4 （a）Accounting for defined benefit pension schemes is a complex area of great importance. In some cases， the net pension liability even exceeds the market capitalisation of the company. The financial statements of a company must provide investors，analysts and companies with clear，reliable and comparable information on a company’s pension obligations，discount rates and expected returns on plan assets.

　　Required：

　　（i） Discuss the current requirements of IAS 19 ‘Employee Benefits’ as regards the accounting for actuarial gains and losses setting out the main criticisms of the approach taken and the advantages of immediate recognition of such gains and losses. （11 marks）

　　（ii） Discuss the implications of the current accounting practices in IAS 19 for dealing with the setting of discount rates for pension obligations and the expected returns on plan assets. （6 marks）

　　Professional marks will be awarded in part （a） for clarity and quality of discussion. （2 marks）

　　（b） Smith，a public limited company and Brown a public limited company utilise IAS 19 ‘Employee Benefits’ to account for their pension plans. The following information refers to the company pension plans for the year to 30 April 2009：

　　（i）At 1 May 2008，plan assets of both companies were fair valued at $200 million and both had net unrecognised actuarial gains of $6 million.

　　（ii）At 30 April 2009，the fair value of the plan assets of Smith was $219 million and that of Brown was $276 million.

　　（iii）The contributions received were $70 million and benefits paid were $26 million for both companies. These amounts were paid and received on 1 November 2008.

　　（iv）The expected return on plan assets was 7% at 1 May 2008 and 8% on 30 April 2009.

　　（v）The present value of the defined benefit obligation was less than the fair value of the plan assets at both 1 May 2008 and 30 April 2009.

　　（vi）Actuarial losses on the obligation for the year were negligible for both companies.

　　（vii）Both companies use the corridor approach to recognised actuarial gains and losses.

　　Required：

Show how the use of the expected return on assets can cause comparison issues for potential investors using the above scenario for illustration. （6 marks）

（25 marks）

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