IAS 1 - Presentation of Financial Statements
IAS 1 - Presentation of Financial Statements
IAS 1 - Presentation of Financial Statements
Overview
IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements sets out the overall requirements for financial statements,
including how they should be structured, the minimum requirements for their content and overriding
concepts such as going concern, the accrual basis of accounting and the current/non-current distinction.
The standard requires a complete set of financial statements to comprise a statement of financial position,
a statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income, a statement of changes in equity and a
statement of cash flows.
IAS 1 was reissued in September 2007 and applies to annual periods beginning on or after 1 January
2009.
History of IAS 1
15 July 2020 IASB defers effective date of Classification The new effective ate of
of Liabilities as Current or Non-current the January 2020
(Amendments to IAS 1) to 1 January 2022 amendments is now 1
January 2023
Related Interpretations
o IAS 1 (2003) superseded SIC-18 Consistency - Alternative Methods
o IFRIC 17 Distributions of Non-cash Assets to Owners
o SIC-27 Evaluating the Substance of Transactions in the Legal Form of a Lease
o SIC-29 Disclosure - Service Concession Arrangements
Amendments under consideration
o Primary financial statements
o Disclosure initiative — Accounting policies
Summary of IAS 1
Objective of IAS 1
The objective of IAS 1 (2007) is to prescribe 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. IAS 1 sets out the overall requirements for the presentation
of financial statements, guidelines for their structure and minimum requirements for their content. [IAS
1.1] Standards for recognising, measuring, and disclosing specific transactions are addressed in other
Standards and Interpretations. [IAS 1.3]
Scope
IAS 1 applies to all general purpose financial statements that are prepared and presented in accordance
with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs). [IAS 1.2]
General purpose financial statements are those intended to serve users who are not in a position to require
financial reports tailored to their particular information needs. [IAS 1.7]
Objective of financial statements
The objective of general purpose 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. To meet that objective, financial statements provide information about an
entity's: [IAS 1.9]
o assets
o liabilities
o equity
o income and expenses, including gains and losses
o contributions by and distributions to owners (in their capacity as owners)
o cash flows.
That information, along with other information in the notes, assists users of financial statements in
predicting the entity's future cash flows and, in particular, their timing and certainty.
Components of financial statements
A complete set of financial statements includes: [IAS 1.10]
o a statement of financial position (balance sheet) at the end of the period
o a statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income for the period (presented as a
single statement, or by presenting the profit or loss section in a separate statement of profit or loss,
immediately followed by a statement presenting comprehensive income beginning with profit or
loss)
o a statement of changes in equity for the period
o a statement of cash flows for the period
o notes, comprising a summary of significant accounting policies and other explanatory notes
o comparative information prescribed by the standard.
An entity may use titles for the statements other than those stated above. All financial statements are
required to be presented with equal prominence. [IAS 1.10]
When an entity applies an accounting policy retrospectively or makes a retrospective restatement of items
in its financial statements, or when it reclassifies items in its financial statements, it must also present a
statement of financial position (balance sheet) as at the beginning of the earliest comparative period.
Reports that are presented outside of the financial statements – including financial reviews by
management, environmental reports, and value added statements – are outside the scope of IFRSs. [IAS
1.14]
Fair presentation and compliance with IFRSs
The financial statements must "present fairly" the financial position, financial performance and cash flows
of an entity. Fair presentation requires the faithful representation of the effects of transactions, other
events, and conditions in accordance with the definitions and recognition criteria for assets, liabilities,
income and expenses set out in the Framework. The application of IFRSs, with additional disclosure
when necessary, is presumed to result in financial statements that achieve a fair presentation. [IAS 1.15]
IAS 1 requires an entity whose financial statements comply with IFRSs to make an explicit and
unreserved statement of such compliance in the notes. Financial statements cannot be described as
complying with IFRSs unless they comply with all the requirements of IFRSs (which includes
International Financial Reporting Standards, International Accounting Standards, IFRIC Interpretations
and SIC Interpretations). [IAS 1.16]
Inappropriate accounting policies are not rectified either by disclosure of the accounting policies used or
by notes or explanatory material. [IAS 1.18]
IAS 1 acknowledges that, in extremely rare circumstances, management may conclude that compliance
with an IFRS requirement would be so misleading that it would conflict with the objective of financial
statements set out in the Framework. In such a case, the entity is required to depart from the IFRS
requirement, with detailed disclosure of the nature, reasons, and impact of the departure. [IAS 1.19-21]
Going concern
The Conceptual Framework notes that financial statements are normally prepared assuming the entity is a
going concern and will continue in operation for the foreseeable future. [Conceptual Framework,
paragraph 4.1]
IAS 1 requires management to make an assessment of an entity's ability to continue as a going concern.
