tiene contratados instrumentos de cobertura

English translation: has contracted derivatives designated as hedges

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Spanish term or phrase:tiene contratados instrumentos de cobertura
English translation:has contracted derivatives designated as hedges
Entered by: Adam Burman

20:02 Mar 5, 2007
Spanish to English translations [PRO]
Bus/Financial - Accounting / Financial report
Spanish term or phrase: tiene contratados instrumentos de cobertura
El Grupo tiene contratados instrumentos de cobertura por un nominal de 2.104 millones de euros de los cuales 406 millones de euros fueron contratados durante el ejercicio, situando el ratio de cobertura a 31 de diciembre de 2005 en el 76%.
Adam Burman
United Kingdom
Local time: 06:43
has contracted derivatives designated as hedges
Explanation:
Take note of the choice of words and writing style.

The following summary is taken from www.fasb.org

Summary of Statement No. 133
Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities
(Issued 6/98)


Summary

This Statement establishes accounting and reporting standards for derivative instruments, including certain derivative instruments embedded in other contracts, (collectively referred to as derivatives) and for hedging activities. It requires that an entity recognize all derivatives as either assets or liabilities in the statement of financial position and measure those instruments at fair value. If certain conditions are met, a derivative may be specifically designated as (a) a hedge of the exposure to changes in the fair value of a recognized asset or liability or an unrecognized firm commitment, (b) a hedge of the exposure to variable cash flows of a forecasted transaction, or (c) a hedge of the foreign currency exposure of a net investment in a foreign operation, an unrecognized firm commitment, an available-for-sale security, or a foreign-currency-denominated forecasted transaction.
The accounting for changes in the fair value of a derivative (that is, gains and losses) depends on the intended use of the derivative and the resulting designation.
• For a derivative designated as hedging the exposure to changes in the fair value of a recognized asset or liability or a firm commitment (referred to as a fair value hedge), the gain or loss is recognized in earnings in the period of change together with the offsetting loss or gain on the hedged item attributable to the risk being hedged. The effect of that accounting is to reflect in earnings the extent to which the hedge is not effective in achieving offsetting changes in fair value.
• For a derivative designated as hedging the exposure to variable cash flows of a forecasted transaction (referred to as a cash flow hedge), the effective portion of the derivative’s gain or loss is initially reported as a component of other comprehensive income (outside earnings) and subsequently reclassified into earnings when the forecasted transaction affects earnings. The ineffective portion of the gain or loss is reported in earnings immediately.
• For a derivative designated as hedging the foreign currency exposure of a net investment in a foreign operation, the gain or loss is reported in other comprehensive income (outside earnings) as part of the cumulative translation adjustment. The accounting for a fair value hedge described above applies to a derivative designated as a hedge of the foreign currency exposure of an unrecognized firm commitment or an available-for-sale security. Similarly, the accounting for a cash flow hedge described above applies to a derivative designated as a hedge of the foreign currency exposure of a foreign-currency-denominated forecasted transaction.
• For a derivative not designated as a hedging instrument, the gain or loss is recognized in earnings in the period of change.
Under this Statement, an entity that elects to apply hedge accounting is required to establish at the inception of the hedge the method it will use for assessing the effectiveness of the hedging derivative and the measurement approach for determining the ineffective aspect of the hedge. Those methods must be consistent with the entity’s approach to managing risk.
This Statement applies to all entities. A not-for-profit organization should recognize the change in fair value of all derivatives as a change in net assets in the period of change. In a fair value hedge, the changes in the fair value of the hedged item attributable to the risk being hedged also are recognized. However, because of the format of their statement of financial performance, not-for-profit organizations are not permitted special hedge accounting for derivatives used to hedge forecasted transactions. This Statement does not address how a not-for-profit organization should determine the components of an operating measure if one is presented.
This Statement precludes designating a nonderivative financial instrument as a hedge of an asset, liability, unrecognized firm commitment, or forecasted transaction except that a nonderivative instrument denominated in a foreign currency may be designated as a hedge of the foreign currency exposure of an unrecognized firm commitment denominated in a foreign currency or a net investment in a foreign operation.
This Statement amends FASB Statement No. 52, Foreign Currency Translation, to permit special accounting for a hedge of a foreign currency forecasted transaction with a derivative. It supersedes FASB Statements No. 80, Accounting for Futures Contracts, No. 105, Disclosure of Information about Financial Instruments with Off-Balance-Sheet Risk and Financial Instruments with Concentrations of Credit Risk, and No. 119, Disclosure about Derivative Financial Instruments and Fair Value of Financial Instruments. It amends FASB Statement No. 107, Disclosures about Fair Value of Financial Instruments, to include in Statement 107 the disclosure provisions about concentrations of credit risk from Statement 105. This Statement also nullifies or modifies the consensuses reached in a number of issues addressed by the Emerging Issues Task Force.
This Statement is effective for all fiscal quarters of fiscal years beginning after June 15, 1999. Initial application of this Statement should be as of the beginning of an entity’s fiscal quarter; on that date, hedging relationships must be designated anew and documented pursuant to the provisions of this Statement. Earlier application of all of the provisions of this Statement is encouraged, but it is permitted only as of the beginning of any fiscal quarter that begins after issuance of this Statement. This Statement should not be applied retroactively to financial statements of prior periods.

