by IAS 24 Related Party Disclosures requires disclosures about transactions and outstanding balances with an entity’s related parties. The standard defines various classes of entities and people as related parties and sets out the disclosures required in respect of those parties, including the compensation of key management personnel.
Disclosures to be made
- Relationships between parent and subsidiaries should be disclosed irrespective of whether there have been any transactions or not. If the entity’s parent or the ultimate controlling party does not produce consolidated financial statements, then the next senior parent must be named in the consolidated financial statements for public use.
- An entity must report the compensation to the key management personnel in total and each of the categories such as short term employee benefits, post-employment benefits, termination benefits, share-based payment, and other long-term benefits.
- If key management services are obtained from another entity, then only the amounts incurred for the provision of such services shall be disclosed.
- If the entity has transactions with the related party during the financial year, then it shall disclose the nature of such transactions, and also all the details such as amount, outstanding balances including commitments, provision for doubtful debts, and the expense recognised in respect of bad and doubtful debts.
- The above disclosures will be made separately in respect of a parent, subsidiaries, associate, entities with joint control or significant influence over the other entity, joint ventures in which the entity is the venturer, and key management personnel of the entity or parent and other related parties.
In general, any related party transaction should be disclosed that would impact the decision making of the users of a company’s financial statements. This involves the disclosures noted below. Depending on the transactions, it may be acceptable to aggregate some related party information by type of transaction. Also, it may be necessary to disclose the name of a related party, if doing so is required to understand the relationship.
General Disclosures
Disclose all material related party transactions, including the nature of the relationship, the nature of the transactions, the dollar amounts of the transactions, the amounts due to or from related parties and the settlement terms (including tax-related balances), and the method by which any current and deferred tax expense is allocated to the members of a group. Do not include compensation arrangements, expense allowances, or any transactions that are eliminated in the consolidation of financial statements.
Control Relationship Disclosures
Disclose the nature of any control relationship where the company and other entities are under common ownership or management control, and this control could yield results different from what would be the case if the other entities were not under similar control, even if there are no transactions between the businesses.
Receivable Disclosures
Separately disclose any receivables from officers, employees, or affiliated entities.
When disclosing related party information, do not state or imply that the transactions were on an arm’s-length basis, unless you can substantiate the claim.
