IFRS 11 Joint Arrangements

B2.Contractual arrangements can be evidenced in several ways. An enforceable contractual arrangement is often, but not always, in writing, usually in the form of a contract or documented discussions between the parties. Statutory mechanisms can also create enforceable arrangements, either on their own or in conjunction with contracts between the parties.

B3.When joint arrangements are structured through a separate vehicle (see paragraphs B19–B33), the contractual arrangement, or some aspects of the contractual arrangement, will in some cases be incorporated in the articles, charter or by-laws of the separate vehicle.

B4.The contractual arrangement sets out the terms upon which the parties participate in the activity that is the subject of the arrangement. The contractual arrangement generally deals with such matters as:

1. the purpose, activity and duration of the joint arrangement.

2. how the members of the board of directors, or equivalent governing body, of the joint arrangement, are appointed.

3. the decision-making process: the matters requiring decisions from the parties, the voting rights of the parties and the required level of support for those matters. The decision-making process reflected in the contractual arrangement establishes joint control of the arrangement (see paragraphs B5–B11).

4. the capital or other contributions required of the parties.

5. how the parties share assets, liabilities, revenues, expenses or profit or loss relating to the joint arrangement.

B5.In assessing whether an entity has joint control of an arrangement, an entity shall assess first whether all the parties, or a group of the parties, control the arrangement. IFRS 10 defines control and shall be used to determine whether all the parties, or a group of the parties, are exposed, or have rights, to variable returns from their involvement with the arrangement and have the ability to affect those returns through their power over the arrangement. When all the parties, or a group of the parties, considered collectively, are able to direct the activities that significantly affect the returns of the arrangement (ie the relevant activities), the parties control the arrangement collectively.

B6.After concluding that all the parties, or a group of the parties, control the arrangement collectively, an entity shall assess whether it has joint control of the arrangement. Joint control exists only when decisions about the relevant activities require the unanimous consent of the parties that collectively control the arrangement. Assessing whether the arrangement is jointly controlled by all of its parties or by a group of the parties, or controlled by one of its parties alone, can require judgement.

B7.Sometimes the decision-making process that is agreed upon by the parties in their contractual arrangement implicitly leads to joint control. For example, assume two parties establish an arrangement in which each has 50 per cent of the voting rights and the contractual arrangement between them specifies that at least 51 per cent of the voting rights are required to make decisions about the relevant activities. In this case, the parties have implicitly agreed that they have joint control of the arrangement because decisions about the relevant activities cannot be made without both parties agreeing.

B8.In other circumstances, the contractual arrangement requires a minimum proportion of the voting rights to make decisions about the relevant activities. When that minimum required proportion of the voting rights can be achieved by more than one combination of the parties agreeing together, that arrangement is not a joint arrangement unless the contractual arrangement specifies which parties (or combination of parties) are required to agree unanimously to decisions about the relevant activities of the arrangement.

B9.The requirement for unanimous consent means that any party with joint control of the arrangement can prevent any of the other parties, or a group of the parties, from making unilateral decisions (about the relevant activities) without its consent. If the requirement for unanimous consent relates only to decisions that give a party protective rights and not to decisions about the relevant activities of an arrangement, that party is not a party with joint control of the arrangement.

B10.A contractual arrangement might include clauses on the resolution of disputes, such as arbitration. These provisions may allow for decisions to be made in the absence of unanimous consent among the parties that have joint control. The existence of such provisions does not prevent the arrangement from being jointly controlled and, consequently, from being a joint arrangement.

B11.When an arrangement is outside the scope of IFRS 11, an entity accounts for its interest in the arrangement in accordance with relevant IFRSs, such as IFRS 10, IAS 28 (as amended in 2011) or IFRS 9.

B15.As stated in paragraph B14, the classification of joint arrangements requires the parties to assess their rights and obligations arising from the arrangement. When making that assessment, an entity shall consider the following:

1. the structure of the joint arrangement (see paragraphs B16–B21).

2. when the joint arrangement is structured through a separate vehicle:

   1. the legal form of the separate vehicle (see paragraphs B22–B24);

   2. the terms of the contractual arrangement (see paragraphs B25–B28); and

   3. when relevant, other facts and circumstances (see paragraphs B29–B33).

