIU
• FVLCOD.

IAS 36 prescribes the timing requirements for performing quantitative impairment testing as well as potential ‘indicators’ of impairment that may trigger impairment testing for some assets or groups of assets. Specifically, IAS 36 requires that:

• goodwill, indefinite life intangibles and intangible assets not yet available for use are tested for impairment at least annually, in addition to when there is any indication of impairment, and
• all other assets are tested for impairment when there is any indication that the asset may be impaired.

IAS 36 also outlines some limited exceptions to the requirements noted above.

IAS 36 prescribes the level of review for impairment:

• where possible, an entity will estimate the recoverable amount of an individual asset, or
• when this is not possible, an entity will determine the recoverable amount of the CGU ton which an asset belongs.

For the purposes of impairment testing, IAS 36 prescribes how to allocate goodwill and corporate assets to CGUs.

When an entity needs to test an asset or CGU for impairment, it must determine its recoverable amount. IAS 36 defines the recoverable amount as the higher of the asset’s or CGU’s FVLCOD and VIU.

IAS 36 provides guidance to determine FVLCOD including:

• providing examples of ‘costs of disposal’ and items that do not meet that definition, and
• outlining situations where it may be necessary to consider some recognised liabilities to determine the recoverable amount.

IAS 36 prescribes the elements that should be reflected in the calculation of an asset’s or CGU’s VIU including:

• an estimate of the future cash flows the entity expects to derive from the asset
• expectations about possible variations in the amount or timing of those future cash flows
• the time value of money
• the price for bearing the uncertainty inherent in the asset, and
• other factors such as illiquidity that market participants would reflect in pricing the future cash flows the entity expects to derive from the asset.

The guidance provides additional considerations in determining an appropriate estimate/rate for each of the above elements.

IAS 36 requires an entity to recognise an impairment loss when the carrying amount of an asset or CGU exceeds its recoverable amount, and provides guidance on how to recognise that loss,
by outlining:

• the requirements for recognising and measuring impairment losses for an individual asset
• the requirements for allocating losses when such losses are calculated for a CGU, and
• additional considerations for allocating an impairment loss when there is a non-controlling interest.

IAS 36 sets out the requirements for reversing an impairment loss recognised for an asset or CGU in prior periods by:

• prescribing timing for assessment
• providing indicators that an impairment loss recognised in prior periods for an asset (other than goodwill) or CGU may no longer exist or may have decreased, and
• prescribing the accounting for reversing a prior impairment loss, including limitations on the amount that can be reversed.

IAS 36 sets out the disclosure requirements related to impairment. Some disclosures apply in the event an entity records an impairment loss while others are required irrespective of any impairment loss.