SEC defers accounting rules for real estate sector to 2023

He Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has deferred the implementation of certain accounting rules covering the real estate industry to 2023 to help the industry cope with the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

TIn its Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 34, the SEC decided to defer the application of Philippine Interpretation Committee Question and Answer (PIC Q& A) No. 2018-12 with respect to the accounting for significant financing component and the exclusion of land in the calculation of the percentage of completion. The new rule will be implemented in 2023 instead of January 1 next year.

The real estate industry will also have 3 more years to comply with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Interpretations Committee’s Agenda Decision on over time transfers of constructed goods under Philippine Accounting Standards (PAS) 23-Borrowing Cost.

“The real estate industry has suffered from Covid-19 pandemic as well as other sectors. With the deferral of the accounting rules, the real estate industry will have enough time to further evaluate and resolve the remaining implementation issues,” SEC Chairman Emilio B. Aquino said.

Nevertheless, real estate companies may comply in full with the requirements of PIC Q& A 2018-12 and IFRIC Agenda Decision beginning January 1, 2021.

Those opting for the deferral will have to disclose in the notes to the financial statements the accounting policies applied, a discussion of the deferral of the subject implementation issues, and a qualitative discussion of the impact in the financial statement had the concerned application guidelines been adopted.

The regulatory reliefs are not considered in accordance with the Philippine Financial Reporting Standards (PFRS) and as such, real estate companies that will adopt and record them for financial reporting purposes must specify in the “Basis of Preparation of the Financial Statements” section of their financial statements that they were prepared in accordance with PFRS, the SEC said.

The external auditor must also state in the opinion paragraph that the financial statements were prepared in accordance with the compliance framework described in the notes to the financial statements.