Comment: FASB 133 was subsequently amended by FASB 138, but there is no summary for this amendment on this website. However, there is a summary for FASB 149 on the same subject of derivatives as follows:

Summary of Statement No. 149
Amendment of Statement 133 on Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities (Issued 4/03)
Summary

This Statement amends and clarifies financial accounting and reporting for derivative instruments, including certain derivative instruments embedded in other contracts (collectively referred to as derivatives) and for hedging activities under FASB Statement No. 133, Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities.

Reasons for Issuing This Statement

This Statement amends Statement 133 for decisions made (1) as part of the Derivatives Implementation Group process that effectively required amendments to Statement 133, (2) in connection with other Board projects dealing with financial instruments, and (3) in connection with implementation issues raised in relation to the application of the definition of a derivative, in particular, the meaning of an initial net investment that is smaller than would be required for other types of contracts that would be expected to have a similar response to changes in market factors, the meaning of underlying, and the characteristics of a derivative that contains financing components.

How the Changes in This Statement Improve Financial Reporting

The changes in this Statement improve financial reporting by requiring that contracts with comparable characteristics be accounted for similarly. In particular, this Statement (1) clarifies under what circumstances a contract with an initial net investment meets the characteristic of a derivative discussed in paragraph 6(b) of Statement 133, (2) clarifies when a derivative contains a financing component, (3) amends the definition of an underlying to conform it to language used in FASB Interpretation No. 45, Guarantor’s Accounting and Disclosure Requirements for Guarantees, Including Indirect Guarantees of Indebtedness of Others, and (4) amends certain other existing pronouncements. Those changes will result in more consistent reporting of contracts as either derivatives or hybrid instruments.

The Effective Date of This Statement

This Statement is effective for contracts entered into or modified after June 30, 2003, except as stated below and for hedging relationships designated after June 30, 2003. In addition, except as stated below, all provisions of this Statement should be applied prospectively.

The provisions of this Statement that relate to Statement 133 Implementation Issues that have been effective for fiscal quarters that began prior to June 15, 2003, should continue to be applied in accordance with their respective effective dates. In addition, paragraphs 7(a) and 23(a), which relate to forward purchases or sales of when-issued securities or other securities that do not yet exist, should be applied to both existing contracts and new contracts entered into after June 30, 2003

A summary of FASB 150 on the same subject appears below:
Summary of Statement No. 150
Accounting for Certain Financial Instruments with Characteristics of both Liabilities and Equity (Issued 5/03)
Summary