If management has significant concerns about the entity's ability to continue as a going concern, the
uncertainties must be disclosed. If management concludes that the entity is not a going concern, the
financial statements should not be prepared on a going concern basis, in which case IAS 1 requires a
series of disclosures. [IAS 1.25]
Accrual basis of accounting
IAS 1 requires that an entity prepare its financial statements, except for cash flow information, using the
accrual basis of accounting. [IAS 1.27]
Consistency of presentation
The presentation and classification of items in the financial statements shall be retained from one period
to the next unless a change is justified either by a change in circumstances or a requirement of a new
IFRS. [IAS 1.45]
Materiality and aggregation
Information is material if omitting, misstating or obscuring it could reasonably be expected to influence
decisions that the primary users of general purpose financial statements make on the basis of those
financial statements, which provide financial information about a specific reporting entity. [IAS 1.7]*
Each material class of similar items must be presented separately in the financial statements. Dissimilar
items may be aggregated only if they are individually immaterial. [IAS 1.29]
However, information should not be obscured by aggregating or by providing immaterial information,
materiality considerations apply to the all parts of the financial statements, and even when a standard
requires a specific disclosure, materiality considerations do apply. [IAS 1.30A-31]
* Clarified by Definition of Material (Amendments to IAS 1 and IAS 8), effective 1 January 2020.
Offsetting
Assets and liabilities, and income and expenses, may not be offset unless required or permitted by an
IFRS. [IAS 1.32]
Comparative information
IAS 1 requires that comparative information to be disclosed in respect of the previous period for all
amounts reported in the financial statements, both on the face of the financial statements and in the notes,
unless another Standard requires otherwise. Comparative information is provided for narrative and
descriptive where it is relevant to understanding the financial statements of the current period. [IAS 1.38]
An entity is required to present at least two of each of the following primary financial statements: [IAS
1.38A]
o statement of financial position*
o statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income
o separate statements of profit or loss (where presented)
o statement of cash flows
o statement of changes in equity
o related notes for each of the above items.
* A third statement of financial position is required to be presented if the entity retrospectively applies an
accounting policy, restates items, or reclassifies items, and those adjustments had a material effect on the
information in the statement of financial position at the beginning of the comparative period. [IAS 1.40A]
Where comparative amounts are changed or reclassified, various disclosures are required. [IAS 1.41]
Structure and content of financial statements in general
IAS 1 requires an entity to clearly identify: [IAS 1.49-51]
o the financial statements, which must be distinguished from other information in a published
document
o each financial statement and the notes to the financial statements.
In addition, the following information must be displayed prominently, and repeated as necessary: [IAS
1.51]
o the name of the reporting entity and any change in the name
o whether the financial statements are a group of entities or an individual entity
o information about the reporting period
o the presentation currency (as defined by IAS 21 The Effects of Changes in Foreign Exchange
Rates)
o the level of rounding used (e.g. thousands, millions).
Reporting period
There is a presumption that financial statements will be prepared at least annually. If the annual reporting
period changes and financial statements are prepared for a different period, the entity must disclose the
reason for the change and state that amounts are not entirely comparable. [IAS 1.36]
Statement of financial position (balance sheet)
Current and non-current classification
An entity must normally present a classified statement of financial position, separating current and non-
current assets and liabilities, unless presentation based on liquidity provides information that is reliable.
[IAS 1.60] In either case, if an asset (liability) category combines amounts that will be received (settled)
after 12 months with assets (liabilities) that will be received (settled) within 12 months, note disclosure is
required that separates the longer-term amounts from the 12-month amounts. [IAS 1.61]
Current assets are assets that are: [IAS 1.66]
o expected to be realised in the entity's normal operating cycle
o held primarily for the purpose of trading
o expected to be realised within 12 months after the reporting period
o cash and cash equivalents (unless restricted).
All other assets are non-current. [IAS 1.66]
Current liabilities are those: [IAS 1.69]
o expected to be settled within the entity's normal operating cycle
o held for purpose of trading
o due to be settled within 12 months
o for which the entity does not have the right at the end of the reporting period to defer
settlement beyond 12 months.
