Introduction
IFRS 5 is a short standard with a long reach. In ICAG’s May 2020 Financial Reporting paper it was a two-part written question with no calculations, and the Examiner’s Comment said many candidates “incorrectly misapplied the criteria”. In November 2024 it sat inside a 20-mark statements question (Fahnbulleh Ltd). In March 2025 it sat inside another (Halidu Ltd), where the examiner reported that only a few candidates scored more than 10 out of 20. This article gives you the test, the measurement rule and the presentation rules you need.
When Is an Asset Held for Sale? The CAMP Test
IFRS 5 paragraphs 6 to 8 require that the carrying amount will be recovered principally through a sale, and that the asset or disposal group is available for immediate sale in its present condition (subject only to usual and customary terms) and the sale is highly probable. Remember CAMP: Committed management plan; Available for immediate sale; Marketed actively at a reasonable price; Probable completion within one year.
Two Date Traps from May 2020
After the year end (para 12): if the criteria are first met after the reporting period, do not classify as held for sale in those financial statements. Disclose in the notes. The May 2020 scheme calls this a non-adjusting event under IAS 10 para 22(c).
More than twelve months (para 9, Appendix B): a delay caused by events beyond the entity’s control, such as a regulatory referral, does not stop held-for-sale classification if the entity remains committed to the plan.
If you want to see this explained visually with worked examples, watch the full YouTube lesson for this topic. Bill walks through every point step by step.
Measurement
Measure at the lower of carrying amount and fair value less costs to sell (para 15). Stop depreciating (para 25), though interest on disposal-group liabilities continues. An impairment on a disposal group reduces the non-current assets within the measurement scope, in the IAS 36 order (para 23).
Teaching illustration (invented, not an ICAG question): Adom Ltd’s disposal group has plant GH¢200,000, receivables GH¢20,000 and payables GH¢10,000. Carrying amount GH¢210,000; fair value less costs to sell GH¢190,000. Impairment GH¢20,000, taken against the plant, which becomes GH¢180,000.
Real question (Halidu, March 2025): plant GH¢138m, receivables GH¢9m, payables GH¢7m, carrying amount GH¢140m, expected proceeds GH¢135m. The scheme recognises a GH¢5m impairment (added to administration expenses) and carries the operation at GH¢135m.
Discontinued Operations and Presentation
A discontinued operation (para 32) is a component that has been disposed of or is held for sale and represents a separate major line of business or geographical area, is part of a single plan to dispose of one, or is a subsidiary acquired exclusively for resale. Para 33 requires a single post-tax amount in profit or loss, analysed in the notes. Para 38 requires held-for-sale assets and disposal-group liabilities to be presented separately in the statement of financial position, not offset.
In Fahnbulleh (November 2024), the closed Merry Go Round division’s operating loss of GH¢4,020 thousand plus the loss on sale of GH¢19,200 thousand gives a single line of GH¢(23,220) thousand. The loss on sale had been included in cost of sales in the trial balance, so it must be removed from continuing operations.
EXAM TIP: For a written part: Criteria (CAMP, applied to the facts) → Date (before or after year end) → Measurement (lower of, no depreciation) → Presentation (one line in profit or loss; separate lines in the statement of financial position). For a statements question: show the working for the discontinued line and the impairment. Examiners pay for workings.
Conclusion
IFRS 5 is rewarded for precision, not length. Apply CAMP to the facts, watch the dates, measure at the lower of, stop depreciation, and put the numbers in the right place. Paragraph references here follow the 2010 consolidated text; confirm wording against your current IFRS Accounting Standards before quoting it.
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