Section A – THIS ONE question is compulsory and MUST be attempted
Traveler, a public limited company, operates in the manufacturing sector. The draft statements of financial position are as follows at 30 November 2011:
The following information is relevant to the preparation of the group financial statements:
1 On 1 December 2010, Traveler acquired 60% of the equity interests of Data, a public limited company. The purchase consideration comprised cash of $600 million. At acquisition, the fair value of the non-controlling interest in Data was $395 million. Traveler wishes to use the ‘full goodwill’ method. On 1 December 2010, the fair value of the identifiable net assets acquired was $935 million and retained earnings of Data were $299 million and other components of equity were $26 million. The excess in fair value is due to non-depreciable land.
On 30 November 2011, Traveler acquired a further 20% interest in Data for a cash consideration of $220 million.
2 On 1 December 2010, Traveler acquired 80% of the equity interests of Captive for a consideration of $541 million. The consideration comprised cash of $477 million and the transfer of non-depreciable land with a fair value of $64 million. The carrying amount of the land at the acquisition date was $56 million. At the year end, this asset was still included in the non-current assets of Traveler and the sale proceeds had been credited to profit or loss.
At the date of acquisition, the identifiable net assets of Captive had a fair value of $526 million, retained earnings were $90 million and other components of equity were $24 million. The excess in fair value is due to non-depreciable land. This acquisition was accounted for using the partial goodwill method in accordance with IFRS 3 (Revised) Business Combinations.
3 Goodwill was impairment tested after the additional acquisition in Data on 30 November 2011. The recoverable amount of Data was $1,099 million and that of Captive was $700 million.
4 Included in the financial assets of Traveler is a ten-year 7% loan. At 30 November 2011, the borrower was in financial difficulties and its credit rating had been downgraded. Traveler has adopted IFRS 9 Financial Instruments and the loan asset is currently held at amortised cost of $29 million. Traveler now wishes to value the loan at fair value using current market interest rates. Traveler has agreed for the loan to be restructured; there will only be three more annual payments of $8 million starting in one year’s time. Current market interest rates are 8%, the original effective interest rate is 6·7% and the effective interest rate under the revised payment schedule is 6·3%.
5 Traveler acquired a new factory on 1 December 2010. The cost of the factory was $50 million and it has a residual value of $2 million. The factory has a flat roof, which needs replacing every five years. The cost of the roof was $5 million. The useful economic life of the factory is 25 years. No depreciation has been charged for the year. Traveler wishes to account for the factory and roof as a single asset and depreciate the whole factory over its economic life. Traveler uses straight-line depreciation.
6 The actuarial value of Traveler’s pension plan showed a surplus at 1 December 2010 of $72 million, represented by the fair value of the assets of $250 million, the present value of the defined benefit obligation of $200 million and net unrecognised actuarial losses of $22 million. The average remaining working lives of the employees is 10 years. Traveler uses the corridor approach for recognising actuarial gains and losses. The aggregate of the current service cost, interest cost and expected return on assets amounted to a cost of $55 million for the year. After consulting with the actuaries, the company decided to reduce its contributions for the year to $45 million. The contributions were paid on 7 December 2011. No entries had been made in the financial statements for the above amounts. At the year end, the unrecognised actuarial losses were $20 million and the present value of available future refunds and reductions in future contributions was $18 million.
Required:
(a) Prepare a consolidated statement of financial position for the Traveler Group for the year ended 30 November 2011. (35 marks)
(b) Traveler has three distinct business segments. The management has calculated the net assets, turnover and profit before common costs, which are to be allocated to these segments. However, they are unsure as to how they should allocate certain common costs and whether they can exercise judgement in the allocation process. They wish to allocate head office management expenses; pension expense; the cost of managing properties and interest and related interest bearing assets. They also are uncertain as to whether the allocation of costs has to be in conformity with the accounting policies used in the financial statements.
Required:
Advise the management of Traveler on the points raised in the above paragraph. (7 marks)
(c) Segmental information reported externally is more useful if it conforms to information used by management in making decisions. The information can differ from that reported in the financial statements. Although reconciliations are required, these can be complex and difficult to understand. Additionally, there are other standards where subjectivity is involved and often the profit motive determines which accounting practice to follow. The directors have a responsibility to shareholders in disclosing information to enhance corporate value but this may conflict with their corporate social responsibility.
Required:
Discuss how the ethics of corporate social responsibility disclosure are difficult to reconcile with shareholder expectations. (6 marks)
Professional marks will be awarded in part (c) for clarity and expression of your discussion. (2 marks)