Post Employment Benefits - DBP Accounting for defined benefit plans is complex because actuarial assumptions are required to measure the obligation and the expense and there is a possibility of actuarial gains and losses. Moreover, the obligations are measured on a discounted basis because they may be settled many years after the employees render the related service.
Recognition & Measurement
Defined benefit plans may be unfunded, or they may be wholly or partly funded by contributions by an entity, and sometimes its employees, into an entity, or fund, that is legally separate from the reporting entity and from which the employee benefits are paid. The payment of funded benefits when they fall due depends not only on the financial position and the investment performance of the fund but also on an entity’s ability, and willingness, to make good any shortfall in the fund’s assets. Therefore, the entity is, in substance, underwriting the actuarial and investment risks associated with the plan. Consequently, the expense recognised for a defined benefit plan is not necessarily the amount of the contribution due for the period.
Disclosure
An entity shall disclose information that:
(a) explains the characteristics of its defined benefit plans and risks associated with them (see paragraph 139)
(b) identifies and explains the amounts in its financial statements arising from its defined benefit plans (see paragraphs 140–144);
(c) describes how its defined benefit plans may affect the amount, timing and uncertainty of the entity’s future cash flows (see paragraphs 145–147).