Medium2 marksMultiple Choice

ACCA · Question 21 · IAS 37 Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets

Section B - Case 2

PharmaNova is a pharmaceutical company with a financial year end of 31 December 20X5.
On 15 December 20X5, a patient filed a lawsuit against PharmaNova for $2 million, claiming side effects from a drug. Legal counsel advises there is a 60% probability PharmaNova will lose the case and have to pay the full $2 million.
On 28 December 20X5, the board decided to close a research facility. A detailed formal plan was drawn up, but it was not communicated to the affected employees until 5 January 20X6. The estimated closure costs are $500,000.
On 10 January 20X6, a major wholesale customer went bankrupt. The customer owed PharmaNova $300,000 at 31 December 20X5.
On 1 February 20X6, PharmaNova decided to change its inventory valuation method from FIFO to Weighted Average to better reflect its business model.

Question:
How should PharmaNova account for the lawsuit in its financial statements for the year ended 31 December 20X5?

Answer options:

A.

Recognize a provision for $1,200,000.

B.

Recognize a provision for $2,000,000.

C.

Disclose a contingent liability of $2,000,000.

D.

Do nothing until the court case is finalized.

How to approach this question

Assess the probability. If >50%, it's probable, so recognize a provision. Determine the measurement basis: for a single event, use the most likely outcome, not an expected value calculation.

Full Answer

B.Recognize a provision for $2,000,000.✓ Correct
Under IAS 37, a provision is recognized when there is a present obligation, an outflow of resources is probable (>50%), and a reliable estimate can be made. Since the probability of losing is 60%, it is probable. For a single obligation (like a single lawsuit), the best estimate of the provision is the most likely outcome, which is the full $2,000,000. Expected value (60% x $2m) is typically used for large populations of items (like warranties).

Common mistakes

Calculating an expected value of $1,200,000 for a single discrete event.

Practice the full ACCA FR — Financial Reporting Practice Exam 5

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