Note 1: Summary of Accounting Policies (continued)

Significant Accounting Policies (continued)

Leases

Finance leases transfer, to the Crown as lessee, substantially all the risks and rewards incident on the ownership of a leased asset. Initial recognition of a finance lease results in an asset and liability being recognised at amounts equal to the lower of the fair value of the leased property or the present value of the minimum lease payments. The capitalised values are amortised over the period in which the Crown expects to receive benefits from their use.

Operating leases, where the lessor substantially retains the risks and rewards of ownership, are recognised in a systematic manner over the term of the lease. Leasehold improvements are capitalised and the cost is amortised over the unexpired period of the lease or the estimated useful life of the improvements, whichever is shorter. Lease incentives received are recognised evenly over the term of the lease as a reduction in rental expense.

Other Liabilities and Provisions

Other liabilities and provisions are recorded at the best estimate of the expenditure required to settle the obligation. Liabilities and provisions to be settled beyond 12 months are recorded at the present value of their estimated future cash outflows.

Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets

Contingent liabilities and contingent assets are reported at the point at which the contingency is evident or when a present liability is unable to be measured with sufficient reliability to be recorded in the financial statements (unquantifiable liability). Contingent liabilities, including unquantifiable liabilities, are disclosed if the possibility that they will crystallise is not remote. Contingent assets are disclosed if it is probable that the benefits will be realised.

Commitments

Commitments are future expenses and liabilities to be incurred on contracts that have been entered into at balance date.

Cancellable commitments that have penalty or exit costs explicit in the agreement on exercising the option to cancel are reported at the value of that penalty or exit cost (ie, the minimum future payments).

Commitments are classified as:

• capital commitments: aggregate amount of capital expenditure contracted for but not recognised as paid or provided for at balance date, and
• non-cancellable operating leases with a lease term of more than one year.

Interest commitments on debts and commitments relating to employment contracts are not included in the Statement of Commitments.

Comparatives

When presentation or classification of items in the financial statements is amended or accounting policies are changed voluntarily, comparative figures have been restated to ensure consistency with the current period unless it is impracticable to do so.

In particular, land relating to state highways, the rail network and conservation which had previously been included within individual asset categories has been reclassified to the Land category. Comparatives of $18.7 billion have been restated accordingly.

In prior years “other” operating commitments were included in the Statement of Commitments. These commitments included other (non-lease) executory contracts (eg, cleaning) and funding commitments to non-government entities. The current disclosure excludes these commitments to align with NZ GAAP requirements. Comparatives of $12.9 billion have been restated accordingly.

Comparatives referred to as Budget 11 were forecasts published in the 2011 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update while Budget 12 were forecasts published in the 2012 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update. These forecasts include budget adjustments for new unallocated spending during the year (both operating and capital) and top-down adjustments which reduce the bias for forecast expenditure by departments to reflect maximum spending limits instead of mid-point estimates.

Segment Analysis

The Government reporting entity is not required to provide segment reporting as it is a public benefit entity. Nevertheless, information is presented for material institutional components and major economic activities within or undertaken by the Government reporting entity. The three major institutional components of the Crown are:

• Core Crown: This group, which includes Ministers, Departments, Offices of Parliament, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and the New Zealand Superannuation Fund most closely represents the budget sector and provides information that is useful for fiscal analysis purposes.
• State-owned enterprises: This group includes entities governed by the State-owned Enterprises Act 1986, and for the purposes of these statements also includes Air New Zealand Limited. This group represents entities that undertake commercial activity.
• Crown entities: This group includes entities governed by the Crown Entities Act 2004. These entities have separate legal form and specified governance frameworks (including the degree to which each Crown entity is required to give effect to, or be independent of, government policy).

Functional analysis is also provided of a number of financial statement items. This functional analysis is drawn from the Classification of the Functions of Government as developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Related Parties

Related parties of the Government include key management personnel, and their close family members. Key management personnel are Ministers of the Crown, and their close family members are their spouses, children and dependants. Transactions between these related parties and a Government entity are disclosed in these financial statements only if they have taken place within a Minister's portfolio and they are not transactions entered into in the same capacity as an ordinary citizen.

Tertiary Education Institutions, joint ventures and the Government Superannuation Fund are also related parties of the Government due to the Government's influence over these entities. Transactions between these entities and Government entities are separately disclosed where material.

There are no other related parties as no other parties control the Government, and no other parties are controlled by the Government, other than those that are consolidated into the Government's financial statements.

The Government comprises a large number of commonly controlled entities. Transactions between these entities are eliminated in these financial statements and therefore not separately disclosed.

Transactions where the financial results may have been affected by the existence of a related party relationship are disclosed in the financial statements.