This Statement establishes standards for how an issuer classifies and measures certain financial instruments with characteristics of both liabilities and equity. It requires that an issuer classify a financial instrument that is within its scope as a liability (or an asset in some circumstances). Many of those instruments were previously classified as equity. Some of the provisions of this Statement are consistent with the current definition of liabilities in FASB Concepts Statement No. 6, Elements of Financial Statements. The remaining provisions of this Statement are consistent with the Board’s proposal to revise that definition to encompass certain obligations that a reporting entity can or must settle by issuing its own equity shares, depending on the nature of the relationship established between the holder and the issuer. While the Board still plans to revise that definition through an amendment to Concepts Statement 6, the Board decided to defer issuing that amendment until it has concluded its deliberations on the next phase of this project. That next phase will deal with certain compound financial instruments including puttable shares, convertible bonds, and dual-indexed financial instruments.

This Statement concludes the first phase of the Board’s redeliberations of the Exposure Draft, Accounting for Financial Instruments with Characteristics of Liabilities, Equity, or Both.

Scope and Requirements of This Statement

This Statement requires an issuer to classify the following instruments as liabilities (or assets in some circumstances):

A financial instrument issued in the form of shares that is mandatorily redeemable—that embodies an unconditional obligation requiring the issuer to redeem it by transferring its assets at a specified or determinable date (or dates) or upon an event that is certain to occur

A financial instrument, other than an outstanding share, that, at inception, embodies an obligation to repurchase the issuer’s equity shares, or is indexed to such an obligation, and that requires or may require the issuer to settle the obligation by transferring assets (for example, a forward purchase contract or written put option on the issuer’s equity shares that is to be physically settled or net cash settled)

A financial instrument that embodies an unconditional obligation, or a financial instrument other than an outstanding share that embodies a conditional obligation, that the issuer must or may settle by issuing a variable number of its equity shares, if, at inception, the monetary value of the obligation is based solely or predominantly on any of the following:

A fixed monetary amount known at inception, for example, a payable settleable with a variable number of the issuer’s equity shares

Variations in something other than the fair value of the issuer’s equity shares, for example, a financial instrument indexed to the S&P 500 and settleable with a variable number of the issuer’s equity shares

Variations inversely related to changes in the fair value of the issuer’s equity shares, for example, a written put option that could be net share settled.

The requirements of this Statement apply to issuers’ classification and measurement of freestanding financial instruments, including those that comprise more than one option or forward contract.

This Statement does not apply to features that are embedded in a financial instrument that is not a derivative in its entirety. For example, it does not change the accounting treatment of conversion features, conditional redemption features, or other features embedded in financial instruments that are not derivatives in their entirety. It also does not affect the classification or measurement of convertible bonds, puttable stock, or other outstanding shares that are conditionally redeemable. This Statement also does not address certain financial instruments indexed partly to the issuer’s equity shares and partly, but not predominantly, to something else. Financial instruments with characteristics of both liabilities and equity not addressed in this Statement will be addressed in the next phase of the project. Guidance currently in effect for those instruments continues to apply. In applying the classification provisions of this Statement, nonsubstantive or minimal features are to be disregarded.

Forward contracts to repurchase an issuer’s equity shares that require physical settlement in exchange for cash are initially measured at the fair value of the shares at inception, adjusted for any consideration or unstated rights or privileges, which is the same as the amount that would be paid under the conditions specified in the contract if settlement occurred immediately. Those contracts and mandatorily redeemable financial instruments are subsequently measured at the present value of the amount to be paid at settlement (discounted at the rate implicit at inception), if both the amount of cash and the settlement date are fixed, or, otherwise, at the amount that would be paid under the conditions specified in the contract if settlement occurred at the reporting date. Other financial instruments within the scope of this Statement are initially and subsequently measured at fair value, unless required by this Statement or other generally accepted accounting principles to be measured differently. Disclosures are required about the terms of the instruments and settlement alternatives.

