presentation and disclosure requirements under ias 1

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Presentation of Financial Statements (IAS 1)

Last updated: 17 May 2024

IAS 1 serves as the main standard that outlines the general requirements for presenting financial statements. It is applicable to ‘general purpose financial statements’, which are designed to meet the informational needs of users who cannot demand customised reports from an entity. Documents like management commentary or sustainability reports, which are often included in annual reports, fall outside the scope of IFRS, as indicated in IAS 1.13-14. Similarly, financial statements submitted to a court registry are not considered general purpose financial statements (see IAS 1.BC11-13).

The standard primarily focuses on annual financial statements, but its guidelines in IAS 1.15-35 also extend to interim financial reports (IAS 1.4). These guidelines address key elements such as fair presentation, compliance with IFRS, the going concern principle, the accrual basis of accounting, offsetting, materiality, and aggregation. For comprehensive guidance on interim reporting, please refer to IAS 34 .

Note that IAS 1 will be superseded by the upcoming IFRS 18 Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements .

Now, let’s explore the general requirements for presenting financial statements in greater detail.

Financial statements

Components of a complete set of financial statements.

Paragraph IAS 1.10 outlines the elements that make up a complete set of financial statements. Companies have the flexibility to use different titles for these documents, but each statement must be presented with equal prominence (IAS 1.11). The terminology used in IAS 1 is tailored for profit-oriented entities. However, not-for-profit organisations or entities without equity (as defined in IAS 32), may use alternative terminology for specific items in their financial statements (IAS 1.5-6).

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Compliance with IFRS

Financial statements must include an explicit and unreserved statement of compliance with IFRS in the accompanying notes. This statement is only valid if the entity adheres to all the requirements of every IFRS standard (IAS 1.16). In many jurisdictions, such as the European Union, laws mandate compliance with a locally adopted version of IFRS.

IAS 1 does consider extremely rare situations where an entity might diverge from a specific IFRS requirement. Such a departure is permissible only if it prevents the presentation of misleading information that would conflict with the objectives of general-purpose financial reporting (IAS 1.20-22). Alternatively, entities can disclose the impact of such a departure in the notes, explaining how the statements would appear if the exception were made (IAS 1.23).

Identification of financial statements

The guidelines for identifying financial statements outlined in IAS 1.49-53 are straightforward and rarely cause issues in practice.

Going concern

The ‘going concern’ principle is a cornerstone of IFRS and other major GAAP. It assumes that an entity will continue to operate for the foreseeable future (at least 12 months). IAS 1 mandates management to assess whether the entity is a ‘going concern’. Should there be any material uncertainties regarding the entity’s future, these must be disclosed (IAS 1.25-26). IFRSs do not provide specific accounting principles for entities that are not going concerns, other than requiring disclosure of the accounting policies used. One of the possible approaches is to measure all assets and liabilities using their liquidation value.

See also this educational material at IFRS.org.

Materiality and aggregation

IAS 1.29-31 emphasise the importance of materiality in preparing user-friendly financial statements. While IFRS mandates numerous disclosures, entities should only include information that is material. This concept should be at the forefront when preparing financial statements, as reminders about materiality are seldom provided in other IFRS standards or publications.

Generally, entities should not offset assets against liabilities or income against expenses unless a specific IFRS standard allows or requires it. IAS 1.32-35 offer guidance on what can and cannot be offset. Offsetting of financial instruments is discussed further in IAS 32 .

Frequency of reporting

Entities are required to present a complete set of financial statements at least annually (IAS 1.36). However, some Public Interest Entities (PIEs) may be obliged to release financial statements more frequently, depending on local regulations. However, these are typically interim financial statements compiled under IAS 34 .

IAS 1 also allows for a 52-week reporting period instead of a calendar year (IAS 1.37). This excerpt from Tesco’s annual report serves to demonstrate this point, showing that the group uses 52-week periods for their financial year, even when some subsidiaries operate on a calendar-year basis:

If an entity changes its reporting period, it must clearly disclose this modification and provide the rationale for the change (IAS 1.36). It is advisable to include an explanatory note with comparative data that aligns with the new reporting period for clarity.

