Practical Pension Scheme Accounting, 2nd Edition

Pension scheme accounts are prepared following the guidance laid out in the Pensions Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) issued by the Pensions Research Advisory Group (PRAG). A revised version of the SORP was issued in 2018 in line with recent revisions to FRS 102 and other minor regulatory updates. The revised SORP is applicable for periods beginning 1 January 2019, and the new edition of this title reflects these changes.

Starting from the trial balance, the book explains what information is needed to prepare the Financial Statements and how to go about compiling the Annual Report.

Written in a user friendly style,it provides practical guidance on the requirements introduced by the SORP, providing examples and options on the approach to the requirements, ranging from the minimum disclosures, to additional disclosures that could be considered in relation to the investment risk and investment hierarchy disclosures.

The revised commentary reflects a number of changes to the SORP including:

• The fair value hierarchy disclosure has been amended.
• Clarification that the 5% concentration disclosure includes investment holdings in pooled investment vehicles
• Full comparatives are required for all figures within the financial statements, unless stated otherwise
• Disclosures are required where there are significant benefits pending at the year-end

Clarification for the position with regard to the requirements for small schemes. It was felt that differing requirements for small and large schemes would be discriminatory against small scheme members, consequently the SORP does not include any exemptions for small schemes as allowed under FRS 102.