NIF D-2 establishes the rules for the recognition and measurement of costs related to contracts with customers, focusing on how an entity should recognize these costs in its net profit or loss. Its scope, recognition criteria and guidelines for accounting for impairments and other relevant aspects are detailed below.

1. Basic Principle of NIF D-2

The objective of IFRS D-2 is to provide guidance for the recognition of costs in contracts with customers, ensuring that these are adequately reflected in the financial statements. This standard stipulates that costs should be recognized when the entity transfers control of the goods or services to the customer, which means that the contractual obligation has been fulfilled. This allows revenues and costs to be aligned, improving the representation of the profitability of the contracts.

2. Incremental Costs to Obtain a Contract

• Definition and Recognition: Incremental costs are those incurred by an entity solely to obtain a contract. They should only be recognized as an asset when these costs are expected to be recovered, otherwise they should be recorded in the period as an expense.
• Examples of Incremental Costs: These include employee commissions, direct materials, allocated indirect costs related to obtaining the contract, and other directly associated costs such as consulting or financing. These should be recognized based on their direct applicability to the contract.
• Simplified Practice: Alternatively, costs to obtain a contract may be recognized as an expense in the period in which they occur if the contract duration is one year or less, simplifying the accounting for short-term contracts.

3. Costs to Fulfill a Contract

Costs necessary to fulfill a contract are those that an entity incurs after obtaining the contract to ensure compliance with its obligations to the customer.

• Activation Criteria: For these costs to be recognized as an asset, they must meet certain criteria: they must be directly related to the contract, generate or improve resources that will be used to fulfill the contract, be recoverable and can be quantified reliably.
• Related Costs: Some examples are direct labor, direct materials, allocated indirect costs, and other explicit costs that may be charged to the customer under the contract.
• Exclusions and General Expenses: MFRS D-2 also establishes that general and administrative expenses that are not directly attributable to the contract should not be capitalized and should be recognized as expenses in the period.

4. Application to Net Profit or Loss

NIF D-2 also defines how recognized assets should be applied to net profit or loss according to the income generated by the contract.

• Recognition in Net Profit or Loss: An asset recognised under this Standard should be allocated to net profit or loss when control of the goods or services is transferred to the customer, ensuring that the associated costs and revenues are recorded simultaneously.
• Association Method: This method ensures that the recognized costs are aligned with the moment in which the entity satisfies its obligations to the client, which gives a clearer view of the profitability of the contract.

5. Deterioration of Contract Costs

NIF D-2 also provides guidance on the impairment of capitalized costs associated with contracts.

• Impairment Recognition: An impairment loss should be recognized in net profit or loss when the asset's carrying amount exceeds the expected future economic benefits related to pending revenues and costs not yet recognized as expenses. In the event of recovery of the impaired value, a partial or total reversal of the loss may be carried out, provided that the conditions stipulated for its initial recognition are maintained.

6. Conclusion

NIF D-2 provides a robust framework for the treatment of costs related to contracts, allowing companies to better represent the relationship between revenues and costs. This standard contributes to transparency and accuracy in financial statements, especially in those sectors where contracts have significant relevance, such as construction, services and manufacturing. Its correct application is essential to avoid errors in contract accounting, improving clarity and accuracy in the assessment of the profitability and value of each project or service offered.

Case Study: Application of NIF D-2 in a Construction Project

Context: The company «Construcciones del Norte, S.A.» has been awarded a contract to build an office complex in Monterrey. The contract has a duration of 18 months and provides for a total payment of $10,000,000. In order to fulfill this contract, the company will incur various costs, some of which will be specific to the contract and others will be related to its general operations.

1. Identification of Incremental Costs to Obtain the Contract

Before obtaining the contract, the company incurred certain costs in order to win it, such as:

• Commissions to commercial employees who worked on the negotiation.
• Legal advice for the review of the terms of the contract.
• Proposal submission costs, including printed materials and resources used for client meetings.

Accounting Treatment: According to MFRS D-2, these costs are “incremental costs to obtain a contract” since they would only have been incurred if the contract had been obtained. The company considers these costs to be recoverable through the value of the contract, so it recognizes them as an asset on its balance sheet.

2. Costs to Comply with the Contract

Once the contract is obtained, the company incurs several direct costs to fulfill its obligations:

• Direct Materials: Cement, steel and other supplies used exclusively for the construction of the complex.
• Direct Labor: Employees hired specifically to work on the construction site.
• Allocated Indirect Costs: Project supervision, insurance, depreciation of construction equipment, and other general costs of the work.

Accounting Treatment: These costs meet the activation criteria according to paragraph 42.2 of NIF D-2, since they are directly related to the contract, they will generate resources to fulfill the obligations, they are recoverable and can be quantified reliably. The company recognizes them as an asset in its balance sheet, since they meet the criteria established for the recognition of contract fulfillment costs.

3. General and Administrative Costs Not Attributable to the Contract

During the contract period, “Construcciones del Norte” also incurs general costs, such as:

• Office expenses: Rental, administrative services and supplies.
• Marketing costs: Advertising and promotion of other company services.
• Administrative staff salaries: Those who are not directly involved in the project.

Accounting Treatment: According to paragraph 42.6 of IFRS D-2, these costs are not directly related to the contract, so they should be recognized as expenses in the period in which they occur, rather than capitalized. In this way, it is ensured that only the contract-specific costs are capitalized, avoiding inflating the asset related to the project.

4. Application of Capitalized Costs to Net Profit or Loss

As the company completes portions of the project and transfers control of those portions to the customer, it recognizes in net income or loss the capitalized costs related to those revenues. For example, if it has completed 30% of the project at the end of the first quarter, the company would recognize 30% of the capitalized costs on its income statement.

Accounting Treatment: According to paragraph 43.1, this application ensures that costs are recognized in the same period as revenues, more accurately reflecting the profitability of the project at each stage of its development.

5. Impairment of Capitalized Costs

In the sixth month of the project, the client notifies the company that it may reduce the scope of the contract due to changes in its needs. As a result, the company must assess whether the capitalized costs related to the project have deteriorated.

Accounting Treatment: In accordance with paragraph 44.1, the company evaluates capitalized costs to determine whether the carrying amount exceeds future economic benefits. If this is the case, the company must recognize an impairment loss in net profit or loss for the period.