ASIC Corporations (Rounding in Financial/Directors' Reports) Instrument 2016/191

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Legislation au F2016L00442 Not in force Legislative Instrument

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ASIC Corporations (Rounding in Financial/Directors’ Reports) Instrument 2016/191

 

About this compilation

 

Compilation No. 3

 

This is a compilation of ASIC Corporations (Rounding in Financial/Directors’ Reports) Instrument 2016/191 as in force on 5 January 2024. It includes any commenced amendment affecting the legislative instrument to that date.

 

This compilation was prepared by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

 

The notes at the end of this compilation (the endnotes) include information

about amending instruments and the amendment history of each amended provision.

 

 

Contents

Part 1—Preliminary

1 Name of legislative instrument

3 Authority

4 Definitions

Part 2—Order and exemption

5 Relief and exemption from disclosing exact amounts in a report

6 Relief and exemption from including nil amount items in a report

Part 3—Savings and transitional

7 Application of this instrument and ASIC Class Order [CO 98/100]

Endnotes

Endnote 1—Instrument history

Endnote 2—Amendment history

Part 1—Preliminary

1 Name of legislative instrument

This is the ASIC Corporations (Rounding in Financial/Directors’ Reports) Instrument 2016/191.

3 Authority

This instrument is made under subsections 341(1) and 992B(1) of the Corporations Act 2001.

4 Definitions

In this instrument:

alternative rounding factor means, in relation to a rounding factor, any of the following amounts which is less than the rounding factor:

(a) 1/10th of 1 cent;

(b) 1 cent;

(c) $1;

(d) $1,000;

(e) $100,000.

Act means the Corporations Act 2001.

eligible report means:

(a) a financial report;

(b) a directors’ report required by section 298 or section 302 of the Act;

(c) a profit and loss statement and balance sheet required by section 989B of the Act.

entity means any of the following:

(a) a company;

(b) a registered scheme;

(c) a disclosing entity;

(d) a financial services licensee;

(e) a retail CCIV in relation to a sub-fund of the retail CCIV;

(f) a registrable superannuation entity.

rounding factor means, in relation to an amount that is required or permitted to be stated exactly in an eligible report:

(a)  $1,000, in relation to an entity with total assets in its consolidated balance sheet or if it does not prepare a consolidated balance sheet, its own balance sheet at the end of the relevant period of more than $1,000,000,000, in respect of:

(i) details, values and aggregates required to be disclosed in the directors’ report under paragraph 300(1)(g), subsections 300(8), (9), (11B) and (11C), paragraph 300(13)(a) and paragraphs 300A(1)(c) and (1)(e) of the Act;

(ii) amounts required to be disclosed under paragraph 50 of Accounting Standard AASB 2 Share-based Payment (AASB 2) or paragraph 168 of Accounting Standard AASB 1060 General Purpose Financial Statements – Simplified Disclosures for For-Profit and Not-for-Profit Tier 2 Entities (AASB 1060);

(iii) remuneration of auditors required to be disclosed under paragraph 10 of Accounting Standard AASB 1054 Australian Additional Disclosures or paragraph 98 of AASB 1060;

(iv) compensation of key management personnel required to be disclosed under paragraph 17 of Accounting Standard AASB 124 Related Party Disclosures (AASB 124) or paragraph 194 of AASB 1060; and

(v) transactions between related parties required to be disclosed under paragraphs 18, 18A and 19 of AASB 124 or paragraphs 196, 198 and 199 of AASB 1060;

(b) 1/10th of 1 cent, in respect of amounts required to be disclosed in accordance with paragraphs 66 to 69 of Accounting Standard AASB 133 Earnings per Share;

(c) 1 cent, in relation to amounts required to be disclosed in accordance with paragraphs 44 and 46 of AASB 2, paragraph 164 of AASB 1060 and paragraphs 300(6)(c), (7)(d) and (7)(e) of the Act;

