Human Rights Commission Notes to the Financial Statements
for the year ended 30 June 2015
1
Statement of accounting policies
Reporting entity
The Commission is a Crown entity as defined by the
Crown Entities Act 2004. The Commission’s functions
and responsibilities are set out in the Human Rights
Act 1993 and it has designated itself as a public
benefit entity (PBE) for financial reporting purposes.
The financial statements of the Commission are for
the year ended 30 June 2015 and were approved by
the Board of the Commission on 2 November 2015.
Basis of preparation
The financial statements have been prepared on a
going concern basis and the accounting policies have
been applied consistently throughout the period.
Statement of compliance
The financial statements of the Commission have
been prepared in accordance with the requirements
of the Crown Entities Act 2004, which includes the
requirement to comply with generally accepted
accounting practice in New Zealand (NZ GAAP).
These financial statements have been prepared in
accordance with Tier 2 PBE accounting standards.
The Commission is eligible to apply Tier 2 PBE
accounting standards because it does not have public
accountability, as defined in the PBE accounting
standards, and its total expenses are less than $30
million.
These financial statements comply with PBE
accounting standards.
These financial statements are the first financial
statements presented in accordance with the new
PBE accounting standards. No material adjustments
arose on transition to the new PBE accounting
standards.
Annual Report 2015
Presentation currency and rounding
The financial statements are presented in New
Zealand dollars and all values are rounded to the
nearest thousand dollars ($000).
Summary of significant accounting policies
Revenue
Revenue is measured at the fair value of
consideration received or receivable.
The specific accounting policies for significant
revenue items are explained below:
Revenue from the Crown
The Commission is primarily funded by revenue
received from the Crown through the Ministry of
Justice for the provision of outputs. This funding is
dedicated to the Commission meeting the objectives
specified in the Human Rights Act 1993 and the
scope of the relevant appropriations of the funder.
The Commission considers there are no conditions
attached to the funding and it is recognised as
non-exchange revenue at the point of entitlement.
The fair value of revenue from the Crown has been
determined to be equivalent to the amounts due in
the funding arrangements.
Interest received
Interest revenue is recognised using the effective
interest method.
Rental revenue
Lease receipts under an operating sublease are
recognised as revenue on a straight-line basis over
the lease term.
Provision of services
Services provided to third parties on commercial
terms, such as the provision of advice and
educational workshops, are exchange transactions.
Revenue from these services is recognised in
proportion to the stage of completion at
balance date.
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