ACCA Past papers IFRS 5

The accounting treatment of buildings to be sold is governed by IFRS 5 – Non-Current Assets Held for Sale and Discontinued Operations.

A building would be classified as held for sale if its carrying amount will be recovered principally through a sale transaction, rather than through continuing use.

For this to be the case, the asset must be available for immediate sale in its present condition. Also management must be committed to a plan to sell the asset and an active programme to locate a buyer must have been initiated. Further, the asset must be actively marketed for sale at a reasonable price. In addition, the sale should be expected to be completed within one year of the date of classification as held for sale (although there are certain circumstances in which the one-year period can be extended). Finally it should be unlikely that significant changes to the plan will be made or that the plan will be withdrawn.

Immediately prior to being classified as held for sale, assets should be stated (or re-stated) at their current carrying amount under relevant International Financial Reporting Standards. Assets then classified as held for sale should be measured at the lower of their current carrying amount and their fair value less costs to sell. Any write down of the assets due to this process would be regarded as an impairment loss and treated in accordance with IAS 36 – Impairment of Assets.