Capital is a variable item or monetary item in SA

Capital is a constant real value non-monetary item.

However, there is no constant real value non-monetary item capital in South Africa under the Historical Cost Accounting model during low inflation.

Issued Share Capital and Share Premium Account values are, in fact, treated as variable items under HCA when a SA company owns revaluable fixed assets.

Issued Share Capital and Share Premium Account real values depend on the variable real non-monetary values of the fixed assets over time determined at fair value in terms of IFRS during low inflation.

When SA companies have no revaluable fixed assets under HCA, capital is, in principle, treated the same as a monetary item (money or cash) and SA accountants unknowingly destroy its real value at a rate equal to the rate of inflation because of their choice of the HCA model which include their very destructive stable measuring unit assumption in SA´s low inflationary environment.

Capital will only become a constant real value non-monetary item in the SA economy when SA accountants freely choose financial capital maintenance in units of constant purchasing power as authorized by the IASB in the Framework, Par. 104 (a) twenty years ago. This is compliant with IFRS.

SA accountants are told that it is not them but inflation doing the destroying. That statement is dead wrong.  Most people think it is inflation doing the destroying. The US FASB sums up this view very well in its statement: “ the erosive impact of inflation on profits and capital ".

Copyright © 2005-2010 Nicolaas J Smith