As with all approximations, the appropriateness in the circumstances should be considered.
Extract 37.30: Bayer AG (interim ended June 2016)
Interim Group Management Report [extract]
ASSET AND CAPITAL STRUCTURE [extract]
The net defined benefit liability for post-employment benefits increased by €0.5 billion overall in the second
quarter of 2016 to €13.8 billion, due mainly to an effect of €0.8 billion resulting from the decrease in long-term
capital market interest rates for high-quality corporate bonds in Germany, the United Kingdom and the United
States and to a contribution of €0.3 billion to Bayer Pension Trust e.V.
Condensed Consolidated Interim Financial Statements as of June 30, 2016 [extract]
Notes [extract]
Changes in underlying parameters [extract]
Changes in the underlying parameters relate primarily to currency exchange rates and the interest rates used to
calculate pension obligations [...]
The most important interest rates used to calculate the present value of pension obligations are given below:
Discount Rate for Pension Obligations
Table 33
%
Dec. 31, 2015
March 31, 2016
June 30, 2016
Germany
2.40 1.70 1.50
United
Kingdom
3.80 3.45 2.80
United
States
4.00 3.50 3.20
9.3.4
Vacations, holidays, and other short-term paid absences
IAS 19 distinguishes between accumulating and non-accumulating paid absences.
[IAS 19.13]. Accumulating paid absences are those that are carried forward and can be
used in future periods if the current period’s entitlement is not used in full. IAS 19
requires an entity to measure the expected cost of and obligation for accumulating paid
absences at the amount the entity expects to pay as a result of the unused entitlement
that has accumulated at the end of the reporting period (see Chapter 31 at 12.2.1). IAS 34
requires the same principle to be applied at the end of interim reporting periods.
Conversely, an entity should not recognise an expense or liability for non-accumulating
paid absences at the end of an interim reporting period, just as it would not recognise
any at the end of an annual reporting period. [IAS 34.B10].
9.4
Inventories and cost of sales
9.4.1 Inventories
The recognition and measurement principles of IAS 2 are applied in the same way for
interim financial reporting as for annual reporting purposes. At the end of a financial
reporting period an entity would determine inventory quantities, costs, and net
realisable values. However, IAS 34 does comment that to save cost and time, entities
often use estimates to measure inventories at interim dates to a greater extent than at
annual reporting dates. [IAS 34.B25].
Net realisable values are determined using selling prices and costs to complete and
dispose at the end of the interim period. A write-down should be reversed in a
3106 Chapter 37
subsequent interim period only if it would be appropriate to do so at year-end (see
Chapter 22 at 3.3). [IAS 34.B26].
9.4.2
Contractual or anticipated purchase price changes
Both the payer and the recipient of volume rebates, or discounts and other contractual
changes in the prices of raw materials, labour, or other purchased goods and services
should anticipate these items in interim periods if it is probable that these have been
earned or will take effect. However, discretionary rebates and discounts should not be
recognised because the resulting asset or liability would not meet the recognition
criteria in the IASB’s Conceptual Framework. [IAS 34.B23].
9.4.3
Interim period manufacturing cost variances
Price, efficiency, spending, and volume variances of a manufacturing entity should be
recognised in profit or loss at interim reporting dates to the same extent that those
variances are recognised at year-end. It is not appropriate to defer variances expected
to be absorbed by year-end, which could result in reporting inventory at the interim
date at more or less than its actual cost. [IAS 34.B28].
9.5 Taxation
Taxation is one of the most difficult areas of interim financial reporting, primarily
because IAS 34 does not clearly distinguish between current income tax and deferred
tax, referring only to ‘income tax expense.’ This causes tension between the approach
for determining the expense and the asset or liability in the statement of financial
position. In addition, the standard’s provisions combine terminology, suggesting an
integral approach with guidance requiring a year-to-date basis to be applied. The
integral method is used in determining the effective income tax rate for the whole
year, but that rate is applied to year-to-date profit in the interim financial statements.
In addition, under a year-to-date basis, the estimated rate is based on tax rates and
laws that are enacted or substantively enacted by the end of the interim period.
Changes in legislation expected to occur before the end of the current year are not
recognised in preparing the interim financial report. The assets and liabilities in the
statement of financial position, at least for deferred taxes, are derived solely from a
year-to-date approach, but sometimes the requirements of the standard are unclear,
as discussed below.
