MFRS 15: Revenue from Contract with Customers

About MFRS 15

Malaysian Financial Reporting Standard (MFRS) 15: Revenue from Contracts with Customers was introduced by the Malaysian Accounting Standards Board to provide one comprehensive revenue recognition model for all contracts with customers to improve comparability within industries, across industries, and across capital markets.

The new rules on revenue recognition became effective from 1 January 2018 and it replaces most revenue recognition standards. For many companies the impact will be manageable. But for those with large numbers of customer contracts, diverse or constantly changing terms, the impact could be significant unless action has been taken to mitigate the impact of MFRS 15.

Here's what you need to know:

It replaces all existing revenue recognition under the International Financial Reporting Standards, MFRS and Financial Reporting Standards
It may result in a substantial change in the amount and timing of revenue recognition
Significantly more qualitative and quantitative disclosures are required

Revenue from bundled goods and services requires separation and may result in deferring or accelerating revenue
The provision of incentives to purchase (e.g. free goods or services provided as part of a sale) may require separation
Modifications to long term contracts are likely to take place over the contract term
Explicit guidance on the treatment of licenses may change the timing of revenue recognition
The guidance on contract costs is expected to result in the recognition of more assets

Your method of adoption (full retrospective or modified retrospective)
Stakeholders will need access to consistent historical financial records including quantification of the effect of MFRS 15 on the accounts
Choosing the right system for the future – system implementation can take a number of years to get right, you may need an interim solution to meet the requirements of adoption
Bear in mind other changes in MFRS – MFRS 9 (financial instruments) in 2018 and MFRS 16 (leases) in 2019

Bundled offerings - What proportion of your customer offerings are bundled products and services (e.g. equipment plus maintenance agreement, software plus updates, goods plus extended warranty)?

Significant financing component - Do you offer different pricing to customers based on the timing of their payment? Are payment terms significantly different from timing of when goods or services are transferred?

Licenses - Do you have significant license arrangements? Do those license arrangements include other services?

Contract profiles - What is the volume of customer contracts you enter into, and how diverse are their terms and conditions? How often do the terms of those contracts change?

Timing of revenue recognition - Do you construct or manufacture assets that are unique to your customers? Have you considered when you transfer control of the goods and services to your customers?

5-step model

The core principle of MFRS 15 is that revenue is recognised when the goods or services are transferred to the customer, at the transaction price. Revenue is recognised in accordance with that core principle by applying a 5-step model as shown below.

Step 1: Identify contract(s) with customer

A contract creates enforceable rights and obligations. It may be written, oral or implied by customary business practice.

Combine contracts when they are entered into at or near the same time and are negotiated as a package, payment of one depends on the other, or goods/services promised are a single performance obligation.

A contract modification is accounted for as a separate contract or continuation of the original contract prospectively or with cumulative catch-up, depending on facts and circumstances.

Step 2: Identify separate performance obligations in the contract(s)

Performance obligations are promises in a contract to transfer goods or services, including those a customer can resell or provide to its customer.

Use the model's indicators to separate the performance obligations if they are capable of being distinct and if they are distinct based on the context of the contract (separately identifiable from other promises in the contract).

Step 3: Determine the transaction price

Transaction price is the amount of the consideration an company is entitled to receive in exchange for transferring goods or services to customers.

Determining the transaction price is straightforward when the contract price is fixed: it becomes more complex when it is not fixed.

Discounts, rebates, refunds, credits, incentives, performance bonuses, and price concessions could cause the amount of consideration to be variable.

In situations where there are variable considerations, transaction price is estimated based on the expected value or the most likely amount but is constrained up to the amount that is highly probable of no significant reversal in the future.

The minimum amount that meet this criteria is included in the transaction price.

Assess your experience with similar types of performance obligations in making this determination.

Step 4: Allocate the transaction price

Transaction price should be allocated to distinct performance obligations based on relative standalone selling price.

This may be the standalone selling price of a good or service when sold separately to a customer in similar circumstances and to similar customers.

If a standalone selling price is not directly observable, estimate it by considering all information that is reasonably available, such as market conditions, specific factors, and class of customers.

Step 5: Recognise revenue when the performance obligation is satisfied

Recognise revenue when the promised goods or services are transferred to the customer and the customer obtains control.

This may be over time or at a point in time. The new standard provides indicators when control is transferred.

Additionally, the new standard introduces a new concept and revenue is required to be recognised over time when:

the asset being created has no alternative use to the company; and
the company has an enforceable right to payment for performance completed to date

For more info, read our PwC Alert Issue 121: Are you ready for MFRS 15.

PwC is already working with a number of large companies around the world to manage their transition to the new standard. Talk to us to find out how we can help you address your challenges.

Our Perspective on: MFRS

3 results

01/12/17

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MFRS 15 implementation challenges in the automotive industry

In this third blog post, our Assurance Executive Director Mahesh Ramesh discusses the challenges the Malaysian automotive industry faces in implementing MFRS 15.

17/11/17

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MFRS 15 implementation challenges in the telecommunications industry

In this blog post, our Assurance Executive Director Kuan Sook Fern discusses some of the challenges that Malaysian telcos face in implementing MFRS 15.

03/11/17

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One step closer to MFRS 15

Our Assurance Executive Directors Tay Choon Ling and Mahesh Ramesh talk about MFRS 15 and some of the key changes we can expect from the new revenue recognition model.