Significant Accounting Policies | 2. Significant Accounting Policies In preparing financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP, the Sponsor makes estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, as well as the reported amount of income and expenses reported during the period. Actual results could differ from these estimates. The following is a summary of significant accounting policies followed by the Trust. Basis of Presentation The Sponsor has determined that the Trust falls within the scope of Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 946, Financial Services - Investment Companies, and has concluded that only for financial reporting purposes, the Trust is classified as an Investment Company (as defined in ASC 946). The Trust is not registered as an investment company under the Investment Company Act and is not required to register under such act. The statements of assets and liabilities and schedules of investment at September 30, 2023, and the statements of operations and of changes in net assets for the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2023, have been prepared on behalf of the Trust and are unaudited. In the opinion of the Sponsor of the Trust, all adjustments (which include normal recurring adjustments) necessary to present fairly the financial position and results of operations for the period ended September 30, 2023 have been made. Valuation of Gold and Calculation of Net Asset Value The Trust follows the provisions of ASC 820, Fair Value Measurements. ASC 820 provides guidance for determining fair value and requires increased disclosure regarding the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value. ASC 820 defines fair value as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. The Administrator will determine the price of the Trust’s investment in gold by utilizing the PM price of gold expressed in U.S. dollars, as published by the LBMA (the “LBMA Gold Price PM”). If there is no LBMA Gold Price PM on any day, the Administrator is authorized to use that day’s LBMA Gold Price AM, or the most recently announced LBMA Gold Price PM or LBMA Gold Price AM. The LBMA Gold Price PM, which is used to value gold by many stakeholders in the securities industry, applies to all forms of gold and does not distinguish between ESG Approved Gold and other gold. Once the value of the Trust’s investment in gold has been determined, the Administrator subtracts all accrued expenses and liabilities of the Trust from the total value of the Trust’s investment in gold and all other assets of the Trust. The resulting figure is the NAV of the Trust. The Administrator determines the NAV by dividing the NAV of the Trust by the number of Shares outstanding on the day the computation is made. ASC 820 establishes a hierarchy that prioritizes inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value. The three levels of inputs are: Level 1: Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical, unrestricted assets or liabilities that the Trust has the ability to access at the measurement date; Level 2: Quoted prices which are not active, or inputs that are observable (either directly or indirectly) for substantially the full term of the asset or liability; and Level 3: Prices, inputs or complex modeling techniques which are both significant to the fair value measurement and unobservable (supported by little or no market activity). The Sponsor categorizes the Trust’s investment in gold as a Level 1 asset within the ASC 820 hierarchy. September 30, 2023 Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 $ $ $ Investment in Gold 14,906,443 — — Total 14,906,443 — — December 31, 2022 Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 $ $ $ Investment in Gold 12,686,189 — — Total 12,686,189 — — Expenses and Gain (Loss) Recognition The Trust pays the Sponsor a fee that will accrue daily at an annualized rate equal to 0.38 Sponsor’s fee. In exchange for the Sponsor’s fee, the Sponsor has agreed to assume the ordinary administrative and marketing expenses of the Trust, which are the fees and expenses associated with the services provided by the Trustee, the Administrator , the Transfer Agent, the Adviser, the Marketing Agent, and the Mint, any costs associated with researching, establishing and maintaining the ESG Criteria and the diligence of ESG Approved Gold held by the Trust (the “ESG Approved Gold Holdings”), any costs associated with the transfer of gold bullion to or from Authorized Participants in connection with creations and redemptions, the Exchange’s listing fees, SEC registration fees, printing and mailing costs, audit fees and up to $100,000 the Trust. The Sponsor may from time to time sell gold held by the Trust in such quantity as is necessary to permit payment of the Sponsor’s fee and may also sell gold in such quantities as may be necessary to permit the payment of Trust expenses and liabilities not assumed by the Sponsor. The Sponsor, from time to time, may waive all or a portion of the Sponsor’s fee in its sole discretion. The Trust will issue and redeem Shares using unallocated gold. A gain (loss) is recognized based on the difference between the selling price and the average cost of the gold sold or redeemed on the trade date, and such amounts are reported as net realized gain (loss) from investment in gold sold. Gold transactions are recorded on the trade date. Gold Receivable or Payable Gold receivable or payable represents the quantity of gold covered by contractually binding orders for the creation or redemption of Shares respectively, where the gold has not yet been transferred to or from the Trust’s account. Creations and Redemptions of Shares The Trust issues and redeems in one or more blocks of 50,000 50,000 redeemable securities. Creation Units are only issued or redeemed on a day that the Exchange is open for regular trading in exchange for an amount of gold determined by the Administrator. Because ESG Approved Gold for Creation Units can be sourced by the Mint only from a limited number of suppliers, from time-to-time the supply of ESG Approved Gold may not be sufficient to fill all orders for purchases of Creation Units. Orders to create and redeem Creation Units may be placed only by Authorized Participants. Income Taxes The Trust is classified as a “grantor trust” for United States federal income tax purposes. As a result, the Trust itself is not subject to United States federal income tax. Instead, the Trust’s income and expenses will “flow through” to the Shareholders, and the Transfer Agent will report the Trust’s income, expenses, gains, and losses to the Internal Revenue Service on that basis. At September 30, 2023, there was no “flow through” to the Shareholders. |