9.5.1
Measuring interim income tax expense
IAS 34 states that income tax expense should be accrued using the tax rate applicable
to expected total annual earnings, by applying the estimated weighted-average annual
effective income tax rate to pre-tax income for the interim period. [IAS 34.30(c), B12].
However, this is not the same as estimating the total tax expense for the year and
allocating a proportion of that to the interim period (even though it might sometimes
appear that way), as demonstrated in the discussion below.
Because taxes are assessed on an annual basis, using the integral approach to determine
the annual effective income tax rate and applying it to year-to-date actual earnings, it
is consistent with the basic concept in IAS 34, that the same recognition and
Interim financial reporting 3107
measurement principles apply in interim financial reports as in annual financial
statements. [IAS 34.B13].
In estimating the weighted-average annual income tax rate, an entity should consider
the progressive tax rate structure expected for the full year’s earnings, including
changes in income tax rates scheduled to take effect later in the year that are enacted
or substantively enacted as at the end of the interim period. [IAS 34.B13]. This situation is
illustrated in Example 37.10 below. [IAS 34.B15].
Example 37.10: Measuring interim income tax expense
An entity reporting quarterly expects to earn 10,000 pre-tax each quarter and operates in a jurisdiction with
a tax rate of 20% on the first 20,000 of annual earnings and 30% on all additional earnings. Actual earnings
match expectations. The following table shows the income tax expense reported each quarter:
Pre-
Effective
Tax
tax earn
ings
tax rate
expense
First quarter 10,000
25%
2,500
Second quarter 10,000
25%
2,500
Third quarter 10,000
25%
2,500
Fourth quarter 10,000
25%
2,500
Annual 40,000
10,000
10,000 of tax is expected to be payable for the full year on 40,000 of pre-tax income
(20,000 @ 20% + 20,000 @ 30%), implying an average annual effective income tax rate of 25% (10,000 / 40,000).
In the above example, it might look as if the interim income tax expense is calculated
by dividing the total expected tax expense for the year (10,000) by the number of
interim reporting periods (4). However, this is only the case in this example because
profits are earned evenly over each quarter. The expense is actually calculated by
determining the effective annual income tax rate and multiplying that rate to year-to-
date earnings, as illustrated in Example 37.11 below. [IAS 34.B16].
Example 37.11: Measuring interim income tax expense – quarterly losses
An entity reports quarterly, earns 15,000 pre-tax profit in the first quarter but expects to incur losses of 5,000
in each of the three remaining quarters (thus having zero income for the year), and operates in a jurisdiction
in which its standard statutory annual income tax rate is 20%. The following table shows the income tax
expense reported each quarter:
Pre-
Effective
Tax
tax earning
tax rate
expense
First quarter 15,000
20%
3,000
Second quarter (5,000)
20%
(1,000)
Third quarter (5,000)
20%
(1,000)
Fourth quarter (5,000)
20%
(1,000)
Annual 0
0
The above example shows how an expense is recognised in periods reporting a profit
and a credit is recognised when a loss is incurred. This result is very different from
allocating a proportion of the expected total income tax expense for the year, which in
this case is zero.
3108 Chapter 37
If an entity operates in a number of tax jurisdictions, or where different income tax rates
apply to different categories of income (such as capital gains or income earned in
particular industries), the standard requires that to the extent practicable, an entity:
[IAS 34.B14]
• estimates the average annual effective income tax rate for each taxing jurisdiction
separately and apply it individually to the interim period pre-tax income of each
jurisdiction; and
• applies different income tax rates to each individual category of interim period
pre-tax income.
This means that the entity should perform the analysis illustrated in Example 37.11
above for each tax jurisdiction and arrive at an interim tax charge by applying the tax
rate for each jurisdiction to actual earnings from each jurisdiction in the interim period.
However, the standard recognises that, whilst desirable, such a degree of precision may
not be achievable in all cases and allows using a weighted-average rate across
jurisdictions or across categories of income, if such rate approximates the effect of using
rates that are more specific. [IAS 34.B14].