Reasons for Issuing This Statement

This Statement was developed in response to concerns expressed by preparers, auditors, regulators, investors, and other users of financial statements about issuers’ classification in the statement of financial position of certain financial instruments that have characteristics of both liabilities and equity but that have been presented either entirely as equity or between the liabilities section and the equity section of the statement of financial position. This Statement also addresses questions about the classification of certain financial instruments that embody obligations to issue equity shares. Previously, under Emerging Issues Task Force Issue No. 00-19, “Accounting for Derivative Financial Instruments Indexed to, and Potentially Settled in, a Company’s Own Stock,” an issuer of a contract to repurchase its equity shares generally accounted for that contract as equity if the issuer must or could settle it by delivering its equity shares (net share settled). Additionally, certain obligations settleable by delivery of the issuer’s equity shares but not indexed to the issuer’s shares may have been classified as equity. Under this Statement, those obligations are accounted for as liabilities.

How the Changes in This Statement Improve Financial Reporting and How the Conclusions in This Statement Relate to the Conceptual Framework

FASB Concepts Statement No. 1, Objectives of Financial Reporting by Business Enterprises, states that financial reporting should provide information that is useful in making business and economic decisions. The changes in this Statement will result in a more complete depiction of an entity’s liabilities and equity and will, thereby, assist investors and creditors in assessing the amount, timing, and likelihood of potential future cash outflows and equity share issuances.

FASB Concepts Statement No. 2, Qualitative Characteristics of Accounting Information, identifies the characteristics of financial information that make it useful: relevance and reliability and their components. The changes in this Statement will enhance the relevance of accounting information by providing more information about an entity’s obligations to transfer assets or issue shares, thus, improving its predictive value to users. Reliability of accounting information will be improved by providing a portrayal of an entity’s capital structure that is unbiased, verifiable, and more representationally faithful than information reported prior to issuance of this Statement. Because restatement on transition is prohibited, the initial and ongoing costs of those changes have been minimized. Overall, in the Board’s opinion, the benefits of this Statement in terms of improved decision usefulness, relevance, and reliability justify the costs.

Concepts Statement 6 defines liabilities and equity. This Statement requires that certain obligations that require a transfer of assets and that meet the definition of liabilities in Concepts Statement 6 and other recognition criteria in FASB Concepts Statement No. 5, Recognition and Measurement in Financial Statements of Business Enterprises, be reported as liabilities. This Statement also requires that certain obligations that could be settled by issuance of an entity’s equity but lack other characteristics of equity be reported as liabilities even though the obligation does not meet the definition of liabilities in Concepts Statement 6. The Board expects to amend Concepts Statement 6 to eliminate that inconsistency in the next phase of this project.

The Effective Date of This Statement

This Statement is effective for financial instruments entered into or modified after May 31, 2003, and otherwise is effective at the beginning of the first interim period beginning after June 15, 2003, except for mandatorily redeemable financial instruments of nonpublic entities. It is to be implemented by reporting the cumulative effect of a change in an accounting principle for financial instruments created before the issuance date of the Statement and still existing at the beginning of the interim period of adoption. Restatement is not permitted.

For nonpublic entities, mandatorily redeemable financial instruments are subject to the provisions of this Statement for the first fiscal period beginning after December 15, 2003.

Hope this helps.
18 years of experience with accounting firms in Mexico City.



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2007-03-05 21:15:00 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

All of the above summaries are taken from www.fasb.org
Selected response from:

Richard Cadena
Mexico
Local time: 00:43
Grading comment
Thanks again Richard!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5has contracted derivatives designated as hedges
Richard Cadena
5entered into hedge contracts
DCypher (X)
4has contracted/has made a contract for hedge instruments
Valeria Carcagno
3has contracted (financial) coverage instruments
Vladimir Volovnyk (X)


Discussion entries: 2





  

Answers


30 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
has contracted (financial) coverage instruments


Explanation:
Normally there are different types of financial instruments depending on the sphere of application.

