Disclosure and presentation

Scope 
1. 
An entity which prepares and presents financial statements under the 
accrual basis of accounting shall apply this Standard for the presentation 
and disclosure of financial instruments. 
2. 
This Standard applies to all public sector entities other than Government 
Business Enterprises. 
3. 
The Preface to International Public Sector Accounting Standards issued by 
the IPSASB explains that Government Business Enterprises (GBEs) apply 
IFRSs issued by the IASB. GBEs are defined in IPSAS 1, Presentation of 
Financial Statements. 
4. 
This Standard shall be applied in presenting and disclosing information 
about all types of financial instruments, both recognized and unrecognized, 
other than: 
(a) 
Interests in controlled entities, as defined in IPSAS 6, Consolidated 
and Separate Financial Statements; 
(b) 
Interests in associates, as defined in IPSAS 7, Investments in 
Associates; 
(c) 
Interests in joint ventures, as defined in IPSAS 8, Interests in Joint 
Ventures; 
(d) 
Obligations arising under insurance contracts;
(e) 
Employers’ and plans’ obligations for post-employment benefits of all 
types, including employee benefit plans; and 
(f) 
Obligations for payments arising under social benefits provided by an 
entity for which it receives no consideration, or consideration that is 
not approximately equal to the fair value of the benefits, directly in 
return from the recipients of those benefits. However, entities shall 
apply this Standard to an interest in a controlling entity, associate or 
joint venture that according to IPSAS 6, IPSAS 7 or IPSAS 8 is 
accounted for as a financial instrument. In these cases, entities shall 
apply the disclosure requirements in IPSAS 6, IPSAS 7 and IPSAS 8 in 
addition to those in this Standard. 
5. 
This Standard does not apply to an entity’s net assets/equity interests in 
controlled entities. However, it does apply to all financial instruments 

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FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS: DISCLOSURE AND PRESENTATION 
IPSAS 15 
394
included in the consolidated financial statements of a controlling entity, 
regardless of whether those instruments are held or issued by the controlling 
entity or by a controlled entity. Similarly, the Standard applies to financial 
instruments held or issued by a joint venture and included in the financial 
statements of a venturer either directly or through proportionate consolidation. 
6. 
Some economic entities in the public sector may include entities that issue 
insurance contracts. Those entities are within the scope of this Standard. However, 
this Standard excludes the insurance contracts themselves from its scope. For the 
purposes of this Standard, an insurance contract is a contract that exposes the 
insurer to identified risks of loss from events or circumstances occurring or 
discovered within a specified period, including death (in the case of an annuity, 
the survival of the annuitant), sickness, disability, property damage, injury to 
others and interruption of operations. However, the provisions of this Standard 
apply when a financial instrument takes the form of an insurance contract but 
principally involves the transfer of financial risks (see paragraph 49), for example, 
some types of financial reinsurance and guaranteed investment contracts issued by 
public sector insurance and other entities. Entities that have obligations under 
insurance contracts are encouraged to consider the appropriateness of applying the 
provisions of this Standard in presenting and disclosing information about such 
obligations.
7. 
This Standard does not apply to financial instruments that arise from 
obligations from employee benefit schemes or obligations of a government to 
provide social benefits to its citizens for which it receives no consideration, or 
consideration that is not approximately equal to the fair value of the benefits, 
directly in return from the recipients of those benefits (such as old age 
pensions, unemployment benefits, disability benefits and other forms of 
financial assistance provided by governments). 
8. 
Additional guidance on the presentation and disclosure of specific types of 
financial instruments can be found in international and/or national accounting 
standards. For example, IPSAS 13, “Leases” contains specific disclosure 
requirements relating to finance leases.