Comparative information

As a general guideline, entities should present comparative data for the prior period alongside all amounts reported for the current period, even when specific guidelines in a given IFRS do not require it. However, there’s no obligation to include narrative or descriptive information about the preceding period if it isn’t pertinent for understanding the current period (IAS 1.38).

If an entity opts to provide comparative data for more than the immediately preceding period, this additional information can be included in selected primary financial statements only. However, these additional comparative periods should also be detailed in the relevant accompanying notes (IAS 1.38C-38D).

IAS 1.40A-46 outlines how to present the statement of financial position when there are changes in accounting policies, retrospective restatements, or reclassifications. This entails producing a ‘third balance sheet’ at the start of the preceding period (which may differ from the earliest comparative period, if more than one is presented). Key points to note are:

• The third balance sheet is required only if there’s a material impact on the opening balance of the preceding period (IAS 1.40A(b)).
• If a third balance sheet is included, there’s no requirement to add a corresponding third column in the notes, although this could be useful where numbers have been altered by the change (IAS 1.40C).
• Interim financial statements do not require a third balance sheet (IAS 1.BC33).

IAS 8 also requires comprehensive disclosures concerning changes in accounting policies and corrections of errors .

Statement of financial position

IAS 1.54 enumerates the line items that must, at a minimum, appear in the statement of financial position. Entities should note that separate lines are not required for immaterial items (IAS 1.31). Additional line items can be added for entity-specific or industry-specific matters. IAS 1 permits the inclusion of subtotals, provided the criteria set out in IAS 1.55A are met.

Additional disclosure requirements are set out in IAS 1.77-80A. Of particular interest are the requirements pertaining to equity (IAS 1.79), which begin with the number of shares and extend to include details such as ‘rights, preferences, and restrictions relating to share capital, including restrictions on the distribution of dividends and the repayment of capital.’ While these kinds of limitations are common across various legal jurisdictions (for example, not all retained earnings can be distributed as dividends), many companies neglect to disclose such limitations in their financial statements.

For guidance on classifying assets and liabilities as either current or non-current, please refer to the separate page dedicated to this topic.

Statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income

IAS 1 provides two methods for presenting profit or loss (P/L) and other comprehensive income (OCI). Entities can either combine both P/L and OCI into a single statement or present them in separate statements (IAS 1.81A-B). Additionally, the P/L and total comprehensive income for a given period should be allocated between the owners of the parent company and non-controlling interests (IAS 1.81B).

Minimum contents in P/L and OCI

IAS 1.82-82A specifies the minimum items that must appear in the P/L and OCI statements. These items are required only if they materially impact the financial statements (IAS 1.31).

Entities are permitted to add subtotals to the P/L statement if they meet the criteria specified in IAS 1.85A. Operating income is often the most commonly used subtotal in P/L. This practice may be attributed to the 1997 version of IAS 1, which mandated the inclusion of this subtotal—although this is no longer the case. IAS 1.BC56 clarifies that an operating profit subtotal should not exclude items commonly considered operational, such as inventory write-downs, restructuring costs, or depreciation/amortisation expenses.

Profit or loss (P/L)

All items of income and expense must be recognised in P/L (or OCI). This means that no income or expenses should be recognised directly in the statement of changes in equity, unless another IFRS specifically mandates it (IAS 1.88). Direct recognition in equity may also result from intra-group transactions . IAS 1.97-98 require separate disclosure of material items of income and expense, either directly in the income statement or in the notes.

Expenses in P/L can be presented in one of two ways (IAS 1.99-105):

• By their nature (e.g., depreciation, employee benefits); or
• By their function within the entity (e.g., cost of sales, distribution costs, administrative expenses).

When opting for the latter, entities must provide additional details on the nature of the expenses in the accompanying notes (IAS 1.104).

Other comprehensive income (OCI)

OCI encompasses income and expenses that other IFRS specifically exclude from P/L. There is no conceptual basis for deciding which items should appear in OCI rather than in P/L. Most companies present P/L and OCI as separate statements, partly because OCI is generally overlooked by investors and those outside of accounting and financial reporting circles. The concern is that combining the two could reduce net profit to merely a subtotal within total comprehensive income.

