Financial Assets, Financial Liabilities Ind AS 32

Financial instrument: a contract that gives rise to a financial asset of one entity and a financial liability or equity instrument of another entity.

Financial Assets

Any asset that is:

• Cash
• An equity instrument of another entity
• A contractual right

1. to receive cash or another financial asset from another entity; or
2. to exchange financial assets or financial liabilities with another entity under conditions that are potentially favourable to the entity; or

• a contract that will or may be settled in the entity’s own equity instruments and is:
• a non-derivative for which the entity is or may be obliged to receive a variable number of the entity’s own equity instruments
• a derivative that will or may be settled other than by the exchange of a fixed amount of cash or another financial asset for a fixed number of the entity’s own equity instruments. For this purpose the entity’s own equity instruments do not include instruments that are themselves contracts for the future receipt or delivery of the entity’s own equity instruments
• puttable instruments classified as equity or certain liabilities arising on liquidation classified by IAS 32 as equity instruments

Financial Liabilities

Any liability that is:

1. a contractual obligation:

• To deliver cash or another financial asset to another entity;
• To exchange financial assets or financial liabilities with another entity under conditions that are potentially unfavourable to the entity; or

2. a contract that will or may be settled in the entity’s own equity instruments and is

• a non-derivative for which the entity is or may be obliged to deliver a variable number of the entity’s own equity instruments or
• a derivative that will or may be settled other than by the exchange of a fixed amount of cash or another financial asset for a fixed number of the entity’s own equity instruments. For this purpose the entity’s own equity instruments do not include: instruments that are themselves contracts for the future receipt or delivery of the entity’s own equity instruments; puttable instruments classified as equity or certain liabilities arising on liquidation classified by IAS 32 as equity instruments

Equity instrument: Any contract that evidences a residual interest in the assets of an entity after deducting all of its liabilities.

Fair value: The amount for which an asset could be exchanged or a liability settled, between knowledgeable, willing parties in an arm’s length transaction.

The definition of financial instrument used in IAS 32 is the same as that in IAS 39.

Puttable instrument: a financial instrument that gives the holder the right to put the instrument back to the issuer for cash or another financial asset or is automatically put back to the issuer on occurrence of an uncertain future event or the death or retirement of the instrument holder.

Classification as liability or equity

The fundamental principle of IAS 32 is that a financial instrument should be classified as either a financial liability or an equity instrument according to the substance of the contract, not its legal form, and the definitions of financial liability and equity instrument. Two exceptions from this principle are certain puttable instruments meeting specific criteria and certain obligations arising on liquidation. The entity must make the decision at the time the instrument is initially recognised. The classification is not subsequently changed based on changed circumstances. [IAS 32.15]

A financial instrument is an equity instrument only if (a) the instrument includes no contractual obligation to deliver cash or another financial asset to another entity and (b) if the instrument will or may be settled in the issuer’s own equity instruments, it is either:

• A non-derivative that includes no contractual obligation for the issuer to deliver a variable number of its own equity instruments; or
• A derivative that will be settled only by the issuer exchanging a fixed amount of cash or another financial asset for a fixed number of its own equity instruments. [ias 32.16]