The World Gold Council has published an update to its Guidance Note on all- in sustaining costs (AISC) and "all- in costs", which was first issued in June 2013.
The Council worked closely with its member companies to develop these non-GAAP measures which are intended to provide further transparency into the costs associated with producing gold. These non-GAAP measures are intended to provide further transparency into the costs associated with producing gold.
"Since its launch in 2013, we have monitored the use and application of the Guidance Note to ensure that it meets its objective of providing transparency into the costs associated with producing gold, by setting out a consistent methodology," Terry Heymann, World Gold Council CFO said in a media release.
"In light of new accounting standards and to support further consistency of application, we have included incremental enhancements in the Guidance Note, as well as provided a set of FAQs. We believe this will be of benefit to investors and other stakeholders," Heymann said.
The use of the "all-in sustaining costs" and "all-in costs" metrics has been widely adopted by gold mining companies as part of their overall reporting disclosure. These non-GAAP metrics have helped provide greater clarity and improve investor understanding. All companies involved in gold-mining are encouraged to use these metrics.
The World Gold Council advises that individual companies have responsibility for their own reporting and it is expected that companies may choose to use the updated guidance starting January 1, 2019, or at the beginning of their financial year.
The Guidance Note and associated FAQs can be found here.