Example 37.12: Measuring interim tax expense – many jurisdictions
An entity operates in 3 countries, each with its own tax rates and laws. In order to determine the interim tax
expense, the entity determines the effective annual income tax rate for each jurisdiction and applies those
rates to the actual earnings in each jurisdiction, as follows:
(All values in €)
Country A
Country B
Country C
Total
Expected annual tax rate
25%
40%
20%
Expected annual earnings 300,000
250,000
200,000
750,000
Expected annual tax expense 75,000
100,000
40,000
215,000
Actual half-year earnings
140,000
80,000
150,000
370,000
Interim tax expense
35,000
32,000
30,000
97,000
By performing a separate analysis for each jurisdiction, the entity determines an interim
tax expense of €97,000, giving an effective average tax rate of 26.2% (€97,000 ÷
€370,000). Had the entity used a weighted-average rate across jurisdictions, using the
expected annual earnings, it would have determined an effective tax rate of 28.7%
(€215,000 ÷ €750,000), resulting in a tax expense for the interim period of €106,190
(370,000 @ 28.7%). Whether the difference of nearly €9,000 lies within the range for a
reasonable approximation is a matter of judgement.
9.5.2
Changes in the effective tax rate during the year
9.5.2.A
Enacted changes for the current year that apply after the interim
reporting date
As noted above, the estimated income tax rate applied in the interim financial report
should reflect changes that are enacted or substantively enacted as at the end of the
interim reporting period, but scheduled to take effect later in the year. [IAS 34.B13]. IAS 12
– Income Taxes – acknowledges that in some jurisdictions, announcements by
government have substantively the same effect as enactment. [IAS 12.48]. Accordingly, an
Interim financial reporting 3109
entity should determine the date on which a change in tax rate or tax law is substantively
enacted based on the specific constitutional arrangements of the jurisdiction.
For example, assume that the 30% tax rate (on earnings above 20,000) in Example 37.10
was substantively enacted as at the second quarter reporting date and applicable before
year-end. In that case, the estimated income tax rate for interim reporting would be the
same as the estimated average annual effective income tax rate computed in that
example (i.e. 25%) after considering the higher rate, even though the entity’s earnings
are not above the required threshold at the half-year.
If legislation is enacted only after the end of the interim reporting period but before the
date of authorisation for issue of the interim financial report, its effect is disclosed as a
non-adjusting event. [IAS 10.22(h)]. Under IAS 10 – Events after the Reporting Period –
estimates of tax rates and related assets or liabilities are not revised. [IAS 10.10].
9.5.2.B
Changes to previously reported estimated income tax rates for the
current year
IAS 34 requires an entity to re-estimate at the end of each interim reporting period the
estimated average annual income tax rate on a year-to-date basis. [IAS 34.B13].
Accordingly, the amounts accrued for income tax expense in one interim period may
have to be adjusted in a subsequent interim period if that estimate changes. [IAS 34.30(c)].
IAS 34 requires disclosure in interim financial statements of material changes in
estimates of amounts reported in an e
arlier period or, in the annual financial statements,
of material changes in estimates of amounts reported in the latest interim financial
statements. [IAS 34.16A(d), 26].
Accordingly, just as the integral approach does not necessarily result in a constant tax
charge in each interim reporting period, it also does not result in a constant effective
tax rate when circumstances change. In 2018, Coca-Cola HBC described how its tax
rate is estimated in the following interim report.
Extract 37.31: Coca-Cola HBC AG (interim ended June 2018)
Selected explanatory notes to the condensed consolidated interim financial statements (unaudited) [extract]
6. Tax [extract]
The Group’s effective tax rate for 2018 may differ from the theoretical amount that would arise using the weighted
average tax rate applicable to profits of the consolidated entities, as a consequence of a number of factors, the most
significant of which are the application of statutory tax rates of the countries in which the Group operates, the non-
deductibility of certain expenses, the non-taxable income and one off tax items.
3110 Chapter 37
Example 37.13: Changes in the effective tax rate during the year
Taking the fact pattern in Example 37.10 above, an entity reporting quarterly expects to earn 10,000 pre-tax
each quarter; from the start of the third quarter the higher rate of tax on earnings over 20,000 increases from
30% to 40%. Actual earnings continue to match expectations. The following table shows the income tax
expense reported in each quarter:
Period
Pre-tax
pre-tax
earnings:
Effective Tax expense:
Period tax
earnings
year to date
tax rate
year to date
expense
First quarter †
10,000
10,000
25%
2,500
2,500
Second quarter †
10,000
20,000
25%
5,000
2,500
Third quarter 10,000
30,000
30%
9,000
4,000
International GAAP® 2019: Generally Accepted Accounting Practice under International Financial Reporting Standards Page 615
