IAS 12, change of policy for deferred tax when the recovery of the carrying amount of an asset gives rise to multiple tax consequences, following IFRS Interpretations Committee April 2020 decision

BHP Billiton – Annual report – 30 June 2021

Industry: mining

39 New and amended accounting standards and interpretations and changes to accounting policies (extract)

Changes in accounting policies

On 29 April 2020, the IFRS Interpretations Committee issued a decision on the application of IAS 12 ‘Income Taxes’ when the recovery of the carrying amount of an asset gives rise to multiple tax consequences, concluding that an entity must account for distinct tax consequences separately. As a result, the Group has changed its accounting policy for assets that have no deductible or depreciable amount for income tax purposes, but do have a deductible amount for capital gains tax (CGT) when determining deferred tax. The Group’s policy had been to use only the amount deductible for CGT purposes whereas the Group will now account for the distinct income tax and CGT consequences arising from the expected manner of recovery. The assets impacted by the change predominately relate to mineral rights.

Retrospective application of the accounting policy change has resulted in the following adjustments:

Consolidated Balance Sheet

The consolidated balance sheet as at 1 July 2019 has been updated for the following:

The goodwill recognised as a result of the change in accounting policy relates to Olympic Dam and has been tested for impairment in the period, with no impairment charge being required. Refer to note 13 ‘Impairment of non-current assets’ for information on impairments. The comparative balance sheet as at 30 June 2020 has been restated to reflect these amounts.

Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity

The consolidated statement of changes in equity as at 1 July 2018 and 1 July 2019 has been updated to reflect the reduction in retained earnings of US$71 million.

Consolidated Income Statement, Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income

The impact of the accounting policy change on the consolidated income statement and consolidated statement of comprehensive income is de minimus and therefore the comparative information has not been restated.

Consolidated Cash Flow Statement

The change in accounting policy has no impact on the consolidated cash flow statement.