solve question 18 by using information below
18. Were there any changes to the company's dividend policy that took place in either of the fiscal years in the annual report? If so, comment on what changed and why, whether you believe the change was appropriate, and what you believe the market reaction was and why. (5 marks) 13.0 ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND NEW ACCOUNTING STANDARDS NOT YET APPLIED 13.1 Accounting policies The Company's audited consolidated financial statements for fiscal 2021 were prepared in accordance with IFRS as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), using the same accounting policies as those applied in its fiscal 2020 audited annual consolidated financial statements, except as described below. Interest Rate Benchmark Reform On August 27 2020, the IASB published "Interest Rate Benchmark Reform - Phase 2 (Amendments to IFRS 9, 1AS 39 , IFRS 7, IFRS 4 and IFRS 16)" to address issues relating to the modification of financial assets, financial liabilities and lease liabilities, specific hedge accounting requirements, and disclosure requirements when an existing interest rate benchmark is actually replaced. The amendment introduces a practical expedient for modifications required by the reform (modifications required as a direct consequence of the IBOR reform and made on an economically equivalent basis). These modifications are accounted for by updating the effective interest rate. All other modifications are accounted for using the current IFRS requirements. A similar practical expedient is available for lessee accounting under IFRS 16. Under the amendments, hedge accounting is not discontinued solely because of the IBOR relorm. Hedging relationships (and related documentation) must be amended to reflect modifications to the hedged item, hedging instrument, and hedged risk. Amended hedging relationships should meet all qualifying criteria to apply hedge accounting, including efflectiveness requirements. The amendments are effective for annual reporting periods beginning on or after January 1, 2021 and are to be applied retrospectively. The Company has begun discussions with its lenders to amend existing debt agreements to include LIBOR fallback provisions, To date, the adoption has not had an impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements as LIBOR is still being used as the interest rate benchmark in its existing debt agreements. In addition, the Company and its counterparties under interest rate swap agreements are expected to negotiate the substitution of reference rates in such agreements. It is too early to determine if any upcoming potential modifications will meet the requirements for the application of the practical expedient. 13.2 New accounting standards and interpretations not yet applied The following new accounting standards are not effective for the year ended January 2,2022 and have not been applied in preparing the audited annual consolidated financial statements. Amendments to IAS 1, Presentation of Financial Statements On January 23, 2020, the LASB issued narrow-scope amendments to IAS 1, Presentation of Financial Statements, to clarify how to classify debt and other labilities as current or non-current. The amendments (which affect only the presentation of labilities in the statement of financial position) clarity that the classification of liabilities as current or noncurrent should be based on rights that are in existence at the end of the reporting period to defer settlement by at least tweive months and make explicit that only rights in place at the end of the reporting period should affect the classification of a liability; clarify that classification is unaffected by expectations about whether an entity will exercise its right to defer settlement of a liability, and make clear that settlement refers to the transfer to the counterparty of cash, equily instruments, other assets, or services. The amendments are effective for annual reporting periods beginning on or after January 1, 2023 and are to be applied retrospectively. Earlier application is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the amendment on its consolidated financial statements. Amendments to IAS 1 and IFRS Practice Statement 2, Disclosure of Accounting Policy Information In February 2021, the IASB issued amendments to LAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements and IFRS Practice Statement 2 Making Materiality Judgements. The amendments help entities provide accounting policy disclosures that are more useful to primary users of financial statements by: - Replacing the requirement to disclose "significant" accounting policies under lAS 1 with a requirement to disclose "material" accounting policies. Under this, an accounting policy would be material it, when considered together with other information included in an entity's financial statements, it can reasonably be expected to influence decisions that primary users of general purpose financial statements make on the basis of those financial statements. - Providing guidance in IFRS Practice Statement 2 to explain and demonstrate the application of the four-step materiality process to accounting policy disclosures. The amendments shall be applied prospectively. The amendments to IAS 1 are effective for annual periods beginning on or after January 1, 2023. Earlier application is permitted. Once an entity applies the amendments to IAS 1, it is also permitted to apply the amendments to IFRS Practice Statement 2. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the amendment on its consolidated financial statements. Amendments to IAS 8, Definition of Accounting Estimates In February 2021, the IASB amended IAS 8 Accounting Policies, Changes in Accounting Estimates and Errors to introduce a new definition of "accounting estimates" to replace the definition of "change in accounting estimates" and also include clarifications intended to help entities distinguish changes in accounting policies from changes in accounting estimates. This distinction is important because changes in accounting policies must be applied retrospectively while changes in accounting estimates are accounted for prospectively. The amendments are effective for annual periods beginning on or after January 1, 2023. Earlier application is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the amendment on its consolidated financial statements. Amendments to IAS 12, Deferred Tax related to Assets and Liabilities arising from a Single Transaction On May 7 2021, the IASB amended IAS 12 Income Taxes, to narrow the scope of the initial recognition exemption so that it does not apply to transactions that give rise to equal and offsetting temporary differences. The amendments are effective for annual periods beginning on or after January 1, 2023. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the amendment on its consolidated financial statements
