1. Basis of Accounting
Below we set out the full list of our accounting policies. The accounting policies have been applied consistently in dealing with items that are considered material in relation to the Group and RTÉ financial statements except for the new standards and amendments to standards outlined below.
(a) Reporting entity
RTÉ is a statutory corporation established under the Broadcasting Authority Act, 1960 and is domiciled in Ireland. The consolidated financial statements of RTÉ as at and for the year ended 31 December 2020 comprise the statutory corporation and all entities controlled by it (together referred to as the “Group”).
(b) Statement of compliance
The RTÉ and Group financial statements have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as adopted by the European Union (EU) that are effective for the year ended 31 December 2020 and are applied in accordance with the provisions of broadcasting legislation. The Group has also elected to present both its consolidated and RTÉ parent entity financial statements in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act 2014 in so far as it provides additional information. Accordingly, RTÉ’s parent Statement of Financial Position, Cash Flow Statement and Statement of Changes in Equity have also been presented with the consolidated financial statements as would ordinarily be required by the Companies Act 2014. RTÉ’s Group Income Statement has been adapted as permitted by Companies Act 2014, Schedule 3 Part II, Section A4(5).
(c) Basis of preparation
The RTÉ and Group financial statements have been prepared on the historical cost basis as modified by the measurement at fair value of derivative financial instruments and retirement benefit obligations.
The Group financial statements are prepared in euro, rounded to the nearest thousand (€000), which is the functional currency of all the Group entities.
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with IFRSs requires management to make judgements, estimates and assumptions that affect the application of accounting policies and reported amounts of assets, liabilities, income and expenses. Actual results may differ from these estimates. Estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimates are revised and in any future periods affected. The key areas involving significant judgement or complexity or areas where assumptions and estimates are significant to the Group’s financial statements relate primarily to the valuation of the defined benefit pension scheme and financial instruments and are documented in the relevant accounting policies and in the related notes.
(d) Adoption of new and revised standards
During the year, the Group adopted a number of amendments to IFRS standards and interpretations issued by the IASB that are effective for an annual period that begins on or after 1 January 2020. Their adoption has not had any material impact on the disclosures or on the amounts reported in these financial statements.
Amendments to References to the Conceptual Framework in IFRS Standards
The amendments include consequential amendments to affected Standards so that they refer to the new Framework. Not all amendments, however, update those pronouncements with regard to references to and quotes from the Framework so that they refer to the revised Conceptual Framework. Some pronouncements are only updated to indicate which version of the Framework they are referencing to (the IASC Framework adopted by the IASB in 2001, the IASB Framework of 2010, or the new revised Framework of 2018) or to indicate that definitions in the Standard have not been updated with the new definitions developed in the revised Conceptual Framework. The Standards which are amended are IFRS 2, IFRS 3, IFRS 6, IFRS 14, IAS 1, IAS 8, IAS 34, IAS 37, IAS 38, IFRIC 12, IFRIC 19, IFRIC 20, IFRIC 22, and SIC-32. There is no impact on the Group in relation to the adoption of this standard.
Amendments to IFRS 3 Definition of a business
The amendments clarify that while businesses usually have outputs, outputs are not required for an integrated set of activities and assets to qualify as a business. To be considered a business an acquired set of activities and assets must include, at a minimum, an input and a substantive process that together significantly contribute to the ability to create outputs. The amendments remove the assessment of whether market participants are capable of replacing any missing inputs or processes and continuing to produce outputs. The amendments also introduce additional guidance that helps to determine whether a substantive process has been acquired. The amendments introduce an optional concentration test that permits a simplified assessment of whether an acquired set of activities and assets is not a business. Under the optional concentration test, the acquired set of activities and assets is not a business if substantially all of the fair value of the gross assets acquired is concentrated in a single identifiable asset or group of similar assets. The amendments are applied prospectively to all business combinations and asset acquisitions for which the acquisition date is on or after 1 January 2020. There is no impact on the Group in relation to the adoption of this standard.
Amendments to IAS 1 and IAS 8 Definition of material
The amendments make the definition of material in IAS 1 easier to understand and are not intended to alter the underlying concept of materiality in IFRS Standards. The concept of 'obscuring' material information with immaterial information has been included as part of the new definition. The threshold for materiality influencing users has been changed from 'could influence' to 'could reasonably be expected to influence'. The definition of material in IAS 8 has been replaced by a reference to the definition of material in IAS 1. In addition, the IASB amended other Standards and the Conceptual Framework that contain a definition of 'material' or refer to the term ‘material’ to ensure consistency. There is no impact on the Group in relation to the adoption of this standard.
(e) Standards in issue but not yet effective
A number of new standards, amendments to standards and interpretations are not yet effective and therefore have not been applied in preparing these financial statements. The Group does not plan to adopt these standards early; instead it will apply them from their effective dates as determined by their dates of EU endorsement. These include:
| Effective date to be confirmed by IASB |
| Effective date to be confirmed by IASB |
| Effective date to be confirmed by IASB |
| Effective date to be confirmed by IASB |
| Effective date to be confirmed by IASB |
| Effective date to be confirmed by IASB |
| Effective date to be confirmed by IASB |
The directors do not expect that the adoption of the standards listed above will have a material impact on the financial statements of the Group in future periods.