Changing depreciation during the reporting period - CPDbox - Making IFRS Easy (2024)

Question

We are a manufacturing company and we applied straight-line depreciation method for our assets.

During the year, our company revised major production plans, compared them with useful lives of our assets and we found out that the change was necessary.

Can we make the change in the middle of the reporting period? Alternatively, can we change the depreciation more than once during the financial period?

Answer

Yes, you can.

Both depreciation method and useful life are changes in accounting estimates.

The standard IAS 16 states that you should revise the depreciation method, useful lives and residual values at least at each financial year-end and if the new expectation differs, you should account for the change in accounting estimate.

It implies that you can revise them more often than once during the period. Also, the standard IAS 8 Accounting Policies, Changes in Accounting Estimates and Errors does not restrict making changes in accounting estimates only to the year-end.

Don’t forget to make the appropriate disclosures about making the change in your accounting estimates in the notes to the financial statements.

Please see IAS 16 par. 51, 61; IAS 8 par. 32-40 for your reference.