A vendor enters into a contract to transfer goods to a new customer whose credit history is unknown. Under IFRS 15's criteria for identifying a contract, the vendor must assess collectability of the consideration it expects to be entitled to. What threshold must this assessment meet, and how is that threshold usually understood in practice?
- It must be assured beyond reasonable doubt, a near-certainty standard before any revenue can be recognized
- It must be evidenced by a signed personal guarantee or third-party credit insurance covering the full contract price
- It must be probable that the entity will collect the consideration it is entitled to, with IFRS defining 'probable' as more likely than not — a threshold just above 50%
- It must meet a high threshold similar to 'virtually certain,' comparable to the roughly 75-80% likelihood some other accounting frameworks apply to the same word
Why C? And why not the others?
Correct answer: C. It must be probable that the entity will collect the consideration it is entitled to, with IFRS defining 'probable' as more likely than not — a threshold just above 50%
IFRS 15 paragraph 9(e) requires, as one of five conditions for an arrangement to qualify as a contract, that it is probable the entity will collect the consideration it is entitled to in exchange for the goods or services transferred, considering only the customer's ability and intention to pay. IFRS defines 'probable' as more likely than not, a threshold just above 50%, so the assessment does not require near-certainty. The option describing a near-certainty standard sets the bar far higher than the standard requires. The option requiring a signed guarantee or credit insurance describes one possible way to support a collectability conclusion, but that evidence is not itself the threshold the standard defines — collectability can equally be supported by other evidence such as the customer's payment history or the entity's customary business practices. The option describing a much higher, roughly 75-80% style threshold describes how a similarly worded criterion is applied under a different accounting framework, not how IFRS 15 defines the same word.
Source: IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers, paragraph 9(e) (collectability criterion for contract identification)