Reporting the impact of COVID-19 on your business

As the impact of a novel strain of coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to unfold around the world, those individuals responsible for preparing financial statements and approving them for issue need to be cognisant of not only what has happened and is happening at the reporting date and the time the financial statements are approved, but also what is likely to happen next.

IFRS requires that all the material effects of COVID-19 are appropriately recognised, measured and disclosed at the entity’s reporting date; be it interim or at year-end.

Here are ten questions entities should be asked to ensure that those financial statements not yet issued are presented fairly. These questions are by no means exhaustive, or indeed listed in any order of priority, because their applicability will depend on facts and circumstances.