Joint arrangements not structured through a separate vehicle

Joint arrangements structured through a separate vehicle

B22.The legal form of the separate vehicle is relevant when assessing the type of joint arrangement. The legal form assists in the initial assessment of the parties’ rights to the assets and obligations for the liabilities held in the separate vehicle, such as whether the parties have interests in the assets held in the separate vehicle and whether they are liable for the liabilities held in the separate vehicle.

B23.For example, the parties might conduct the joint arrangement through a separate vehicle, whose legal form causes the separate vehicle to be considered in its own right (ie the assets and liabilities held in the separate vehicle are the assets and liabilities of the separate vehicle and not the assets and liabilities of the parties). In such a case, the assessment of the rights and obligations conferred upon the parties by the legal form of the separate vehicle indicates that the arrangement is a joint venture. However, the terms agreed by the parties in their contractual arrangement (see paragraphs B25–B28) and, when relevant, other facts and circumstances (see paragraphs B29–B33) can override the assessment of the rights and obligations conferred upon the parties by the legal form of the separate vehicle.

B24.The assessment of the rights and obligations conferred upon the parties by the legal form of the separate vehicle is sufficient to conclude that the arrangement is a joint operation only if the parties conduct the joint arrangement in a separate vehicle whose legal form does not confer separation between the parties and the separate vehicle (ie the assets and liabilities held in the separate vehicle are the parties’ assets and liabilities).

B25.In many cases, the rights and obligations agreed to by the parties in their contractual arrangements are consistent, or do not conflict, with the rights and obligations conferred on the parties by the legal form of the separate vehicle in which the arrangement has been structured.

B26.In other cases, the parties use the contractual arrangement to reverse or modify the rights and obligations conferred by the legal form of the separate vehicle in which the arrangement has been structured.

B27.The following table compares common terms in contractual arrangements of parties to a joint operation and common terms in contractual arrangements of parties to a joint venture. The examples of the contractual terms provided in the following table are not exhaustive.

B28.When the contractual arrangement specifies that the parties have rights to the assets, and obligations for the liabilities, relating to the arrangement, they are parties to a joint operation and do not need to consider other facts and circumstances (paragraphs B29–B33) for the purposes of classifying the joint arrangement.

B29.When the terms of the contractual arrangement do not specify that the parties have rights to the assets, and obligations for the liabilities, relating to the arrangement, the parties shall consider other facts and circumstances to assess whether the arrangement is a joint operation or a joint venture.

B30.A joint arrangement might be structured in a separate vehicle whose legal form confers separation between the parties and the separate vehicle. The contractual terms agreed among the parties might not specify the parties’ rights to the assets and obligations for the liabilities, yet consideration of other facts and circumstances can lead to such an arrangement being classified as a joint operation. This will be the case when other facts and circumstances give the parties rights to the assets, and obligations for the liabilities, relating to the arrangement.

B31.When the activities of an arrangement are primarily designed for the provision of output to the parties, this indicates that the parties have rights to substantially all the economic benefits of the assets of the arrangement. The parties to such arrangements often ensure their access to the outputs provided by the arrangement by preventing the arrangement from selling output to third parties.

B32.The effect of an arrangement with such a design and purpose is that the liabilities incurred by the arrangement are, in substance, satisfied by the cash flows received from the parties through their purchases of the output. When the parties are substantially the only source of cash flows contributing to the continuity of the operations of the arrangement, this indicates that the parties have an obligation for the liabilities relating to the arrangement.

B33.The following flow chart reflects the assessment an entity follows to classify an arrangement when the joint arrangement is structured through a separate vehicle:

Classification of a joint arrangement structured through a separate vehicle

B33A.When an entity acquires an interest in a joint operation in which the activity of the joint operation constitutes a business, as defined in IFRS 3, it shall apply, to the extent of its share in accordance with paragraph 20, all of the principles on business combinations accounting in IFRS 3, and other IFRSs, that do not conflict with the guidance in this IFRS and disclose the information required by those IFRSs in relation to business combinations. The principles on business combinations accounting that do not conflict with the guidance in this IFRS include but are not limited to:

1. measuring identifiable assets and liabilities at fair value, other than items for which exceptions are given in IFRS 3 and other IFRSs;

2. recognising acquisition-related costs as expenses in the periods in which the costs are incurred and the services are received, with the exception that the costs to issue debt or equity securities are recognised in accordance with IAS 32 Financial Instruments: Presentation and IFRS 91;

3. recognising deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities that arise from the initial recognition of assets or liabilities, except for deferred tax liabilities that arise from the initial recognition of goodwill, as required by IFRS 3 and IAS 12 Income Taxes for business combinations;

4. recognising the excess of the consideration transferred over the net of the acquisition-date amounts of the identifiable assets acquired and the liabilities assumed, if any, as goodwill; and

5. testing for impairment a cash-generating unit to which goodwill has been allocated at least annually, and whenever there is an indication that the unit may be impaired, as required by IAS 36 Impairment of Assets for goodwill acquired in a business combination.

