• Gyamfi Ltd (Gyamfi) is an international company with a presence in Ghana, providing spare parts for the automotive industry. It operates in various jurisdictions, each with different currencies. In 2020, Gyamfi faced financial difficulties partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in a decline in revenue, a reorganization, and restructuring of the business. As a result, Gyamfi reported a loss for the year.

    Gyamfi conducted an impairment test for goodwill, but no impairment was recognized. The company applied a single discount rate to all cash flows for all cash-generating units (CGUs), regardless of the currency in which the cash flows were generated. The discount rate used was the weighted average cost of capital (WACC), and Gyamfi used the 10-year government bond rate of its jurisdiction as the risk-free rate in the calculation.

    Additionally, Gyamfi built its impairment model using forecasts denominated in the parent company’s functional currency, arguing that any other approach would be unrealistic and impracticable. Gyamfi claimed that the CGUs had different risk profiles in the short term, but there was no basis for claiming that their risk profiles were different over a longer business cycle.

    Impairment of Non-Current Assets:
    Gyamfi also tested its non-current assets for impairment. A building located overseas was deemed impaired due to flooding in the area. The building was acquired on 1 April 2020 for 25 million dinars when the exchange rate was 2 dinars to the Ghana Cedi. The building is carried at cost. As of 31 March 2021, the building’s recoverable amount was determined to be 17.5 million dinars. The exchange rate on 31 March 2021 was 2.5 dinars to the Ghana Cedi. Buildings are depreciated over 25 years.

    The tax base and carrying amounts of the non-current assets before the impairment write-down were identical. The impairment of the non-current assets is not deductible for tax purposes. No deferred tax adjustment has been made for the impairment. Gyamfi expects to make profits for the foreseeable future and assumes the tax rate is 25%. No other deferred tax effects need to be considered besides the ones relating to the impairment of the non-current assets.

    Requirements (as per question):
    i) Evaluate the acceptability of the accounting practices under IAS 36: Impairment of Assets (6 marks).

  • The discount rate used by Gyamfi Ltd has not been calculated in accordance with the requirements of IAS 36 Impairment of Assets. According to IAS 36, the future cash flows are estimated in the currency in which they will be generated and then discounted using a discount rate appropriate for that currency. IAS 36 requires the present value to be translated using the spot exchange rate at the date of the value in use calculation.
  • Furthermore, the currency in which the estimated cash flows are denominated affects many of the inputs to the WACC calculation, including the risk-free interest rate. Gyamfi Ltd has used the 10-year government bond rate for its jurisdiction as the risk-free rate in the calculation of the discount rate. As government bond rates differ between countries due to different expectations about future inflation, value in use could be calculated incorrectly due to the disparity between the expected inflation reflected in the estimated cash flows and the risk-free rate.
  • According to IAS 36, the discount rate should reflect the risks specific to the asset. Accordingly, one discount rate for all the CGUs does not represent the risk profile of each CGU. The discount rate generally should be determined using the WACC of the CGU or of the company of which the CGU is currently part. Using a company’s WACC for all CGUs is appropriate only if the specific risks associated with the specific CGUs do not diverge materially from the remainder of the group. In the case of Gyamfi Ltd, this is not apparent.
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