Vladimir Volovnyk (X)
Local time: 08:43
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian, Native in UkrainianUkrainian
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

32 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
has contracted/has made a contract for hedge instruments


Explanation:
'

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 38 mins (2007-03-05 20:41:15 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

http://www.dnbnord.pl/en/offer.php?id=146
Corporate offer | Hedge instruments. Bank DnB NORD Polska offers its customers modern financial instruments to hedge currency risk and interest rate risk. ...
www.dnbnord.pl/en/offer.php?id=146 - 7k –

http://www.stanford.edu/~wfsharpe/art/fer/fer95b.htm
If the hedge instrument is not terminated when the hedged item is brought into income, it converts to an instrument to be marked to market. ...www.stanford.edu/~wfsharpe/art/fer/fer95b.htm - 7k -

http://fic.wharton.upenn.edu/fic/Policy page/fer19952.pdf
on hedge instruments should be deferred only to the extent that they do not. exceed the unrecorded gains to date associated with the hedged item. ...
fic.wharton.upenn.edu/fic/Policy%20page/fer19952.pdf -


Valeria Carcagno
Argentina
Local time: 03:43
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in SpanishSpanish
PRO pts in category: 20
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
has contracted derivatives designated as hedges


Explanation:
Take note of the choice of words and writing style.

The following summary is taken from www.fasb.org

Summary of Statement No. 133
Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities
(Issued 6/98)


Summary

This Statement establishes accounting and reporting standards for derivative instruments, including certain derivative instruments embedded in other contracts, (collectively referred to as derivatives) and for hedging activities. It requires that an entity recognize all derivatives as either assets or liabilities in the statement of financial position and measure those instruments at fair value. If certain conditions are met, a derivative may be specifically designated as (a) a hedge of the exposure to changes in the fair value of a recognized asset or liability or an unrecognized firm commitment, (b) a hedge of the exposure to variable cash flows of a forecasted transaction, or (c) a hedge of the foreign currency exposure of a net investment in a foreign operation, an unrecognized firm commitment, an available-for-sale security, or a foreign-currency-denominated forecasted transaction.
The accounting for changes in the fair value of a derivative (that is, gains and losses) depends on the intended use of the derivative and the resulting designation.
• For a derivative designated as hedging the exposure to changes in the fair value of a recognized asset or liability or a firm commitment (referred to as a fair value hedge), the gain or loss is recognized in earnings in the period of change together with the offsetting loss or gain on the hedged item attributable to the risk being hedged. The effect of that accounting is to reflect in earnings the extent to which the hedge is not effective in achieving offsetting changes in fair value.
• For a derivative designated as hedging the exposure to variable cash flows of a forecasted transaction (referred to as a cash flow hedge), the effective portion of the derivative’s gain or loss is initially reported as a component of other comprehensive income (outside earnings) and subsequently reclassified into earnings when the forecasted transaction affects earnings. The ineffective portion of the gain or loss is reported in earnings immediately.
• For a derivative designated as hedging the foreign currency exposure of a net investment in a foreign operation, the gain or loss is reported in other comprehensive income (outside earnings) as part of the cumulative translation adjustment. The accounting for a fair value hedge described above applies to a derivative designated as a hedge of the foreign currency exposure of an unrecognized firm commitment or an available-for-sale security. Similarly, the accounting for a cash flow hedge described above applies to a derivative designated as a hedge of the foreign currency exposure of a foreign-currency-denominated forecasted transaction.
• For a derivative not designated as a hedging instrument, the gain or loss is recognized in earnings in the period of change.
Under this Statement, an entity that elects to apply hedge accounting is required to establish at the inception of the hedge the method it will use for assessing the effectiveness of the hedging derivative and the measurement approach for determining the ineffective aspect of the hedge. Those methods must be consistent with the entity’s approach to managing risk.
This Statement applies to all entities. A not-for-profit organization should recognize the change in fair value of all derivatives as a change in net assets in the period of change. In a fair value hedge, the changes in the fair value of the hedged item attributable to the risk being hedged also are recognized. However, because of the format of their statement of financial performance, not-for-profit organizations are not permitted special hedge accounting for derivatives used to hedge forecasted transactions. This Statement does not address how a not-for-profit organization should determine the components of an operating measure if one is presented.
This Statement precludes designating a nonderivative financial instrument as a hedge of an asset, liability, unrecognized firm commitment, or forecasted transaction except that a nonderivative instrument denominated in a foreign currency may be designated as a hedge of the foreign currency exposure of an unrecognized firm commitment denominated in a foreign currency or a net investment in a foreign operation.
This Statement amends FASB Statement No. 52, Foreign Currency Translation, to permit special accounting for a hedge of a foreign currency forecasted transaction with a derivative. It supersedes FASB Statements No. 80, Accounting for Futures Contracts, No. 105, Disclosure of Information about Financial Instruments with Off-Balance-Sheet Risk and Financial Instruments with Concentrations of Credit Risk, and No. 119, Disclosure about Derivative Financial Instruments and Fair Value of Financial Instruments. It amends FASB Statement No. 107, Disclosures about Fair Value of Financial Instruments, to include in Statement 107 the disclosure provisions about concentrations of credit risk from Statement 105. This Statement also nullifies or modifies the consensuses reached in a number of issues addressed by the Emerging Issues Task Force.
This Statement is effective for all fiscal quarters of fiscal years beginning after June 15, 1999. Initial application of this Statement should be as of the beginning of an entity’s fiscal quarter; on that date, hedging relationships must be designated anew and documented pursuant to the provisions of this Statement. Earlier application of all of the provisions of this Statement is encouraged, but it is permitted only as of the beginning of any fiscal quarter that begins after issuance of this Statement. This Statement should not be applied retroactively to financial statements of prior periods.