All elements that constitute OCI are specifically outlined in IAS 1.7, as part of its definitions.

Reclassification adjustments

A reclassification adjustment refers to the amount reclassified to P/L in the current period that was recognised in OCI in the current or previous periods (IAS 1.7). All items in OCI must be grouped into one of two categories: those that will or will not be subsequently reclassified to P/L (IAS 1.82A). Reclassification adjustments must be disclosed either within the OCI statement or in the accompanying notes (IAS 1.92-96).

To illustrate, foreign exchange differences arising on translation of foreign operations and gains or losses from certain cash flow hedges are examples of items that will be reclassified to P/L. In contrast, remeasurement gains and losses on defined benefit employee plans or revaluation gains on properties will not be reclassified to P/L.

The practice of transferring items from OCI to P/L, commonly known as ‘recycling’, lacks a concrete conceptual basis and the criteria for allowing such transfers in IFRS are often considered arbitrary.

Tax effects

OCI items can be presented either net of tax effects or before tax, with the overall tax impact disclosed separately. In either case, entities must specify the tax amount related to each item in OCI, including any reclassification adjustments (IAS 1.90-91). Interestingly, there is no such requirement to disclose tax effects for individual items in the income statement.

Statement of changes in equity

IAS 1.106 outlines the minimum line items that must be included in the statement of changes in equity. Subsequent paragraphs specify the disclosure requirements, which can be addressed either within the statement itself or in the accompanying notes. It’s crucial to note that changes in equity during a reporting period can arise either from income and expense items or from transactions involving owners acting in their capacity as owners (IAS 1.109). This means that entities cannot adjust equity directly based on changes in assets or liabilities unless these adjustments result from transactions with owners, such as capital contributions or dividend payments, or are otherwise mandated by other IFRSs.

Statement of cash flows

The statement of cash flows is governed by IAS 7 .

• Explanatory notes

Structure of explanatory notes

The structure for explanatory notes is detailed in IAS 1.112-116. In practice, there are several commonly adopted approaches to organising these notes:

Approach #1:

• Primary financial statements (P/L, OCI, etc.)
• Statement of compliance and basis of preparation
• Accounting policies

Approach #1 is logically coherent, as understanding accounting policies is crucial before delving into the financial data. However, in reality, few people read the accounting policies in their entirety. Consequently, users often have to navigate past several pages of accounting policies to reach the explanatory notes.

Approach #2:

• Primary financial statements (P/L, OCI, etc)

In Approach #2, accounting policies are treated as an appendix and positioned at the end of the financial statements. The advantage here is that all numerical data is clustered together, uninterrupted by extensive descriptions of accounting policies.

Approach #3:

• Explanatory notes integrated with relevant accounting policies

Approach #3 pairs accounting policies directly with the associated explanatory notes. For example, accounting policies relating to inventory would appear alongside the explanatory note that breaks down inventory components.

Management of capital

IAS 1.134-136 outline the disclosures related to capital management. These provisions apply to all entities, whether or not they are subject to external capital requirements. An important note here is that entities are not obligated to disclose specific values or ratios concerning capital objectives or requirements.

IAS 1.137 mandates disclosure of dividends proposed or declared before the financial statements were authorised for issue but not recognised as a distribution to owners during the period. Furthermore, entities are required to disclose the amount of any cumulative preference dividends not recognised.

Disclosure of accounting policies

IAS 1 specifies the requirements for disclosing accounting policy information which are discussed here .

Disclosing judgements and sources of estimation uncertainty

IAS 1 mandates disclosing judgements and sources of estimation uncertainty .

Other disclosures

Additional miscellaneous disclosure requirements are detailed in paragraphs IAS 1.138.

IFRS 18 Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements

On 9 April 2024, the IASB issued IFRS 18 Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements , which replaces IAS 1 and amends IAS 7. This new standard will be effective from 2027 with early application permitted.

