Summary of Significant Changes
to the PRIMA Forms of Financial Statements applying to 2015-16
Audience
This Summary of Significant Changes is intended to assist all users of the PRIMA Forms of Financial Statements (PRIMA Forms).
At a glance
· The purpose of this document is to provide entities with an overview of the significant changes to the PRIMA Forms.
Overview
The PRIMA forms have been redesigned to simplify disclosures and presentation wherever possible. The key principle is to only include disclosures in PRIMA that are required by Australian Accounting Standards (AAS) or the PGPA (Financial Reporting) Rule (FRR). The only exception is the Net Cash Appropriation Arrangements Note, which is included on an optional basis. The aim is to make financial statements shorter and more readable for the user.
The sequencing of notes has changed from last year to illustrate a more flexible presentation that enables entities to better reflect the nature of their activities by grouping like information under meaningful subheadings – e.g. Funding, People and Relationships, etc. PRIMA contains one example of a structure, but this is intended to be illustrative rather than the only grouping entities can adopt. For example, entities may wish to group departmental and administered disclosures of like items (provided they are separately identified).
PRIMA continues to be guidance only – so entities have the opportunity to customise disclosures (provided they still comply with AAS and FRR) – this includes the sequence of notes.
Most of the guidance formerly in PRIMA has been removed where it duplicates provisions in accounting standards or is included in the Commonwealth Entities Financial Statements Guide (Resource Management Guide 125 (RMG 125)).
Statement/Note (2014-15 PRIMA) / Change for 2015-16 / Rationale /Departmental Statement of Comprehensive Income
(and Administered Schedule of Comprehensive Income),
Departmental Statement of Financial Position (and Administered Schedule of Assets and Liabilities),
Departmental Statement of Changes in Equity, and
Cash Flow Statement (Departmental and Administered) / Extra column added for ‘original budget’ and major variance explanations included at end of statement. / Simplification - per AASB 1055, entities have the option to report original budget figures in the face statements or notes. Revised budget and variance columns are optional.
Administered Reconciliation Schedule / N/A / N/A
Schedule of Commitments (Departmental and Administered) / A separate schedule is not required. Narrow scope of commitments schedule to only include those required by AAS – operating leases per AASB 117, intangibles per AASB 138 and non-financial assets per AASB 116. Disclosures are now included with other notes (e.g. suppliers, non-financial assets). / Simplification – Finance reviewed the scope of commitments currently required under FRR (in addition to AAS) and decided that AAS was sufficient.
Note 1: Summary of Significant Accounting Policies / Renamed as Overview note.
Added paragraph – suggested wording on breaches of section 83 Constitution.
Simplified to remove paragraphs that duplicate text from AAS and relocate majority of the note so that text disclosures accompany relevant dollars. / Required by AASB 1004.
Simplification – only retain text in Note 1 relevant to entity that makes sense in context of dollars and/or tells the story of the entity’s performance for the reporting period.
Note: very difficult to achieve this in PRIMA. Each entity needs to consider what best suits the circumstances of their entity.
Note 2: Events after the Reporting Period / Moved to Overview note. / N/A
Note 3: Net Cash Appropriation Arrangements / Note retained on an optional basis. / Simplification – entities may choose to include the note if they wish but it is not required by the FRR.
Note 4: Expenses / Removed split between related and external parties (required in CBMS for CFS). Removed subheadings for grants and revaluation information that duplicates the Property, Plant and Equipment (P,P&E) note. / Simplification.
Note 5: OwnSource Income / Removed split between related and external parties. / Simplification.
Note 6 : Income Tax Expense (Competitive Neutrality) / Combined with Note 4. / Simplification.
Note 7: Other Comprehensive Income / N/A / N/A
Note 8: Fair Value Measurements / Relief from certain disclosures for certain assets (those held for their current service potential rather than to generate future net cash inflows) within scope of AASB 116.
Entities may also wish to combine these disclosures with the relevant class. / Not-for-profit entities able to early adopt the provisions of amending standard AASB 2015-7.
Note 9: Financial Assets / Moved ‘cash held by outsiders’ from cash to receivables.
Simplified text, combined disclosures on receivables.
Removed split between related and external parties. / Typically treated as a receivable per FRR.
Note 10: Nonfinancial Assets (Departmental) / Removed information that duplicates other disclosures (e.g. most of Note 10A/B duplicates Note 10C). Intangibles combined with PP&E reconciliation table rather than as a separate note. / Simplification.
Note 11: Payables / Removed split between related and external parties. Subheadings for personal benefits and grants also removed. / Simplification.