Comment: FASB 133 was subsequently amended by FASB 138, but there is no summary for this amendment on this website. However, there is a summary for FASB 149 on the same subject of derivatives as follows:

Summary of Statement No. 149
Amendment of Statement 133 on Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities (Issued 4/03)
Summary

This Statement amends and clarifies financial accounting and reporting for derivative instruments, including certain derivative instruments embedded in other contracts (collectively referred to as derivatives) and for hedging activities under FASB Statement No. 133, Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities.

Reasons for Issuing This Statement

This Statement amends Statement 133 for decisions made (1) as part of the Derivatives Implementation Group process that effectively required amendments to Statement 133, (2) in connection with other Board projects dealing with financial instruments, and (3) in connection with implementation issues raised in relation to the application of the definition of a derivative, in particular, the meaning of an initial net investment that is smaller than would be required for other types of contracts that would be expected to have a similar response to changes in market factors, the meaning of underlying, and the characteristics of a derivative that contains financing components.

How the Changes in This Statement Improve Financial Reporting

The changes in this Statement improve financial reporting by requiring that contracts with comparable characteristics be accounted for similarly. In particular, this Statement (1) clarifies under what circumstances a contract with an initial net investment meets the characteristic of a derivative discussed in paragraph 6(b) of Statement 133, (2) clarifies when a derivative contains a financing component, (3) amends the definition of an underlying to conform it to language used in FASB Interpretation No. 45, Guarantor’s Accounting and Disclosure Requirements for Guarantees, Including Indirect Guarantees of Indebtedness of Others, and (4) amends certain other existing pronouncements. Those changes will result in more consistent reporting of contracts as either derivatives or hybrid instruments.

The Effective Date of This Statement

This Statement is effective for contracts entered into or modified after June 30, 2003, except as stated below and for hedging relationships designated after June 30, 2003. In addition, except as stated below, all provisions of this Statement should be applied prospectively.

The provisions of this Statement that relate to Statement 133 Implementation Issues that have been effective for fiscal quarters that began prior to June 15, 2003, should continue to be applied in accordance with their respective effective dates. In addition, paragraphs 7(a) and 23(a), which relate to forward purchases or sales of when-issued securities or other securities that do not yet exist, should be applied to both existing contracts and new contracts entered into after June 30, 2003

A summary of FASB 150 on the same subject appears below:
Summary of Statement No. 150
Accounting for Certain Financial Instruments with Characteristics of both Liabilities and Equity (Issued 5/03)
Summary