Here are the key changes under IFRS 18:

• Two new subtotals have been added to the income statement: ‘Operating Profit’ and ‘Profit Before Financing and Income Taxes’. This change requires companies to categorise income and expenses into operating, investing, and financing activities.
• A new requirement mandates the reconciliation of non-GAAP measures with IFRS-specified subtotals, but this only applies to P/L measures such as adjusted profit. Other metrics like free/organic cash flow or net debt are not included.
• The statement of cash flows will start with operating profit for the indirect method, and the classification of cash flows related to interest and dividends has been standardised. Typically, dividends and interest paid will fall under financing activities, while those received will be recorded under investing activities.

While many IAS 1 provisions remain under IFRS 18, others, including the basis of financial statement preparation and disclosure of accounting policies, have moved to IAS 8, which will be retitled Basis of Preparation of Financial Statements . For further insights, see the IASB Project Summary .

© 2018-2024 Marek Muc

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Annual Reporting

Knowledge base for IFRS Reporting

IFRS Standard: IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements

Ias 1 objective scope definitions, ias 1 presentation of financial statements, ias 1 objective ias 1 objective scope definitions.

1 This Standard prescribes the basis for presentation of general purpose financial statements to ensure comparability both with the entity’s financial statements of previous periods and with the financial statements of other entities. It sets out overall requirements for the presentation of financial statements, guidelines for their structure and minimum requirements for their content.

IAS 1 Scope

2 An entity shall apply this Standard in preparing and presenting general purpose financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs).

3 Other IFRSs set out the recognition, measurement and disclosure requirements for specific transactions and other events.

4 This Standard does … Read more

IAS 1 Financial statements

Purpose of financial statements ia s 1 financial statements.

9. Financial statements are a structured representation of the financial position and financial performance of an entity. The objective of financial statements is to provide information about the financial position, financial performance and cash flows of an entity that is useful to a wide range of users in making economic decisions. Financial statements also show the results of the management’s stewardship of the resources entrusted to it. To meet this objective, financial statements provide information about an entity’s:

• liabilities;
• income and expenses, including gains and losses;
• contributions by and distributions to owners in their capacity as owners; and

IAS 1 Structure and content

Introduction ias 1 structure and content.

47 This Standard requires particular disclosures in the statement of financial position or the statement(s) of profit or loss and other comprehensive income, or in the statement of changes in equity and requires disclosure of other line items either in those statements or in the notes. IAS 7 Statement of Cash Flows sets out requirements for the presentation of cash flow information.

48 This Standard sometimes uses the term ‘disclosure’ in a broad sense, encompassing items presented in the financial statements. Disclosures are also required by other IFRSs. Unless specified to the contrary elsewhere in this Standard or in another IFRS, such disclosures … Read more

IAS 1 Statement of financial position

Information to be presented in the statement of financial position.

54 The statement of financial position shall include line items that present the following amounts:

• property, plant and equipment;
• investment property;
• intangible assets;
• financial assets (excluding amounts shown under (e), (h) and (i)); (da) portfolio of contracts within the scope of IFRS 17 that are assets, disaggregated as required by paragraph 78 of IFRS 17 ;
• investments accounted for using the equity method;
• biological assets within the scope of IAS 41 Agriculture ;
• inventories;
• trade and other receivables;
• cash and cash equivalents;
• the total of assets classified as held for sale and assets included in disposal groups classified

IAS 1 Statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income

81 [ Deleted]

81A The statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income (statement of comprehensive income) shall present, in addition to the profit or loss and other comprehensive income sections:

• profit or loss;
• total other comprehensive income;
• comprehensive income for the period, being the total of profit or loss and other comprehensive income.

If an entity presents a separate statement of profit or loss it does not present the profit or loss section in the statement presenting comprehensive income.

81B An entity shall present the following items, in addition to the profit or loss and other comprehensive income sections, as … Read more

IAS 1 Statement of changes in equity

Information to be presented in the statement of changes in equity ias 1 statement of changes in equity.

106 An entity shall present a statement of changes in equity as required by paragraph 10. The statement of changes in equity includes the following information:

• total comprehensive income for the period, showing separately the total amounts attributable to owners of the parent and to non-controlling interests;
• for each component of equity, the effects of retrospective application or retrospective restatement recognised in accordance with IAS 8; and
• for each component of equity, a reconciliation between the carrying amount at the beginning and the end of the period, separately

IAS 1 Statement of cash flows

111 Cash flow information provides users of financial statements with a basis to assess the ability of the entity to generate cash and cash equivalents and the needs of the entity to utilise those cash flows. IAS 7 sets out requirements for the presentation and disclosure of cash flow information.