Note 12: Interest Bearing Liabilities / Simplified text disclosures for loans, deposits and other interest bearing liabilities. / Simplification
Note 13: Provisions / Removed provision information that duplicates reconciliation table. / Simplification.
Note 14: Restructuring / Changed orientation from portrait to landscape. / Simplification.
Note 15: Cash Flow Reconciliation / N/A / N/A
Note 16: Contingent Assets and Liabilities / Removed disclosure of significant remote contingencies. / Simplification - not required by AAS.
Note 17: Senior Management Personnel Remuneration / N/A / N/A
Note 18: Related Party Disclosures / N/A / N/A
Note 19: Financial Instruments / N/A / N/A
Note 20: Financial Assets Reconciliation (Departmental) / Removed note. / Simplification – financial assets information already available.
Note 21: Administered – Expenses / Removed related and external parties split, and subheadings for subsidies and revaluation information that duplicates P,P&E note. / Simplification.
Note 22: Administered – Income / Removed related and external parties split. / Simplification.
Note 23: Administered – Income Tax Expense (Competitive Neutrality) / Combined with Note 21. / Simplification.
Note 24: Administered - Other Comprehensive Income / N/A / N/A
Note 25: Administered – Fair Value Measurements / Relief from certain disclosures for certain assets (those held for their current service potential rather than to generate future net cash inflows) within scope of AASB 116.
Also entities may wish to combine these disclosures with the relevant class. / Not-for-profit entities able to early adopt the provisions of amending standard AASB 2015-7.
Note 26: Administered – Financial Assets / Moved ‘cash held by outsiders’ from cash to receivables.
Simplified text, combined disclosures on receivables.
Removed split between related and external parties. / Typically treated as a receivable per FRR.
Note 27: Nonfinancial Assets (Administered) / Removed information that duplicates other disclosures (e.g. most of Note 27A/B duplicates Note 27C). Intangibles combined with PP&E reconciliation table rather than as a separate note. / Simplification.
Note 28: Administered – Payables / Removed split between related and external parties. Subheadings for personal benefits and grants also removed. / Simplification.
Note 29: Administered – Interest Bearing Liabilities / Simplified text disclosures for securities, loans, deposits and other interest bearing liabilities. / Simplification
Note 30: Administered – Provisions / Removed provision information that duplicates reconciliation table. / Simplification.
Note 31: Administered – Cash Flow Reconciliation / N/A / N/A
Note 32: Administered – Contingent Assets and Liabilities / Removed disclosure of significant remote contingencies. / Simplification - not required by AAS.
Note 33: Administered Investments / Moved content to Administered Financial Assets note or include with Overview note (former Note 1). / Simplification.
Note 34: Administered – Financial Instruments / N/A / N/A
Note 35: Financial Assets Reconciliation (Administered) / Removed note. / Simplification – financial assets information already available.
Note 36: Appropriations / Section 51 column removed from Table A – required to disclose as a footnote instead. Terminology refined for clarity (e.g. PGPA section 75 transfers rather than PGPA section 75 as column heading).
Former Table B removed with Departmental Capital Budget (DCB)/Administered Capital Budget (ACB) being disclosed in Table A (no longer required to split payments by non-financial assets and other).
Special Appropriations former Table D – not required to disclose whether appropriation is departmental/administered, type and purpose. Note: multiple special appropriations contained in one Act can be shown on single line (consistent with Budget Paper No. 4: Agency Resourcing). / Simplification – FRR now less prescriptive in terms of the layout of the Appropriations note. Requirements are expressed in terms of what needs to be shown, rather than how it is to be formatted.
Note 37: Special Accounts / Increases and decreases to special accounts no longer required by major class – increases to be split into transfers from appropriation and other, decreases to be split into departmental and administered.
Note: FRR amended to require opening balance, increases, decreases (split into departmental and administered) and closing balance. / Simplification – not required by AAS.
Note 38: Assets Held in Trust / RMG 125 guidance to clarify that amounts held in trust will not necessarily form all/part of a special account balance. / Simplification.
Note 39: Reporting of Outcomes / Replaced text above tables with ‘Provide a description of how amounts are attributed.’
Table A removed (with the exception of Net cost of Outcome line), Tables B and C combined. / Greater flexibility than previous text.
Simplification – duplication between Table A and Tables B and C.
Note 40: Cost Recovery Summary / Renamed Regulatory Charging Summary.
Removed requirement to show ageing of receivables. / Simplification – note retained as required by Cabinet decision.
Note 41: Budgetary Reports and Explanations of Major Variances / AASB 1055 disclosures shown in relevant primary statements and schedules (see detail above). / Simplification – presentation in the notes lengthens financial statements.
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