Nor Kartini Mohd Rodzi, Senior Lecturer of Faculty of Accountancy, UiTM Perlis Branch
MFRS116 is a Malaysian Financial Reporting Standard applicable for long-term assets that outlines the accounting treatment for property, plant and equipment. In June 2020, a new amendment on MFRS 116 Property, Plant and Equipment related to the proceeds received before the asset's intended use had been prescribed by Malaysia Accounting Standard Board (MASB). Proceed received before the asset's intended use means the difference between sales of items produced during the testing process and related costs incurred in bringing the assets to their location before the intended use. The effective date of the amendments is on or after 1st January 2022. However, entities are allowed to apply the amendment before the effective date. These changes applied to all Malaysian corporate entities for the financial reporting of the business.
The current requirement is to deduct the proceeds from selling the items from the initial cost of property, plant and equipment (PPE). It resulted in entities incorporating amounts that did not faithfully represent its performance. The other impacts are understating the entity's income and the carrying amount of the asset. The current practice impaired the usefulness of financial information such as return on asset ratio to users of financial statements.
Different interpretation uses with regards to the proceeds from selling items derived during the testing process. Some entities deduct only the proceeds from the sale of sample items derived during the testing process. Other entities subtract proceeds of all sales until an asset is ready to operate as required by management. The deducted proceeds should exceed the cost of testing and be significant to the initial costs of the assets. To encourage harmonization of the accounting practices among corporate entities in Malaysia, MASB agreed to clarify this matter through the amendments as below:
- Any proceeds from selling items derived during the testing process are recognised as an income in profit or loss per MFRS15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers or MFRS140 Agriculture.
- Costs of such items produced during the testing process using the measurement method of MFRS102 Inventories are recognized in profit or loss.
The scenario below further explains the amendment on proceeds before intended use. Table 1 shows a comparison of the initial cost of the amendment.
Company A acquired machinery from a foreign country to increase the production of organic fertilizer for RM900,000. The following information relates to the new machinery.
|
|
RM |
|
Delivery cost |
50,000 |
|
Installation cost |
10,000 |
|
Testing of machinery by producing samples |
12,000 |
|
Proceeds from sales of sample produce during the testing process |
4,500 |
Determine the initial cost of the new machinery.
Table 1: Calculation of initial cost of the asset before and after amendment using the above scenario
|
Before Amendment |
RM |
After Amendment |
RM |
|
Purchase price Delivery cost Installation cost Testing cost Proceeds from sales of sample Initial costs |
90,000 50,000 10,000 12,000 (4,500) 157,500 |
Purchase price Delivery cost Installation cost Testing cost
Initial costs |
90,000 50,000 10,000 12,000
162,000
|
|
Effects of the adjustment: 1. Income understated in profit or loss 2. Carrying amount of asset understated in the financial position |
Note: Proceeds from sales of the sample are recognized as an income in profit or loss. Effects of the adjustment: 1. Improve entities performance 2. Carrying amount of assets is NOT understated in financial position. |
||
The new amendment prohibits entities from deducting proceeds from the sale of sample items as part of PPE costs (Selvarajah, 2021). After the amendment, the amount capitalized as the initial cost is limited to the testing cost of the asset. Instead, sales proceeds and related costs are recognized in profit or loss since they satisfy the definition of income and expenses that reflect the entity's performance for the period.
Entities are required to apply retrospective application by treating as if the new policy had always been in use. The adjustment for the opening balance of retained earnings is compulsory to show the restated balance amount for the earliest prior period presented. The timeline below explains the practice of retrospective application.
Figure 1: Example of timeline for the retrospective application
Source: (The AccSense Team, 2021)
Based on the above example, the PPE item is ready for its intended used by management is on 1st April 2021. All entities are required to restate the opening balance of retained earnings on 1st January 2021 to reflect the effect of the amendments. Therefore, any sale proceeds and related costs generated during the testing period are recognized in profit or loss starting on 16 November 2020.
The amendment will improve financial reporting on the entity's performance as well as users’ decision-making. Furthermore, the harmonisation of accounting practices among corporate entities in Malaysia is achievable. It enhances the comparability of the entity's financial reports and makes the accounting information is more relevant and faithfully represented.
References:
Selvarajah, J. (2021, September 6). MFRS 116 (IAS16) Property, Plant and Equipment Latest Update. MIA-ACCA Train the Trainer (10th Session).
The AccSense Team. (2021, September 2). Amendments to MFRS 116 Property, Plant and Equipment: Proceeds before Intended Use - TheAccSense. Retrieved from https://www.theaccsense.com/: https://www.theaccsense.com/accounting/financial-accounting/amendments-to-mfrs-116-property-plant-and-equipment-proceeds-before-intended-use/
