Geraldton Port Authority - Parliament of Western Australia

1. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
ANNUAL REPORT 2007/2008
Notes to and forming part of the Financial
Statements for the year ended 30 June 2008
The fi nancial statements were authorised for issue on 25 September 2008 by the Board of Directors of Geraldton Port Authority
(‘the Authority’). The following signifi cant accounting policies have been adopted in the preparation of the fi nancial statements
for the year ended 30 June 2008.
1.1 Statement of compliance
These fi nancial statements have been prepared as a general purpose fi nancial report in accordance with Australian Accounting
Standards (AASBs) (including Australian Interpretations) adopted by the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) and
the fi nancial reporting provisions of the Port Authorities Act 1999.
The following standards and amendments were available for early adoption but have not been applied by the Authority in these
fi nancial statements:
• AASB 101 Presentation of Financial Statements introduces as a fi nancial statement (formerly “primary” statement) the
“statement of comprehensive income”. The revised standard does not change the recognition, measurement or disclosure
of transactions and events that are required by other AASBs. The revised AASB 101 will become mandatory for the
Authority’s 30 June 2010 fi nancial statements. The Authority does not expect any fi nancial impact when the standard is
fi rst applied.
• AASB 123 Borrowing Costs removes the option to expense borrowing costs and requires that an entity capitalise borrowing
costs directly attributable to the acquisition, construction or production of a qualifying asset as part of the cost of that asset.
The revised AASB 123 will become mandatory for the Authority’s 30 June 2010 fi nancial statements. The Authority already
capitalises borrowing costs directly attributable to qualifying assets, therefore there will be no impact on the fi nancial
statements when the standard is fi rst applied.
1.2 Basis of preparation
The fi nancial statements have been prepared on an accrual accounting basis and in accordance with the historical cost
convention.
The accounting policies adopted in the preparation of the fi nancial statements have been consistently applied throughout all
periods presented unless otherwise stated.
The fi nancial statements are presented in Australian dollars and all values are rounded to the nearest thousand dollars ($’000)
unless otherwise stated.
1.3 Use of estimates and judgements
The preparation of fi nancial statements requires management to make judgements, estimates and assumptions that affect the
application of accounting policies and the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, income and expenses. Actual results may
differ from these estimates.
Estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised
in the period in which the estimate is revised and in any future periods affected.
In particular, information about signifi cant areas of estimation uncertainty and critical judgements in applying accounting policies
that have the most signifi cant effect on the amount recognised in the fi nancial statements are:
Defi ned benefi t plans
Various actuarial assumptions are required when determining the Authority’s superannuation obligations. These assumptions
and the related carrying amounts are discussed in note 1.15.
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