On 12 May 2014, the International Accounting Standards Board published Clarification of Acceptable Methods of Depreciation and Amortisation (Amendments to IAS 16 and IAS 38). The amendments have an effective date of 1 January 2016, but earlier adoption is permitted.
IAS 16 and IAS 38 both establish the principle for the basis of depreciation and amortisation as being the expected pattern of consumption of the future economic benefits of an asset.
The IASB has clarified that the use of revenue-based methods to calculate the depreciation of an asset is not appropriate because revenue generated by an activity that includes the use of an asset generally reflects factors other than the consumption of the economic benefits embodied in the asset.
The IASB also clarified that revenue is generally presumed to be an inappropriate basis for measuring the consumption of the economic benefits embodied in an intangible asset. This presumption, however, can be rebutted in certain limited circumstances.
