Accounting policies
In accordance with § 53 (6) of the Exchange Rules for the Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse (FWB), Deutsche Telekom AG voluntarily publishes a quarterly financial report that comprises interim consolidated financial statements and an interim Group management report. The interim consolidated financial statements were prepared in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) applicable to interim financial reporting as adopted by the EU as of the reporting date. The interim management report for the Group was prepared in accordance with the German Securities Trading Act (Wertpapierhandelsgesetz – WpHG).
Statement of compliance
The interim consolidated financial statements for the period ended September 30, 2022 are in compliance with International Accounting Standard (IAS) 34. As permitted by IAS 34, it has been decided to publish a condensed version compared to the consolidated financial statements at December 31, 2021. All IFRSs applied by Deutsche Telekom AG have been adopted by the European Commission for use within the EU.
In the opinion of the Board of Management, the reviewed quarterly financial report includes all standard adjustments to be applied on an ongoing basis that are required to give a true and fair view of the results of operations and financial position of the Group. Please refer to the notes to the consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2021 for the accounting policies applied for the Group’s financial reporting.
Initial application of standards, interpretations, and amendments in the reporting period
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Pronouncement |
Title |
To be applied by Deutsche Telekom from |
Changes |
Expected impact on the presentation of Deutsche Telekom’s results of operations and financial position |
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IFRSs endorsed by the EU |
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Amendments to IAS 16 |
Proceeds before Intended Use |
Jan. 1, 2022 |
The amendment prohibits entities from deducting from the cost of an item of property, plant and equipment any proceeds from selling items produced while bringing that asset to the location and condition necessary for it to be capable of operating in the manner intended by management. The definition of the costs of testing is clarified. Revenue and cost that relate to items produced that are not an output of the entity’s ordinary activities must be presented separately. The line item in the statement of comprehensive income that includes such revenue must be stated. |
No material impact. |
Amendments to IAS 37 |
Onerous Contracts – Cost of Fulfilling a Contract |
Jan. 1, 2022 |
Clarification that the cost of fulfilling a contract includes all directly attributable costs. The cost of fulfilling the contract includes both the incremental costs of fulfilling that contract (such as direct wage and material costs) and an allocation of other costs that relate directly to fulfilling contracts. In addition, it is clarified that before a provision for an onerous contract is established, an entity should recognize any impairment loss that has occurred on assets used in (previously: dedicated to) fulfilling the contract. |
No material impact. |
Amendments to IFRS 3 |
Reference to the Conceptual Framework |
Jan. 1, 2022 |
Reference to the revised IFRS Conceptual Framework was included. Requirement that, for identifying liabilities within the scope of IAS 37 or IFRIC 21, an acquirer should apply IAS 37 or IFRIC 21 (instead of the Conceptual Framework) to identify the liabilities it has assumed in a business combination. Addition of an explicit statement that an acquirer should not recognize contingent assets acquired in a business combination. |
No material impact. |
Annual Improvements Project |
Annual Improvements to IFRSs 2018-2020 Cycle |
Jan. 1, 2022 |
Revision of specific aspects in IFRS 1, IFRS 9, IFRS 16, and IAS 41. |
No material impact. |
For further information on standards, interpretations, and amendments that have been issued but not yet applied, as well as disclosures on the recognition and measurement of items in the statement of financial position and discretionary decisions and estimation uncertainties, please refer to the section “Summary of accounting policies” in the notes to the consolidated financial statements in the 2021 Annual Report.
Changes in accounting policies and changes in the reporting structure
Deutsche Telekom made the following changes to its accounting policies or reporting structure in the reporting period:
Gross vs. net recognition of revenues – change in the principal/agent consideration. In cases where Deutsche Telekom is in an intermediary position between a supplier and a customer, it must be assessed whether Deutsche Telekom itself supplies the relevant product or provides the service requested by the customer as a principal or merely acts as an agent for the supplier. The outcome determines whether Deutsche Telekom can recognize revenue on a gross basis (as a principal) or net of the costs incurred to the supplier, i.e., only in the amount of the remaining margin (as an agent). The determining factor is control over the specified good or service. Depending on the facts and circumstances, the specified good that a company controls as principal may also be a right to the third party’s good or service. For Deutsche Telekom, the question arises particularly in the case of branded digital products (e.g., streaming services, software licenses, cloud-based software as a service) provided by and purchased from third parties and sold to customers as part of Deutsche Telekom’s product portfolio.
Under Deutsche Telekom’s previous interpretation, for considering itself to be principal it was sufficient that Deutsche Telekom obtains from the supplier a contractual, enforceable right to purchase the supplier’s predefined products “on demand” at any time at predefined prices and to resell them to customers in its own name and for its own account at a price determined at its own discretion. In light of the IFRS Interpretations Committee’s agenda decision published in May 2022 on transactions involving the commercial resale of software, Deutsche Telekom has implemented comprehensive changes to its accounting practices with respect to distinguishing between gross and net revenues, effective the start of the third quarter of 2022. In considering the change in policy, Deutsche Telekom determines that it only acts as a principal and thus recognizes revenues on a gross basis in the aforementioned cases if the customer does not enter into any contractual relationship with the third-party supplier, Deutsche Telekom bears primary responsibility for product acceptance and customer support, and is in a position to set the price for the customer. In contrast to its previous accounting practice, the application of the new policy results in a decline both in revenues and in goods and services purchased of in each case EUR 0.3 billion for the first quarter of 2022, of EUR 0.6 billion cumulatively for the first half of 2022, and of EUR 0.9 billion cumulatively for the first three quarters of 2022, and EUR 0.7 billion cumulatively for the first three quarters of 2021.
Reassignment of the security business. Effective July 1, 2022, Deutsche Telekom reassigned its subsidiary Deutsche Telekom Security GmbH and the security business in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, and Slovakia from the Systems Solutions operating segment to the Germany operating segment in order to maintain a consistent focus on implementing our Group strategy pillar “Lead in business productivity.” Prior-year comparatives in both of the segments affected have accordingly been adjusted with retrospective effect in segment reporting.