B33B.Paragraphs 21A and B33A also apply to the formation of a joint operation if, and only if, an existing business, as defined in IFRS 3, is contributed to the joint operation on its formation by one of the parties that participate in the joint operation. However, those paragraphs do not apply to the formation of a joint operation if all of the parties that participate in the joint operation only contribute assets or groups of assets that do not constitute businesses to the joint operation on its formation.

B33C.A joint operator might increase its interest in a joint operation in which the activity of the joint operation constitutes a business, as defined in IFRS 3, by acquiring an additional interest in the joint operation. In such cases, previously held interests in the joint operation are not remeasured if the joint operator retains joint control.

B33CA.A party that participates in, but does not have joint control of, a joint operation might obtain joint control of the joint operation in which the activity of the joint operation constitutes a business as defined in IFRS 3. In such cases, previously held interests in the joint operation are not remeasured.

B33D.Paragraphs 21A and B33A–B33C do not apply on the acquisition of an interest in a joint operation when the parties sharing joint control, including the entity acquiring the interest in the joint operation, are under the common control of the same ultimate controlling party or parties both before and after the acquisition, and that control is not transitory.

B34.When an entity enters into a transaction with a joint operation in which it is a joint operator, such as a sale or contribution of assets, it is conducting the transaction with the other parties to the joint operation and, as such, the joint operator shall recognise gains and losses resulting from such a transaction only to the extent of the other parties’ interests in the joint operation

B35.When such transactions provide evidence of a reduction in the net realisable value of the assets to be sold or contributed to the joint operation, or of an impairment loss of those assets, those losses shall be recognised fully by the joint operator.

B36.When an entity enters into a transaction with a joint operation in which it is a joint operator, such as a purchase of assets, it shall not recognise its share of the gains and losses until it resells those assets to a third party.

B37.When such transactions provide evidence of a reduction in the net realisable value of the assets to be purchased or of an impairment loss of those assets, a joint operator shall recognise its share of those losses.

C2.When changing from proportionate consolidation to the equity method, an entity shall recognise its investment in the joint venture as at the beginning of the immediately preceding period. That initial investment shall be measured as the aggregate of the carrying amounts of the assets and liabilities that the entity had previously proportionately consolidated, including any goodwill arising from acquisition. If the goodwill previously belonged to a larger cash-generating unit, or to a group of cash-generating units, the entity shall allocate goodwill to the joint venture on the basis of the relative carrying amounts of the joint venture and the cash-generating unit or group of cash-generating units to which it belonged.

C3.The opening balance of the investment determined in accordance with paragraph C2 is regarded as the deemed cost of the investment at initial recognition. An entity shall apply paragraphs 40–43 of IAS 28 (as amended in 2011) to the opening balance of the investment to assess whether the investment is impaired and shall recognise any impairment loss as an adjustment to retained earnings at the beginning of the immediately preceding period. The initial recognition exception in paragraphs 15 and 24 of IAS 12 Income Taxes does not apply when the entity recognises an investment in a joint venture resulting from applying the transition requirements for joint ventures that had previously been proportionately consolidated.

C4.If aggregating all previously proportionately consolidated assets and liabilities results in negative net assets, an entity shall assess whether it has legal or constructive obligations in relation to the negative net assets and, if so, the entity shall recognise the corresponding liability. If the entity concludes that it does not have legal or constructive obligations in relation to the negative net assets, it shall not recognise the corresponding liability but it shall adjust retained earnings at the beginning of the immediately preceding period. The entity shall disclose this fact, along with its cumulative unrecognised share of losses of its joint ventures as at the beginning of the immediately preceding period and at the date at which this IFRS is first applied.