This Statement establishes standards for how an issuer classifies and measures certain financial instruments with characteristics of both liabilities and equity. It requires that an issuer classify a financial instrument that is within its scope as a liability (or an asset in some circumstances). Many of those instruments were previously classified as equity. Some of the provisions of this Statement are consistent with the current definition of liabilities in FASB Concepts Statement No. 6, Elements of Financial Statements. The remaining provisions of this Statement are consistent with the Board’s proposal to revise that definition to encompass certain obligations that a reporting entity can or must settle by issuing its own equity shares, depending on the nature of the relationship established between the holder and the issuer. While the Board still plans to revise that definition through an amendment to Concepts Statement 6, the Board decided to defer issuing that amendment until it has concluded its deliberations on the next phase of this project. That next phase will deal with certain compound financial instruments including puttable shares, convertible bonds, and dual-indexed financial instruments.

This Statement concludes the first phase of the Board’s redeliberations of the Exposure Draft, Accounting for Financial Instruments with Characteristics of Liabilities, Equity, or Both.

Scope and Requirements of This Statement

This Statement requires an issuer to classify the following instruments as liabilities (or assets in some circumstances):

A financial instrument issued in the form of shares that is mandatorily redeemable—that embodies an unconditional obligation requiring the issuer to redeem it by transferring its assets at a specified or determinable date (or dates) or upon an event that is certain to occur

A financial instrument, other than an outstanding share, that, at inception, embodies an obligation to repurchase the issuer’s equity shares, or is indexed to such an obligation, and that requires or may require the issuer to settle the obligation by transferring assets (for example, a forward purchase contract or written put option on the issuer’s equity shares that is to be physically settled or net cash settled)

A financial instrument that embodies an unconditional obligation, or a financial instrument other than an outstanding share that embodies a conditional obligation, that the issuer must or may settle by issuing a variable number of its equity shares, if, at inception, the monetary value of the obligation is based solely or predominantly on any of the following:

A fixed monetary amount known at inception, for example, a payable settleable with a variable number of the issuer’s equity shares

Variations in something other than the fair value of the issuer’s equity shares, for example, a financial instrument indexed to the S&P 500 and settleable with a variable number of the issuer’s equity shares

Variations inversely related to changes in the fair value of the issuer’s equity shares, for example, a written put option that could be net share settled.

The requirements of this Statement apply to issuers’ classification and measurement of freestanding financial instruments, including those that comprise more than one option or forward contract.

This Statement does not apply to features that are embedded in a financial instrument that is not a derivative in its entirety. For example, it does not change the accounting treatment of conversion features, conditional redemption features, or other features embedded in financial instruments that are not derivatives in their entirety. It also does not affect the classification or measurement of convertible bonds, puttable stock, or other outstanding shares that are conditionally redeemable. This Statement also does not address certain financial instruments indexed partly to the issuer’s equity shares and partly, but not predominantly, to something else. Financial instruments with characteristics of both liabilities and equity not addressed in this Statement will be addressed in the next phase of the project. Guidance currently in effect for those instruments continues to apply. In applying the classification provisions of this Statement, nonsubstantive or minimal features are to be disregarded.

Forward contracts to repurchase an issuer’s equity shares that require physical settlement in exchange for cash are initially measured at the fair value of the shares at inception, adjusted for any consideration or unstated rights or privileges, which is the same as the amount that would be paid under the conditions specified in the contract if settlement occurred immediately. Those contracts and mandatorily redeemable financial instruments are subsequently measured at the present value of the amount to be paid at settlement (discounted at the rate implicit at inception), if both the amount of cash and the settlement date are fixed, or, otherwise, at the amount that would be paid under the conditions specified in the contract if settlement occurred at the reporting date. Other financial instruments within the scope of this Statement are initially and subsequently measured at fair value, unless required by this Statement or other generally accepted accounting principles to be measured differently. Disclosures are required about the terms of the instruments and settlement alternatives.

