9 DECEMBER 2008 NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE, No. 191 5007

j) Employee entitlements

Provision is made for benefits accruing to employees in respect of wages and salaries, annual leave, long service leave and sick leave when it is probable that settlement will be required and they are capable of being measured reliably.

Provisions made in respect of employee benefits expected to be settled within 12 months, are measured at their nominal values using the remuneration rate expected to apply at the time of settlement.

Provisions made in respect of employee benefits which are not expected to be settled within 12 months are measured as the present value of the estimated future cash outflows to be made by the Division in respect of services provided by employees up to reporting date.

Defined superannuation plans
For Defined Contribution Superannuation Plans, the Division recognises and expenses the obligation during the period they arise.

There are a small number of employees that are part of a state Defined Benefit Superannuation plan. The Division has no legal or constructive obligation to pay future benefits, the Crown guarantees these benefits, as a result the plans are accounted for as a defined contribution plan.

k) Impairment

Intangible assets that have indefinite useful lives are not subject to amortisation and are assessed for impairment at each reporting date. If the estimated recoverable amount of an asset is less than its carrying amount, the asset is written down to its estimated recoverable amount and an impairment loss is recognised in the Income Statement.

A cash generating unit is the lowest division of assets for which there are separately identified cash flows.

At each reporting date, the Division reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible and intangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any). Where the asset does not generate cash flows that are independent from other assets, the Division estimates the recoverable amount of the cash-generating unit to which the asset belongs.

Recoverable amount is the higher of fair value less costs to sell and value in use. In assessing value in use, the estimated future cash flows are discounted to their present value using a pre-tax discount rate that reflects current market assessments of the time value of money and the risks specific to the asset for which the estimates of future cash flows have not been adjusted.

If the recoverable amount of an asset (or cash-generating unit) is estimated to be less than its carrying amount, the carrying amount of the asset (cash-generating unit) is reduced to its recoverable amount. An impairment loss is recognised in the Income Statement immediately, unless the relevant asset is carried at fair value, in which case the impairment loss is treated as a revaluation decrease.

Where an impairment loss subsequently reverses, the carrying amount of the asset (cash-generating unit) is increased to the revised estimate of its recoverable amount, but only to the extent that the increased carrying amount does not exceed the carrying amount that would have been determined had no impairment loss been recognised for the asset (cash-generating unit) in prior years. A reversal of an impairment loss is recognised in the Income Statement immediately, unless the relevant asset is carried at fair value, in which case the reversal of the impairment loss is treated as a revaluation increase.