British Airways, Plc. (BA), a U.K. company, prepares its financial statements according to International Financial Reporting Standards. BA's annual report for the year ended March 31, 2009, which includes financial statements and disclosure notes, is included with all new textbooks and can be found at www.britishairways.com. When answering questions, focus on BA's "Group" financial information (which is equivalent to "Consolidated" under U.S. GAAP).
Required:
1. How does BA account for "other current interest-bearing deposits"? Is that consistent with U.S. GAAP? What is the amount of those investments that are maturing after three months, as of March 31, 2009?
2. How does BA account for "available-for-sale assets"? Is that consistent with U.S. GAAP? What is the amount of those investments as of March 31, 2009?
3. How does BA account for its investments in associates? Is that accounting consistent with U.S. GAAP? Explain.
4. BA accounts for its investment in Iberia airline using the equity method, even though it only holds 13.15% of Iberia's equity. Is that approach consistent with U.S. GAAP? Explain.
5. BA indicates that it sometimes recognizes impairments on held-to-maturity and available-for-sale investments. Describe how recognition of impairments could differ for IFRS and U.S. GAAP.
6. BA recognized a £13 million impairment of their investment in Flybe for the year ended March 31, 2009. On what criteria did BA base their determination that the investment was impaired? Would that be handled similarly in U.S. GAAP?