Accounting Standards Board Newsletter #1

Accounting Standards Board
Newsletter #1 - February 2024

In this edition of the Newsletter

Charting the course: A preview of key initiatives by the Accounting Standards Board in 2024

As we kick off 2024, the prospect of fresh opportunities adds excitement to the air. This year, the ASB will start important projects, while maintaining momentum on other ongoing efforts. I unpack the planned initiatives and activities that the Accounting Standards Board will undertake this year.

Measurement of assets and liabilities

The key project we will start this year is to develop guidance on measuring assets and liabilities. This is often an area where judgement is required. Preparers have said they need more guidance on choosing an appropriate measurement model – current value or historical cost (where a choice is allowed in the Standards). Preparers also need guidance on applying a measurement basis and the techniques to use, especially under the current value model.

The project will start by understanding whether recently issued IPSAS guidance would be suitable for the local environment. We will consult our stakeholders as part of this process.

This phase will be followed by the development of local guidance on measurement.

Related party disclosures

The objective of GRAP 20is to ensure that an entity's financial statements include the necessary information on related party transactions, outstanding balances, and the relationship underpinning them for accountability purposes. This information should highlight any potential impact on an entity’s financial position and surplus or deficit due to relationships with related parties, as well as transactions and outstanding balances with those parties.

We are starting a project to review compliance with GRAP 20 on Related Party Disclosures and to understand practice. The review will primarily be a desktop review, meaning that we will review publicly available information. We are likely to discuss the results of the review with our stakeholders, to better understand root causes of the issues identified, and potential actions that could resolve them.

Next ASB work programme consultation

As we reach the halfway mark of the current ASB work programme, it will be time to consult our stakeholders on the 2027 to 2029 work programme. Stakeholder feedback helps to shape the work that we will do over the next three years. Look out for further communication on this consultation.

Financial instruments

We are nearing the end of the implementation period of GRAP 104 on Financial Instruments (revised 2019). The revised Standard becomes effective 1 April 2025, which means entities need information from 1 April 2024 for comparative purposes.

This year, we will focus on communicating information that assists entities with the transition to the revised Standard. A repository of resources is available on the ASB website here.

The GRAP 104 Reference Group has been working hard to assess the potential areas where more guidance is needed. We thank them for their contributions to date and look forward to the work they will continue to do this year.

Enhancing the application of Standards of GRAP

During projects, we often hear from our stakeholders that the practical application of Standards of GRAP can be complex. We launched a project to enhance the application of Standards of GRAP, with the purpose of communicating basic principles from the Standards in a simple and concise manner. The material includes short recordings and related presentations. These have been well received by stakeholders, and we will continue to develop more content for the foreseeable future.

Subscribe to the ASB’s YouTube channel to access these recordings and other material related to the ASB’s projects.

GRAP updates

The ASB hosted GRAP updates for public entities and municipalities have become highlights in our year.

The PFMA GRAP update will be held on 9 February 2024. You can register here.

The ASB YouTube channel contains recordings of previous sessions.

In closing, thank you to our stakeholders involved in our projects and activities. Your inputs ensure we are able to deliver relevant and quality Standards of GRAP. In the words of Helen Keller - "Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." We look forward to a productive year together.

Elizna van der Westhuizen
Head of Technical

Disclaimer

The article has been prepared by the Secretariat of the ASB for information purposes only. It has not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise acted on by the Board.