Reasons for Issuing This Statement

This Statement was developed in response to concerns expressed by preparers, auditors, regulators, investors, and other users of financial statements about issuers’ classification in the statement of financial position of certain financial instruments that have characteristics of both liabilities and equity but that have been presented either entirely as equity or between the liabilities section and the equity section of the statement of financial position. This Statement also addresses questions about the classification of certain financial instruments that embody obligations to issue equity shares. Previously, under Emerging Issues Task Force Issue No. 00-19, “Accounting for Derivative Financial Instruments Indexed to, and Potentially Settled in, a Company’s Own Stock,” an issuer of a contract to repurchase its equity shares generally accounted for that contract as equity if the issuer must or could settle it by delivering its equity shares (net share settled). Additionally, certain obligations settleable by delivery of the issuer’s equity shares but not indexed to the issuer’s shares may have been classified as equity. Under this Statement, those obligations are accounted for as liabilities.

How the Changes in This Statement Improve Financial Reporting and How the Conclusions in This Statement Relate to the Conceptual Framework

FASB Concepts Statement No. 1, Objectives of Financial Reporting by Business Enterprises, states that financial reporting should provide information that is useful in making business and economic decisions. The changes in this Statement will result in a more complete depiction of an entity’s liabilities and equity and will, thereby, assist investors and creditors in assessing the amount, timing, and likelihood of potential future cash outflows and equity share issuances.

FASB Concepts Statement No. 2, Qualitative Characteristics of Accounting Information, identifies the characteristics of financial information that make it useful: relevance and reliability and their components. The changes in this Statement will enhance the relevance of accounting information by providing more information about an entity’s obligations to transfer assets or issue shares, thus, improving its predictive value to users. Reliability of accounting information will be improved by providing a portrayal of an entity’s capital structure that is unbiased, verifiable, and more representationally faithful than information reported prior to issuance of this Statement. Because restatement on transition is prohibited, the initial and ongoing costs of those changes have been minimized. Overall, in the Board’s opinion, the benefits of this Statement in terms of improved decision usefulness, relevance, and reliability justify the costs.

Concepts Statement 6 defines liabilities and equity. This Statement requires that certain obligations that require a transfer of assets and that meet the definition of liabilities in Concepts Statement 6 and other recognition criteria in FASB Concepts Statement No. 5, Recognition and Measurement in Financial Statements of Business Enterprises, be reported as liabilities. This Statement also requires that certain obligations that could be settled by issuance of an entity’s equity but lack other characteristics of equity be reported as liabilities even though the obligation does not meet the definition of liabilities in Concepts Statement 6. The Board expects to amend Concepts Statement 6 to eliminate that inconsistency in the next phase of this project.

The Effective Date of This Statement

This Statement is effective for financial instruments entered into or modified after May 31, 2003, and otherwise is effective at the beginning of the first interim period beginning after June 15, 2003, except for mandatorily redeemable financial instruments of nonpublic entities. It is to be implemented by reporting the cumulative effect of a change in an accounting principle for financial instruments created before the issuance date of the Statement and still existing at the beginning of the interim period of adoption. Restatement is not permitted.

For nonpublic entities, mandatorily redeemable financial instruments are subject to the provisions of this Statement for the first fiscal period beginning after December 15, 2003.

Hope this helps.
18 years of experience with accounting firms in Mexico City.



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2007-03-05 21:15:00 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

All of the above summaries are taken from www.fasb.org


    Reference: http://aicpa.org
    Reference: http://imcp.org.mx
Richard Cadena
Mexico
Local time: 00:43
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 726
Grading comment
Thanks again Richard!
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

11 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
entered into hedge contracts


Explanation:
run it in google and you will see some excellent examples of the phrasing.

Instruments is not necessary in English.

The hedge contracts/agreements are entered into. These are hedges of the companies own positions rather than derivatives or other contracts entered into for trading purposes. (of which €406 m entered into in the current period)



DCypher (X)
Local time: 07:43
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 20
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)



Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.

You will also have access to many other tools and opportunities designed for those who have language-related jobs (or are passionate about them). Participation is free and the site has a strict confidentiality policy.

KudoZ™ translation help

The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.


See also:
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search