IFRS stands for International Financial Reporting Standards. It constitutes a set of protocols and standards of accounting that have been set internationally. If an organisation is writing its financial statement, these rules and standards must be followed. IFRS is followed in countries throughout the world, and it has led to updating the national accounting standards. This is making a diploma in IFRS very attractive to prospective job-seekers. Let us take a look at some of the things that you need to know about IFRS.
What are the objectives of the financial statements?
Since IFRS directly affects the financial statements of companies, it is important to look at how the financial statements are important to organisations. Financial statements are a faithful and honest source of information that offers information to existing and future investors, lenders, and creditors. This means that the financial information needs to be comparable, relevant, honest and understandable. So, the basic business concepts like equity, assets, expenses, income, and liabilities need to be reported very clearly. You will learn about these standards through the IFRS course duration.
What are some general features?
Let us take a look at some of the general features of IFRS.
As you progress through an IFRS course, you will find that compliance with IFRS standards can only be possible if the representation of the financial statements of the business is true. You would have to report assets, transactions, liabilities, expenses, and income in a fair manner. This will maintain the integrity of your business.
In IFRS, the materials that are similar need to be clubbed together during the representation. If the materials are different, they need to be represented separately. If you are considering what to do after CA, you can look into the IFRS course.
The IFRS course details also talk about some other things – like the frequency of financial reporting. It is compulsory to have an annual financial report to showcase the financial statements of the company. It is important to publish interim financial statements.
Also, the process of offsetting is not allowed in IFRS. However, there are exceptions to this rule.
Also, the businesses are required to put out comparative information in accordance with the data published in the previous period. These are to be offered along with the financial statements for the current year.
The presentation of financial statements in accordance with IFRS needs to be maintained every year. However, this can be exempted in two situations – a different mode of presentation is an improvement on the IFRS, or there is a change in the IFRS standards. The IFRS standards also dictate how the cash flows of the company need to be presented. The operating cash flows, investing cash flows, and financing cash flows, need to be maintained according to the standards set by the IFRS. If you are joining an organisation that follows the IFRS standards, you should know about these standards. Doing a course on IFRS will also increase your odds of getting hired.