The Accounting Standards Board of South Africa (ASB) issued various amendments to GRAP Standards of which the Minister of Finance approved some to be effective in Government Gazette No.44881 on 13 August 2021. Entities applying GRAP are required1 to disclose the impact of these in their financial statements.
Often these amendments have little or no impact on the accounting policies applied. However, when an entity applies these for the first time in its financial statements, and it impacts the accounting policies previously applied, it is required to disclose the impact in the financial statements2,3. Also, whilst it is not effective, the impact on the financial statements will need to be assessed and disclosed in accordance with GRAP 3.
For example, the ASB recently issued the Guideline on The Application of Materiality to Financial Statements which is approved but not yet effective. If an entity applies the guideline for the first time and chooses to voluntary amend any accounting policies as a result, it would be required to disclose the nature of the change in accounting policy, reasons why the new policy provides more reliable information and for the current and each prior periods presented, the impact and adjustments for every line item affected. For initial application of any required change in accounting policy, the entity is required to disclose the title of the Standard affected.
Standards, Guidelines and Interpretations issued and not yet effective in 2022 to consider.
| Description | Effective Date |
| Amendments to GRAP 1 | 1 April 2025 |
| Improvements to Standards of GRAP | 1 April 2023 |
| Amended GRAP 104 on Financial Instruments | 1 April 2023 |
| Amended GRAP 25 on Employee Benefits | Not yet effective |
| Guideline on Accounting for Landfill Sites | Not yet effective |
| Guideline on The Application of Materiality to Financial Statements | Not yet effective |
| IGRAP 7 – Limit on a Defined Benefit Asset Min Fund Requirement and Interact | Not yet effective |
| IGRAP 21 – The Effect of Past Decisions on Materiality | Not yet effective |
GRAP 3 requires disclosure of known or reasonable estimable information relevant in assessing the possible impact that any new Standard will have on the entity's financial statements when the entity applies it for the first time.
Due to the significant changes in GRAP 104 and GRAP 25 it is likely that these changes will significantly impact entities. Whilst it may be difficult to quantity the impact, qualitative disclosures should still be provided to meet the objectives of GRAP 3. Every change should be assessed as it may impact recognition, measurement and disclosure. Presenting the information in a table may also assist.
Below examples are not complete, nor exhaustive of all the standards, guidelines and interpretations issued and not yet effective, but rather an example to illustrate how the analysis could be performed:
| New Standard | Nature of change | Impact |
| Amendments to the Standard of GRAP on Financial Instruments (GRAP 104) – effective 1 April 2025 | The main changes made were to amend the scope of financial instruments, classification and reclassification rules, recognition of interest and the impairment model and disclosure.... [provide detail] | It is expected that the following changes in classification will have to be made for the classification of bank accounts included in cash and cash equivalents due to ... The current model for impairment of receivables only recognises .... As the entity is not issuing financial guarantee contracts or loan commitments, it is not expected that the changes in the scope will impact the entity... |
| Amendments to the Standard of GRAP on Employee Benefits (GRAP 25) – not yet effective | The main impact relates to amendments regarding the presentation of defined benefit plans and the fact that minimum funding requirements in the post-employment benefit plan may give rise to a liability. .... [provide detail] | Presentation of the components to be presented in the statement of financial performance will result in the cost being grouped between service cost, net interest and remeasurements.... |
| Guideline for the Accounting for Landfill Sites (2021) | The guideline provides specific guidance ... | The entity does not expect that this guideline will be adopted as ... |
Footnotes
1. Standard of GRAP on Accounting Policies, Changes in Accounting Estimates and Errors, GRAP 3 par. .32 to 33
2. GRAP 3.30 & 3.31
3. GRAP 20,32,108,109 and 110 become effective 1 April 2021 for trading entities. These were effective 1 April 2020 and earlier for other entities – refer to ASB's website.
Originally published 14.04.2022
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
