Disclaimer

These Frequently Asked Questions have been prepared by the Secretariat of the Accounting Standards Board in consultation with the technical division of the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) and the Office of the Accountant-General at National Treasury (OAG).  These Frequently Asked Questions have not been approved by the Board. Consequently, they are not authoritative and do not form part of the Standards of Generally Recognised Accounting Practice (GRAP).

The questions and responses outlined in this document are based on queries commonly received by the Secretariat, the AGSA and the OAG and have been compiled to assist preparers of the financial statements.  The questions and responses provide a summarised analysis of topical issues and are not comprehensive. Any examples provided are illustrative only and do not represent a comprehensive list of scenarios or circumstances that may exist in practice. As a result, the examples are not prescriptive and should not be used by analogy to other circumstances. In all instances, readers are encouraged to refer to the relevant Standard of Generally Recognised Accounting Practice (GRAP), Interpretation or Directive.

The Standards of GRAP apply only to material items. Consequently, the FAQs have been drafted on the basis that a particular issue is material. When considering the FAQs, entities should apply judgement in determining whether an issue outlined in the FAQs is material to its operations.

The questions and responses focus on issues that are of interest to public entities, constitutional institutions, municipalities, municipal entities, Parliament and the provincial legislatures, trading entities and Public Further Education and Training Colleges collectively called “entities” in this document (unless indicated otherwise).