IAASA, Ireland’s accounting enforcer, has today published the results of a desk top survey it has undertaken into the equity settled share-based payment disclosures of issuers. The survey covered the 2015/16 financial statements of twenty-eight entities listed on the Stock Exchange.
The document is available here.
Background
Financial reporting standards (IFRS 2 Share-based Payment) define an equity settled share-based payment transaction as a transaction in which the entity:
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receives goods and services as consideration for its own equity instruments (including shares or share options), or
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receives goods or services but has no obligation to settle the transaction with the supplier.
Key survey results
IAASA’s desk top survey identified that:
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twenty four issuers had recognised either a share-based payment charge or credit in their most recent financial statements;
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the total net share-based payment charge recognised by those twenty four issuers included in this survey amount to €183m and the total share option reserve recognised by issuers in their most recent financial statements amount to €437m;
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twelve issuers use the Black-Scholes model to calculate the fair value of the share options granted while the Monte Carlo Simulation model and the Binomial Model were used by ten and five issuers respectively;
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five issuers who had more than one share option scheme, disclosed the use of two option pricing models;
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three issuers did not disclose how expected volatility was determined; and
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four issuers did not disclose the weighted average remaining contractual life of the share options that were outstanding at their respective year-end dates and one issuer did not disclose the range of exercise prices at the end of its reporting period.
It is IAASA’s expectation that Boards and Audit Committees will continue to carefully assess and consider the disclosure requirements of IFRS 2 Share-based Payment and ensure that all relevant information is disclosed in financial statements.