highly inflationary economy

This subtopic tells an entity with foreign currency transactions or foreign operations how to translate cash flows in the statement of cash flows. Foreign currency cash flows are reported at the reporting currency equivalent using the exchange rates in effect at the time of the cash flows (a weighted-average rate may be used if the result is substantially the same). The effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash held in foreign currencies is shown as a separate part of the reconciliation of the change in total cash for the period.

This subtopic governs deferred tax accounting for basis differences that arise in foreign operations when tax or financial reporting bases are restated — because of a change in functional currency, general price-level (inflation) indexing, or a functional currency that differs from the local currency. Its core rules: when an economy ceases to be highly inflationary and new functional currency bases are established for nonmonetary items, the resulting differences from local currency tax bases are temporary differences requiring deferred taxes recognized in other comprehensive income as an adjustment to cumulative translation adjustments (830-740-45-2); by contrast, no deferred taxes are recognized for nonmonetary assets remeasured at historical exchange rates whose differences arise from exchange rate changes or tax indexing (740-10-25-3(f)).

ASC 830-10 sets the scope and foundational framework for foreign currency accounting: it requires each foreign entity's assets, liabilities, and operations to be measured in that entity's functional currency—the currency of the primary economic environment in which it operates (830-10-45-2)—before amounts are translated into the reporting currency. It supplies the economic indicators (cash flow, sales price, sales market, expense, financing, and intra-entity indicators in 830-10-55-5) that management weighs to identify the functional currency, mandates remeasurement of books of record not kept in the functional currency using historical rates for specified nonmonetary items (830-10-45-17 through 45-18), and requires entities in highly inflationary economies (cumulative 3-year inflation ≈100% or more) to be remeasured as if the reporting currency were the functional currency (830-10-45-11).