Human Rights Commission Notes to the Financial Statements
for the year ended 30 June 2018
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Statement of accounting policies
Summary of significant accounting policies
Reporting entity
Revenue
The Human Rights 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 Crimes of
Torture Act 1989 and it has designated itself as a
public benefit entity (PBE) for financial reporting
purposes.
Revenue is measured at the fair value of
consideration received or receivable.
The financial statements of the Commission are for
the year ended 30 June 2018 and were approved by
the Board of the Commission on 24 October 2018.
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
as appropriate for public sector entities. 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.
Presentation currency and rounding
The financial statements are presented in New
Zealand dollars and all values are rounded to the
nearest thousand dollars ($000).
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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 Crimes
of Torture Act 1989 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.
Human Rights Commission