Reference no: EM133027126

Question - You had been hired by Mr. Ackque Feegerz CPA on a new job and were assigned to special projects. On the first day, before you could even get comfortable in your executive leather chair, your boss, carrying a sheaf of papers, strides in . "Ah, the first person I meet this morning is a lazy accountant." He then looked at his watch and further remarked, "you are already 15 minutes behind schedule. Soon I will be seeing off an unemployed accountant if you don't get busy. We do not pay for idle time and from tomorrow, do make it a habit to come in at least an hour before office starts. Here is a file for you to sort out before my 11:00 AM meeting. Begin right away and please do not bother me with petty questions. You are expected to take independent decisions, my man," and then he was gone. The pinned note read "SHOW SUFFICIENT DETAILS." And with that you start your memorable first day!

The file contained information on issues related to obligations for asset retirement. Your employer company, Kabels and Channels, Inc., [KaC], sometime early in 2016, acquired a permit to instal and run large wind turbines for generating electricity. The turbines were to be constructed in Northern Quebec on unused pristine land. The provincial government had issued the lease free of cost as a grant to stimulate employment in this region. The company had earlier submitted a legally binding comprehensive plan which included a timetable for the full reclamation of the land at the end of this lease. Although the permit was valid for ten years from the date of the commencement of operations, the management is expecting to end all its operations after eight years. Once the operations are shut down, KaC is legally obligated to restore the land and ground cover to its original topographical condition, provide reforestation, and encourage rehabilitation of pre-existing wildlife to the area.

KaC is currently operating internationally and its shares are listed on the NYSE. Its reporting platform is IFRS and has a fiscal year-end of December 31. It has made the following estimates regarding the ultimate cost of the asset retirement obligation of the work completed currently:

L1. The restoration work on the soil is expected to take approximately 12 hours per acre requiring ground cover and tree planting. The cost of equipment to be used for this work plus additional overhead costs is expected to be 75% of these labor costs. All relevant labor cost estimates related to this reclamation work are currently set at $18 per hour. However, KaC is certain that this cost will have increased by an additional 10% by the end of the next seven years.

L2. Installing paved pathways and metallic benches throughout the area which was estimated to cost $83,400.

L3. Grass seeding and tree planting is estimated to cost $900 per acre.

L4. The company has not previously made any attempts to restore pre-existing wildlife (several bird species, garter snakes) on its other investment properties. Based on conservative estimates, these costs have been pegged at $500,000 for this project.

L5. The company was legally obligated to complete all of the restoration work within six months of ending the mining operation.

L6. The estimates of the restoration work (points 3 and 4 above) were made based on current prices. However to accommodate possible future price increases when the work will be performed, the company expects to pay an additional 15% of the restoration estimate described in points 3 and 4.

L7. The initial investment required to construct the turbine equipment in order to commence the generation of electricity was estimated to be $42,000,000 and was classified as Asset - Turbines. The operation was located on a 2,000 acre plot of land, leased from the government and was scheduled to be set up and paid for in 2017. The project was scheduled to commence operations on January 1, 2018. A discount rate of 6% per annum was considered to be realistic. Finally, the company will account for the ARO from the date of the commencement of the project.

Required - Prepare all appropriate journal entries (under IFRS unless specifically mentioned otherwise), to record the transactions listed below. Be sure to show your computation work in detail.

a] The costs associated with the asset restoration obligation on January 1, 2018 and construction of the plant in 2017. Be sure to include a detailed breakdown of your computation of the restoration costs.

b] The annual depreciation expense to be recorded on December 31, 2018.

c] The finance costs on the outstanding liability for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2019.

d] The finance costs on the outstanding liability for the year ended December 31, 2018 assuming that the company was using the ASPE accounting platform.

e] Now assume that it is time for KaC to shut down its operations and to dismantle the erected equipment at the end of its 8-year life. On January 1, 2026, KaC issued 3,000 5-year 6% bonds, par value $1,000 to Deft Dismantalers, Inc., a restoration company as compensation to undertake and complete the required restoration work. Prepare the required journal entry, in proper format, to record this transaction given the market interest rate on the date of the issue of the bonds was 7%. Assume for Sections [f] and [g] below, that the company estimates that an additional future restoration cost of $148,000 occurs as a result of production activities during 2019. This additional cost is associated with the use of the equipment installed at the tracking station and is to be accrued and recorded at the end of 2019.

f] Record this transaction only under p IFRS requirements. p ASPE requirements.

g] Determine the annual depreciation expense amount (No Journal Entry Required) to be reported on December 31, 2020 under p IFRS requirements. p ASPE requirements.