The Board decided to revise the previous version of IAS 21 to incorporate the SIC-19 approach of separating these two notions. The Board also noted that the term ‘functional currency’ is more commonly used than ‘measurement currency’ and decided to adopt the more common term.
BC5 The Board noted a concern that the guidance in SIC-19 on determining a measurement currency could permit entities to choose one of several currencies, or to select an inappropriate currency. In particular, some believed that SIC-19 placed too much emphasis on the currency in which transactions are denominated and too little emphasis on the underlying economy that determines the pricing of those transactions. To meet these concerns, the Board defined functional currency as ‘the currency of the primary economic environment in which the entity operates’. The Board also provided guidance on how to determine the functional currency (see paragraphs 9-14 of the Standard). This guidance draws heavily on SIC-19 and equivalent guidance in US and other national standards, but also reflects the Board’s decision that some factors merit greater emphasis than others.