Expected Credit Loss Provision Practices in South Africa: An Analysis of the Decision Usefulness of the Forward-Looking Disclosures

The 2008 Financial Crisis occurred partially as a result of the delayed credit losses recognised under the incurred loss model in the previous accounting standard, IAS 39, by entities operating in the financial sector. IFRS 9 superseded IAS 39 and with it replaced the incurred loss model with an expected credit loss model. The revised expected credit loss model avoids the ‘too little, too late’ problem of the incurred loss model. This study analyses the first-time adoption of the expected credit loss model in IFRS 9 and reports on the appropriateness, rigour and decision usefulness of the forward-looking disclosures as it relates to the expected credit loss provision practices on trade receivables in South Africa. The decision usefulness and by implication the appropriateness and rigour of the forward-looking disclosures is assessed by reviewing the nature and extent thereof in financial statements. A disclosure checklist was used for the content analysis and interpretation of a selection of South African listed companies upon the adoption of IFRS 9. The study finds that significant improvements can be made in the disclosure of forward-looking information to improve decision usefulness and thereby contribute positively to the investment in society through responsible use of data in the expected credit loss provision.