Business – Boots slates ASB share rules

Business - Boots slates ASB share rules

Boots, the retail chemist which earlier this year broke with standard practice to account for shares granted to its employees, this week criticised the Accounting Standards Board for backing down on changes that would have reßected the true costs of such schemes in company accounts.

Accounting treatments for employee share schemes will remain unchanged after the Urgent Issues Task Force withdrew proposed amendments to two abstracts last week.

Rather than treating shares held in an ESOP as an asset, the proposed amendments to two UITF abstracts would have required the purchase to be reported as a reduction in shareholders’ funds. But the ASB decided to withdraw them and tackle employee share ownership in a broader accounting for equity project.

In a move that was generally welcomed by analysts, Boots decided in February to show the cost of shares purchased for its employee scheme in its profit and loss account.

Boots group treasurer Michael Bunting said the proposed revisions ‘didn’t go far enough’ and was ‘surprised to see the ASB back down’.

Share

Subscribe to get your daily business insights

Resources & Whitepapers

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folders and Embrace Metadata
Professional Services

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folders and Embrace Metadata

3y

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folde...

In the past decade, the professional services industry has transformed significantly. Digital disruptions, increased competition, and changing market ...

View resource
2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professional Services Firms

2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professional Services Firms

3y

2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professi...

In recent months, professional services firms are facing more pressure than ever to deliver value to clients. Often, clients look at the firms own inf...

View resource
Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine
Accounting Firms

Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine

3y

Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine

In a world of instant results and automated workloads, the potential for AP to drive insights and transform results is enormous. But, if you’re still ...

View resource
Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021
Making Tax Digital

Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021

3y

Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021

The first phase of Making Tax Digital (MTD) saw the requirement for the digital submission of the VAT Return using compliant software. That’s now behi...

View resource