It’s a considerable and bizzare change to the QBCC’s financial reporting regime that will add considerable cost to an industry already feeling the strain of increasing expenses.
The QBCC has quoted 2 new Accounting Standards (AASBs) as their reasoning as to why they are now requiring General Purpose Financial Statements to accompany any MFR Reports starting from the 1st of July 2022.
According to the QBCC’s website’s page on the topic, “Please note that these legislative changes are as a result of amendments to AAS, not the QBCC.”
This change will add considerable cost and complexity to any QBCC licence upgrades while at the same time, not adding any additional value to the client or to QBCC’s ability to interpret the entity’s financial data.
So what are General Purpose Financial Statements? The simple explanation is that GPFS are financial reports that businesses like large public companies are required to submit as part of their responsibilities to shareholders and other governing bodies.
Unlike the Special Purpose Financial Statements that QBCC licence holders have previously used until now, GPFS involve a more complex preparation process, often requiring an auditor in addition to a qualified accountant.
Hodkinson Accounting is calling on the QBCC to review their own regulations and specifically circumvent this Accounting Standard change by allowing licence holders below Cat 4 to continue to prepare and submit Special Purpose Financial Statements as have previously been acceptable.
In the meantime, please contact our office if you believe you may be affected by this change or if you think your QBCC licence may require an upgrade.
