Requirement of Actuarial Valuation services in compliance of AS 15

Requirement of Actuarial Valuation services in compliance of AS-15 (Revised 2005) under various employee benefits plans such as Gratuity, Leave Encashment , Pension

The article given below may help you to understand the requirement of actuarial valuation services in compliance of AS-15 (Revised 2005) under various employee benefits plans such as Gratuity, Leave Encashment , Pension, etc. :-

Accounting & Disclosure for Employee Benefits in Compliance of Accounting Standard (AS) 15 (revised 2005)

Accounting Standard (AS) 15 (revised 2005) is issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and is mandatory in nature (refer to the text of the standard for details).

The objective of the standard is to prescribed accounting and disclosure for employee benefits. The statement requires an enterprise to recognize:-

A liability when an employee has provided service in exchange for employee benefits to be paid in the future; and

An expense when the enterprise consumes the economic benefit arising from service provided by an employee in exchange for employee benefits.

Employee Benefits fall under 2 type of plans:- Defined Contribution Plans and Defined Benefit Plans.

Employee Benefits are further classified as:-

Short Term Employee Benefits
Post Employment Benefits such as Gratuity, Pension, Other Retirement Benefits, Post-Employment Life Insurance and Post-Employment Medial Care;

Other Long-Term Employee Benefits, including long-service leave or sabbatical leave, jubilee or other long-service benefits, long-term disability benefits and, if they are not payable wholly within twelve months after the end of the period, profit-sharing, bonuses and deferred compensation; and

Termination Benefits

Because each category identified above has different characteristics, this statement establishes separate requirements for each category.

Accounting and Disclosure requirements for Defined Benefit Plans need the skill of an Actuary.

Most common Defined Benefits relevant in the Indian context which need the services of an actuary for compliance of the accounting standard, whilst finalizing the financial statements are:-

Gratuity

Compensated Absences (Earned Leave)
Compensated Absences (Sick Leave)
Post Retirement Medical Benefits
Superannuation (Pension Benefits)

Frequent items to be conversant with the subject are:-

Projected Unit Credit Method (PUC)
Present Value of Obligation
Current Service Cost
Interest Cost
Actuarial Gains/Losses
Employer’s Expense
Experience Adjustment on Plan Liabilities
Experience Adjustment on Plan Assets