Avsättningar till pensioner : En studie om IAS 19 och konsekvenserna av dess implementering

Sammanfattning: Background: At the turn of the year 2004/2005, IAS 19 replaced Tryggandelagen (TrL) and RR 29 as the accounting standard in Swedish concerns. This introduction was associated with a certain apprehension for the possible changes in the companies’ pension liabilities and equity. Purpose: To illustrate the difficulties of the introduction of IAS 19 by observing how it differs from TrL, and what kind of problems these differences can cause. Procedure: Individuals who are well up in, and work with pension liabilities have been interviewed. After this follows an example of the calculated pension liability of a company, to illustrate the differences between the calculations according to TrL and IAS 19. To conclude the chapter, a comparison between a number of companies from the Stockholm stock exchange is made to establish their various actuarial assumptions. Method: The essay mainly follows the qualitative research method, since this method is more appropriate when the substance in the matter is based on detailed differences and opinions. Results and conclusions: The introduction of IAS 19 has taken time and been an expensive matter, although the expenses weren’t as great as feared. The introduction gave positive effects, such as an increased control of the pension liabilities. Because of this, there is a positive attitude towards IAS among the accounting profession. However, problems connected with the introduction have occurred, such as complicated procedures and “teething troubles”, but the advantages and disadvantages make up for the other. The companies’ right of self-determination when it comes to actuarial assumptions seems to cause problems with for example the transparency. Therefore it is recommended that the companies should have to justify their choice of assumptions. It is also recommended that there should be more specified criteria of which assumptions that should be included in the annual report.