Other liabilities are non-current.
When a long-term debt is expected to be refinanced under an existing loan facility, and the entity has the
discretion to do so, the debt is classified as non-current, even if the liability would otherwise be due
within 12 months. [IAS 1.73]
If a liability has become payable on demand because an entity has breached an undertaking under a long-
term loan agreement on or before the reporting date, the liability is current, even if the lender has agreed,
after the reporting date and before the authorisation of the financial statements for issue, not to demand
payment as a consequence of the breach. [IAS 1.74] However, the liability is classified as non-current if
the lender agreed by the reporting date to provide a period of grace ending at least 12 months after the end
of the reporting period, within which the entity can rectify the breach and during which the lender cannot
demand immediate repayment. [IAS 1.75]
Settlement by the issue of equity instruments does not impact classification. [IAS 1.76B]
Line items
The line items to be included on the face of the statement of financial position are: [IAS 1.54]
(a) property, plant and equipment
(b) investment property
(c) intangible assets
(d) financial assets (excluding amounts shown under (e), (h), and (i))
(e) investments accounted for using the equity method
(f) biological assets
(g) inventories
(h) trade and other receivables
(i) cash and cash equivalents
(j) assets held for sale
(k) trade and other payables
(l) provisions
(m
) financial liabilities (excluding amounts shown under (k) and (l))
(n) current tax liabilities and current tax assets, as defined in IAS 12
(o) deferred tax liabilities and deferred tax assets, as defined in IAS 12
(p) liabilities included in disposal groups
(q) non-controlling interests, presented within equity
(r) issued capital and reserves attributable to owners of the parent.
Additional line items, headings and subtotals may be needed to fairly present the entity's financial
position. [IAS 1.55]
When an entity presents subtotals, those subtotals shall be comprised of line items made up of amounts
recognised and measured in accordance with IFRS; be presented and labelled in a clear and
understandable manner; be consistent from period to period; and not be displayed with more prominence
than the required subtotals and totals. [IAS 1.55A]*
* Added by Disclosure Initiative (Amendments to IAS 1), effective 1 January 2016.
Further sub-classifications of line items presented are made in the statement or in the notes, for example:
[IAS 1.77-78]:
o classes of property, plant and equipment
o disaggregation of receivables
o disaggregation of inventories in accordance with IAS 2 Inventories
o disaggregation of provisions into employee benefits and other items
o classes of equity and reserves.
Format of statement
IAS 1 does not prescribe the format of the statement of financial position. Assets can be presented current
then non-current, or vice versa, and liabilities and equity can be presented current then non-current then
equity, or vice versa. A net asset presentation (assets minus liabilities) is allowed. The long-term
financing approach used in UK and elsewhere – fixed assets + current assets - short term payables = long-
term debt plus equity – is also acceptable.
Share capital and reserves
Regarding issued share capital and reserves, the following disclosures are required: [IAS 1.79]
o numbers of shares authorised, issued and fully paid, and issued but not fully paid
o par value (or that shares do not have a par value)
o a reconciliation of the number of shares outstanding at the beginning and the end of the period
o description of rights, preferences, and restrictions
o treasury shares, including shares held by subsidiaries and associates
o shares reserved for issuance under options and contracts
o a description of the nature and purpose of each reserve within equity.
Additional disclosures are required in respect of entities without share capital and where an entity has
reclassified puttable financial instruments. [IAS 1.80-80A]
Statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income
Concepts of profit or loss and comprehensive income
Profit or loss is defined as "the total of income less expenses, excluding the components of other
comprehensive income". Other comprehensive income is defined as comprising "items of income and
expense (including reclassification adjustments) that are not recognised in profit or loss as required or
permitted by other IFRSs". Total comprehensive income is defined as "the change in equity during a
period resulting from transactions and other events, other than those changes resulting from transactions
with owners in their capacity as owners". [IAS 1.7]
All items of income and expense recognised in a period must be included in profit or loss unless a
Standard or an Interpretation requires otherwise. [IAS 1.88] Some IFRSs require or permit that some
components to be excluded from profit or loss and instead to be included in other comprehensive income.
recognised [directly] in equity (for recognised outside profit or loss (either in OCI or
recognition both in OCI and equity) equity)
removed from equity and recognised in reclassified from equity to profit or loss as a
profit or loss ('recycling') reclassification adjustment
on the face of in