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Next: IAS 1 Notes

Source EU rules on financial information disclosed by companies

IAS 1 Statement of cash flows IAS 1 Statement of cash flows IAS 1 Statement of cash flows IAS 1 Statement of cash flows IAS 1 Statement of cash flows IAS 1 Statement of … Read more

IAS 1 Notes

112 The notes shall:

• present information about the basis of preparation of the financial statements and the specific accounting policies used in accordance with paragraphs 117–124;
• disclose the information required by IFRSs that is not presented elsewhere in the financial statements; and
• provide information that is not presented elsewhere in the financial statements, but is relevant to an understanding of any of them.

113 An entity shall, as far as practicable, present notes in a systematic manner. In determining a systematic manner, the entity shall consider the effect on the understandability and comparability of its financial statements. An entity shall cross-reference each item in the statements of financial position and … Read more

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• Classifying liabilities as current or non-current

IAS 1 amendments effective January 2024

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Global IFRS Institute  

Right to defer settlement must exist at reporting date and have substance

Liabilities with covenants – Classification criteria clarified and new disclosures

Convertible debt may become current

Effective date – Applies retrospectively from January 2024

Gabriela Kegalj

Partner, Department of Professional Practice, Audit

KPMG in Canada

Email [email protected]

Under the amendments to IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements the classification of certain liabilities as current or non-current may change (e.g. convertible debt). In addition, companies may need to provide new disclosures for liabilities subject to covenants.

The amendments will apply from 1 January 2024. However, companies need to consider whether their upcoming annual financial statements will need to include disclosures under IAS 8 Accounting Policies, Changes in Accounting Estimates and Errors  of the possible future impacts. 

We welcome the final amendments on classifying liabilities, particularly the removal of the so-called ‘hypothetical’ covenant test. Companies need to revisit their loan arrangements now to determine whether the classification of their liabilities (e.g. convertible debt) will change, and prepare to provide new disclosures about certain covenants.

Gabriela Kegalj KPMG global IFRS presentation leader

Under existing IAS 1 requirements, companies classify a liability as current when they do not have an unconditional right to defer settlement for at least 12 months after the reporting date. The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has removed the requirement for a right to be unconditional and instead now requires that a right to defer settlement must exist at the reporting date and have substance.

Similar to existing requirements in IAS 1, the classification of liabilities is unaffected by management’s intentions or expectations about whether the company will exercise its right to defer settlement or will choose to settle early. 

A company will classify a liability as non-current if it has a right to defer settlement for at least 12 months after the reporting date. This right may be subject to a company complying with conditions (covenants) specified in a loan arrangement. 

After reconsidering certain aspects of the 2020 amendments 1 , the IASB reconfirmed that only covenants with which a company must comply on or before the reporting date affect the classification of a liability as current or non-current. 

Covenants with which the company must comply after the reporting date (i.e. future covenants) do not affect a liability’s classification at that date. However, when non-current liabilities are subject to future covenants, companies will now need to disclose information to help users understand the risk that those liabilities could become repayable within 12 months after the reporting date. See Example 1 .

The amendments also clarify how a company classifies a liability that can be settled in its own shares – e.g. convertible debt. 

When a liability includes a counterparty conversion option that involves a transfer of the company’s own equity instruments, the conversion option is recognised as either equity or a liability separately from the host liability under IAS 32 Financial Instruments: Presentation . The IASB has now clarified that when a company classifies the host liability as current or non-current, it can ignore only those conversion options that are recognised as equity.

Companies may have interpreted the existing IAS 1 requirements differently when classifying convertible debt. Therefore, convertible debt may become current (see Example 2 ). 

The amendments apply retrospectively for annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2024, with early application permitted. They also specify the transition requirements for companies that may have early-adopted the previously issued but not yet effective 2020 amendments.

1  Classification of Liabilities as Current or Non-current (Amendments to IAS 1), published in January 2020

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