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14. An entity shall not prepare its financial statements on a going concern basis if management determines after the balance sheet date either that it intends to liquidate the entity or to cease trading, or that it has no realistic alternative but to do so.

15. Deterioration in operating results and financial position after the balance sheet date may indicate a need to consider whether the going concern assumption is still appropriate. If the going concern assumption is no longer appropriate, the effect is so pervasive that this Standard requires a fundamental change in the basis of accounting, rather than an adjustment to the amounts recognised within the original basis of accounting.

16. IAS 1 specifies required disclosures if:

(a) the financial statements are not prepared on a going concern basis; or

(b) management is aware of material uncertainties related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt upon the entity’s ability to continue as a going concern. The events or conditions requiring disclosure may arise after the balance sheet date.

17. An entity shall disclose the date when the financial statements were authorised for issue and who gave that authorisation. If the entity’s owners or others have the power to amend the financial statements after issue, the entity shall disclose that fact.

18. It is important for users to know when the financial statements were authorised for issue, because the financial statements do not reflect events after this date.

Updating Disclosure about Conditions at the Balance Sheet Date

19. If an entity receives information after the balance sheet date about conditions that existed at the balance sheet date, it shall update disclosures that relate to those conditions, in the light of the new information.

20. In some cases, an entity needs to update the disclosures in its financial statements to reflect information received after the balance sheet date, even when the information does not affect the amounts that it recognises in its financial statements. One example of the need to update disclosures is when evidence becomes available after the balance sheet date about a contingent liability that existed at the balance sheet date. In addition to considering whether it should recognise or change a provision under IAS 37 Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets, an entity updates its disclosures about the contingent liability in the light of that evidence.

21. If non-adjusting events after the balance sheet date are material, non-disclosure could influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of the financial statements. Accordingly, an entity shall disclose the following for each material category of nonadjusting event after the balance sheet date:

(a) the nature of the event; and

(b) an estimate of its financial effect, or a statement that such an estimate cannot be made.

22. The following are examples of non-adjusting events after the balance sheet date that would generally result in disclosure:

(a) a major business combination after the balance sheet date (IAS 22 Business Combinations requires specific disclosures in such cases) or disposing of a major subsidiary;

(b) announcing a plan to discontinue an operation;

(c) major purchases of assets, classification of assets as held for sale in accordance with IFRS 5 Non-current Assets Held for Sale and Discontinued Operations, other disposals of assets, or expropriation of major assets by government;

(d) the destruction of a major production plant by a fire after the balance sheet date;

(e) announcing, or commencing the implementation of, a major restructuring (see IAS 37);

(f) major ordinary share transactions and potential ordinary share transactions after the balance sheet date (IAS 33 Earnings per Share requires an entity to disclose a description of such transactions, other than when such transactions involve capitalisation or bonus issues, share splits or reverse share splits all of which are required to be adjusted under IAS 33);

(g) abnormally large changes after the balance sheet date in asset prices or foreign exchange rates;

(h) changes in tax rates or tax laws enacted or announced after the balance sheet date that have a significant effect on current and deferred tax assets and liabilities (see IAS 12 Income Taxes);

(i) entering into significant commitments or contingent liabilities, for example, by issuing significant guarantees; and

(j) commencing major litigation arising solely out of events that occurred after the balance sheet date.

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