(d) $1, in relation to an entity with total assets in its consolidated balance sheet or if it does not prepare a consolidated balance sheet, its own balance sheet at the end of the relevant period of more than $10,000,000 but not more than $1,000,000,000, in respect of the items listed in subparagraphs (a)(i) to (v);

(e) $1, for all other purposes in relation to an entity with total assets in its consolidated balance sheet or if it does not prepare a consolidated balance sheet, its own balance sheet of less than $10,000,000;

(f) $1,000, for all other purposes in relation to an entity with total assets of more than $10,000,000 and not more than $1,000,000,000, in its consolidated balance sheet or if it does not prepare a consolidated balance sheet, its own balance sheet at the end of the relevant period;

(g) $100,000, for all other purposes in relation to an entity with total assets of more than $1,000,000,000 and not more than $10,000,000,000, in its consolidated balance sheet or if it does not prepare a consolidated balance sheet, its own balance sheet at the end of the relevant period;

(h) $1,000,000, for all other purposes in relation to an entity with total assets of more than $10,000,000,000, in its consolidated balance sheet or if it does not prepare a consolidated balance sheet, its own balance sheet at the end of the relevant period.

Part 2—Order and exemption

5 Relief and exemption from disclosing exact amounts in a report

(1) An entity does not have to comply with Part 2M.3 and Part 7.8 of the Act to the extent that those Parts require amounts required or permitted to be set out in an eligible report for a financial year (the relevant period) or half-year (the relevant period) to be stated exactly.

Where the relief or exemption applies

(2) The relief or exemption in subsection (1) may be relied on where all of the following apply:

(a) the eligible report includes in substitution for an amount that would otherwise be required or permitted to be set out exactly:

(i) if the amount is half or less than half the rounding factor or alternative rounding factor—“nil” or the equivalent thereof; or

(ii) in any other case, the amount rounded up or down to the nearest whole number multiple of the rounding factor or alternative rounding factor;

(b) where an alternative rounding factor is applied under paragraph (a)(ii) instead of a rounding factor in relation to an amount, the alternative rounding factor is also applied in relation to every other amount in the eligible report for which the rounding factor is relevant;

(c) where an amount is substituted under paragraph (a), the corresponding amount in respect of the comparative financial year or half-year is also shown in accordance that paragraph;

(d) where amounts are rounded to the nearest $100,000 in accordance with subparagraph (a)(ii), those amounts are presented in the form of a whole number of millions of dollars and one place of decimals representing hundreds of thousands of dollars, with a clear indication that the amounts are presented in millions of dollars (for example, in column headings or by placing the word “million” after the amounts);

(e) none of the substitution or rounding of amounts in accordance with paragraphs (a) to (c) have the potential to adversely affect:

(i) decisions about the allocation of scarce resources made by users of the financial report (including consolidated financial statements, if any); or

(ii) the discharge of accountability by management or the directors of the entity or in relation to the auditors;

(f) the relevant eligible report states that the entity is an entity to which this instrument applies and that amounts have been rounded off in accordance with this instrument;

(g) the relevant eligible report clearly discloses on each page where amounts have been rounded the extent to which those amounts have been rounded.

6 Relief and exemption from including nil amount items in a report

(1) An entity does not have to comply with 2M.3 and Part 7.8 of the Act to the extent that those Parts require a financial report to include an item where the amount that would be shown against the item (including any comparative amount) would be nil.

(2) The relief or exemption in subsection (1) may be relied on where the amount would be nil because it is covered by subparagraph 5(2)(a)(i) or otherwise.

Part 3—Savings and transitional

7 Application of this instrument and ASIC Class Order [CO 98/100]

(1) Part 2 applies in relation to an eligible report for a financial year or a half year ending on or after 30 June 2016.

(2) ASIC Class Order [CO 98/100] continues to apply, despite its repeal, in relation to an eligible report for a financial year or a half year ending before 30 June 2016.

