Glossary

Last update 11/12/2019

The IFRS glossary – A basic concepts bootcamp

A basic concepts bootcamp to guide readers through accounting fundamentals. Fully up-to-date treatment of key IFRS changes including revenue recognition, leasing and insurance accounting. Specialist chapters on banks, insurance accounting, off balance sheet finance, financial instruments and consolidations. Detailed worked examples throughout, supplemented by ‘analysis focus’ to show the real world application of concepts. The IFRS glossary is an alphabetical list of IFRS keywords and IFRS Definitions. Or sometimes just interesting focused IFRS Topics, these narratives are mostly from 600 to just under 1,000 words – but there is no guarantee.

All Blogs A – Z is a similar but many times broader list of IFRS subjects and narratives/examples/accounting examples and journal entries, from basic accounting principles to sophisticated synthetic financial instruments. These narratives tend to be longer, but again there is no guarantee.

Then again the IFRS – IAS – IFRIC – SIC entry provides access to all IFRS standards, IFRSs and IFRICs on one side and IASs and SICs on the other. With IFRSs for SMEs killing it at the end.

But also on the right side top – down, starting with Summary topics main IFRS, a list for each main standard with alle blogs more or less following the content dictionary of each standard, each important blog in its context so to say. Pick a Topic by IFRS is a list of categories through the IFRS standards with some subdivisions to the IFRS Blogs. Newest topics is what you think it is. Still haven’t found what you’re looking for…. sounds like a certain Irish band, but it is the tag cloud of the most used IFRS keywords.  And then the IFRS Standards, again all IFRS standards, IFRSs, IASs, IFRICs and SICs, sometime this list is faster than the page button above.

The one thing we know, using IFRS Glossary, All Blogs A – Z and the Current IFRS Standards in  IFRS – IAS – IFRIC – SIC together with our fully indexed search engine should enable an average IFRS student easy access to a lot, really a lot of IFRS documentation, from journal entry to all the industry specific IFRS knowledge and explanations there are.

But there is room for improvement, the internal linking to IFRS data is on the way but it will take some time to make it complete. On the other hand I do not want a pop-up on almost every IFRS term on your screen when hovering the text.

Here is the IFRS glossary, the alphabetical list of IFRS keywords and IFRS Definitions. Enjoy it!

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IFRS Terms Glossary Definitions Explanations

IFRS Terms Glossary Definitions Explanations

IFRS Terms Glossary Definitions Explanations IFRS Terms Glossary Definitions Explanations IFRS Terms Glossary Definitions Explanations IFRS Terms Glossary Definitions Explanations IFRS Terms Glossary Definitions Explanations

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The following are the general features in IFRS:

• Fair presentation and compliance with IFRS: Fair presentation requires the faithful representation of the effects of the transactions, other events and conditions in accordance with the definitions and recognition criteria for assets, liabilities, income and expenses set out in the Framework of IFRS.
• Going concern: Financial statements are present on a going concern basis unless management either intends to liquidate the entity or to cease trading, or has no realistic alternative but to do so.
• Accrual basis of accounting: An entity shall recognise items as assets, liabilities, equity, income and expenses when they satisfy the definition and recognition criteria for those elements in the Framework of IFRS.
• Materiality and aggregation: Every material class of similar items has to be presented separately. Items that are of a dissimilar nature or function shall be presented separately unless they are immaterial.
• Offsetting: Offsetting is generally forbidden in IFRS. However certain standards require offsetting when specific conditions are satisfied (such as in case of the accounting for defined benefit liabilities in IAS 19 and the net presentation of deferred tax liabilities and deferred tax assets in IAS 12).
• Frequency of reporting: IFRS requires that at least annually a complete set of financial statements is presented. However listed companies generally also publish interim financial statements (for which the accounting is fully IFRS compliant)for which the presentation is in accordance with IAS 34 Interim Financing Reporting.
• Comparative information: IFRS requires entities to present comparative information in respect of the preceding period for all amounts reported in the current period’s financial statements. In addition comparative information shall also be provided for narrative and descriptive information if it is relevant to understanding the current period’s financial statements. The standard IAS 1 also requires an additional statement of financial position (also called a third balance sheet) 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. This for example occurred with the adoption of the revised standard IAS 19 (as of 1 January 2013) or when the new consolidation standards IFRS 10-11-12 were adopted (as of 1 January 2013 or 2014 for companies in the European Union).
• Consistency of presentation: IFRS requires that the presentation and classification of items in the financial statements is retained from one period to the next unless:
  1. it is apparent, following a significant change in the nature of the entity’s operations or a review of its financial statements, that another presentation or classification would be more appropriate having regard to the criteria for the selection and application of accounting policies in IAS 8; or
  2. an IFRS standard requires a change.

See also: The IFRS Foundation