C5.An entity shall disclose a breakdown of the assets and liabilities that have been aggregated into the single line investment balance as at the beginning of the immediately preceding period. That disclosure shall be prepared in an aggregated manner for all joint ventures for which an entity applies the transition requirements referred to in paragraphs C2–C6.

C6.After initial recognition, an entity shall account for its investment in the joint venture using the equity method in accordance with IAS 28 (as amended in 2011).

C7.When changing from the equity method to accounting for assets and liabilities in respect of its interest in a joint operation, an entity shall, at the beginning of the immediately preceding period, derecognise the investment that was previously accounted for using the equity method and any other items that formed part of the entity’s net investment in the arrangement in accordance with paragraph 38 of IAS 28 (as amended in 2011) and recognise its share of each of the assets and the liabilities in respect of its interest in the joint operation, including any goodwill that might have formed part of the carrying amount of the investment.

C8.An entity shall determine its interest in the assets and liabilities relating to the joint operation on the basis of its rights and obligations in a specified proportion in accordance with the contractual arrangement. An entity measures the initial carrying amounts of the assets and liabilities by disaggregating them from the carrying amount of the investment at the beginning of the immediately preceding period on the basis of the information used by the entity in applying the equity method.

C9.Any difference arising from the investment previously accounted for using the equity method together with any other items that formed part of the entity’s net investment in the arrangement in accordance with paragraph 38 of IAS 28 (as amended in 2011), and the net amount of the assets and liabilities, including any goodwill, recognised shall be:

1. offset against any goodwill relating to the investment with any remaining difference adjusted against retained earnings at the beginning of the immediately preceding period, if the net amount of the assets and liabilities, including any goodwill, recognised is higher than the investment (and any other items that formed part of the entity’s net investment) derecognised.

2. adjusted against retained earnings at the beginning of the immediately preceding period, if the net amount of the assets and liabilities, including any goodwill, recognised is lower than the investment (and any other items that formed part of the entity’s net investment) derecognised.

C10.An entity changing from the equity method to accounting for assets and liabilities shall provide a reconciliation between the investment derecognised, and the assets and liabilities recognised, together with any remaining difference adjusted against retained earnings, at the beginning of the immediately preceding period.

C11.The initial recognition exception in paragraphs 15 and 24 of IAS 12 does not apply when the entity recognises assets and liabilities relating to its interest in a joint operation.

C12.An entity that, in accordance with paragraph 10 of IAS 27, was previously accounting in its separate financial statements for its interest in a joint operation as an investment at cost or in accordance with IFRS 9 shall:

1. derecognise the investment and recognise the assets and the liabilities in respect of its interest in the joint operation at the amounts determined in accordance with paragraphs C7–C9.

2. provide a reconciliation between the investment derecognised, and the assets and liabilities recognised, together with any remaining difference adjusted in retained earnings, at the beginning of the immediately preceding period.

C13.The initial recognition exception in paragraphs 15 and 24 of IAS 12 does not apply when the entity recognises assets and liabilities relating to its interest in a joint operation in its separate financial statements resulting from applying the transition requirements for joint operations referred to in paragraph C12.

C13A.Notwithstanding the references to the ‘immediately preceding period’ in paragraphs C2–C12, an entity may also present adjusted comparative information for any earlier periods presented, but is not required to do so. If an entity does present adjusted comparative information for any earlier periods, all references to the ‘immediately preceding period’ in paragraphs C2–C12 shall be read as the ‘earliest adjusted comparative period presented’.

C13B.If an entity presents unadjusted comparative information for any earlier periods, it shall clearly identify the information that has not been adjusted, state that it has been prepared on a different basis, and explain that basis.

C14.If an entity applies this IFRS but does not yet apply IFRS 9, any reference to IFRS 9 shall be read as a reference to IAS 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement.

C14A.Accounting for Acquisitions of Interests in Joint Operations (Amendments to IFRS 11), issued in May 2014, amended the heading after paragraph B33 and added paragraphs 21A, B33A–B33D, C1AA and their related headings. An entity shall apply those amendments prospectively for acquisitions of interests in joint operations in which the activities of the joint operations constitute businesses, as defined in IFRS 3, for those acquisitions occurring from the beginning of the first period in which it applies those amendments. Consequently, amounts recognised for acquisitions of interests in joint operations occurring in prior periods shall not be adjusted.