Endnotes

Endnote 1—Instrument history

Instrument number

Date of FRL registration

Date of commencement

Application, saving or transitional provisions

2016/191

31/3/2016 (see F2016L00442)

1/4/2016

 

2022/519

27/6/2022 (see F2022L00839)

28/6/2022

 

2022/719

8/9/2022 (see F2022L01185)

9/9/2022

 

2023/142

4/1/2024 (see F2024L00024)

5/1/2024

 

Endnote 2—Amendment history

ad. = added or inserted     am. = amended     LA = Legislation Act 2003    rep. = repealed     rs. = repealed and substituted

Provision affected 

How affected

Section 2

rep. s48D LA

Section 4

am. 2022/519, 2022/719 and 2023/142

 

 

Overview

The ASIC Corporations (Rounding in Financial/Directors’ Reports) Instrument 2016/191 was enacted to address the issue of excessive precision in financial and directors' reports, which can create unnecessary complexity and cost without adding value to the report's users. This legislative instrument was created under the authority of subsections 341(1) and 992B(1) of the Corporations Act 2001 by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). The policy objective of this instrument is to provide relief and exemptions from the strict requirement to disclose exact amounts in financial and directors' reports, while ensuring that such relief does not compromise the quality and usefulness of the information provided to stakeholders. The instrument aims to simplify reporting without sacrificing the integrity and transparency of financial disclosures.

Scope and Application

The ASIC Corporations (Rounding in Financial/Directors' Reports) Instrument 2016/191 applies to entities such as companies, registered schemes, disclosing entities, financial services licensees, retail CCIVs in relation to a sub-fund, and registrable superannuation entities. It pertains to financial and directors' reports that are subject to the Corporations Act 2001. The instrument exempts these entities from the requirement to disclose exact amounts in their eligible reports, provided certain conditions are met. These conditions include substituting amounts with "nil" if they are half or less than half the relevant rounding factor, rounding amounts to the nearest whole number multiple of the rounding factor, and ensuring that such substitutions or rounding do not adversely affect decision-making by users of the financial report or the accountability of management and directors. The instrument also exempts entities from including items in their financial reports where the amounts would be nil. The exemptions apply to eligible reports for financial years or half years ending on or after 30 June 2016, while ASIC Class Order [CO 98/100] continues to apply to reports for financial years or half years ending before 30 June 2016.

Key Provisions

The ASIC Corporations (Rounding in Financial/Directors’ Reports) Instrument 2016/191 provides relief and exemption from certain rounding requirements in financial and directors’ reports for eligible entities. Under section 5, entities are exempt from having to state exact amounts in eligible reports, provided they substitute the exact amount with either "nil" or the amount rounded to the nearest multiple of a specified rounding factor. This rounding factor varies depending on the size of the entity's assets, ranging from 1/10th of a cent to $1,000,000 (subsection 5(1)). The exemption applies where the substituted amount does not adversely affect decision-making by users of the report or the accountability of management and directors, and where the substitution is clearly disclosed (subsection 5(2)). Additionally, section 6 exempts entities from including items in financial reports where the amount would be nil, provided the nil amount is covered by the provisions in section 5 or otherwise. Entities governed by this Act must ensure that any amounts substituted in financial and directors’ reports are either "nil" or rounded to the nearest multiple of the relevant rounding factor, and that the substitution does not impair the usefulness of the report or the accountability of management and directors. Furthermore, entities must clearly disclose the substitution on each page of the report, including how the amounts have been rounded (subsection 5(2)(g)). The report must also state that the entity is subject to this Instrument and that amounts have been rounded accordingly (subsection 5(2)(f)). Failure to comply with the requirements of this Instrument may result in civil or criminal penalties. Although the specific penalties are not detailed in the text, non-compliance with financial reporting requirements under the Corporations Act 2001 can lead to substantial fines and potential imprisonment for officers of the entity. The Act allows for penalties up to $210,000 for individuals and significantly higher fines for corporations, depending on the nature and seriousness of the breach. Additionally, officers found guilty of breaches may face disqualification from managing corporations.

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Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 26 August 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.