IAS 1 - Presentation of Financial Statements

Scope

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.
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 not apply to the structure and content of condensed interim financial statements prepared in accordance with IAS 34 Interim Financial Reporting However, paragraphs 15–35 apply to such financial statements. This Standard applies equally to all entities, including those that present consolidated financial statements and those that present separate financial statements as defined in IAS 27 Consolidated and Separate Financial Statements.
5. This Standard uses terminology that is suitable for profit-oriented entities, including public sector business entities. If entities with not-for-profit activities in the private sector or the public sector apply this Standard, they may need to amend the descriptions used for particular line items in the financial statements and for the financial statements themselves.
6. Similarly, entities that do not have equity as defined in IAS 32 Financial Instruments: Presentation(eg some mutual funds) and entities whose share capital is not equity (eg some co-operative entities) may need to adapt the financial statement presentation of members’ or unit holders’ interests. 

Definitions

The following terms are used in this Standard with the meanings specified:

General purpose financial statements (referred to as ‘financial statements’) are those intended to meet  the needs of users who are not in a position to require an entity to prepare reports tailored to their particular information needs.

Impracticable Applying a requirement is impracticable when the entity cannot apply it after making every reasonable effort to do so.

International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) are Standards and Interpretations adopted by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). They comprise:

(a) International Financial Reporting Standards;

(b) International Accounting Standards; and

(c) Interpretations developed by the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC) or the former Standing Interpretations Committee (SIC).

Material Omissions or misstatements of items are material if they could, individually or collectively; influence the economic decisions that users make on the basis of the financial statements. Materiality depends on the size and nature of the omission or misstatement judged in the surrounding circumstances. The size or nature of the item, or a combination of both, could be the determining factor.

Assessing whether an omission or misstatement could influence economic decisions of users, and so be material, requires consideration of the characteristics of those users. The Framework for the Preparation and Presentation of Financial Statements states in paragraph 25 that ‘users are assumed to have a reasonable knowledge of business and economic activities and accounting and a willingness to study the information with reasonable diligence.’ Therefore, the assessment needs to take into account how users with such attributes could reasonably be expected to be influenced in making economic decisions.

Notes contain information in addition to that presented in the statement of financial position, statement of comprehensive income, separate statement of comprehensive income (if presented), statement of changes in equity and statement of cash flows. Notes provide narrative descriptions or disaggregation of items presented in those statements and information about items that do not qualify for recognition in those statements.

Other comprehensive income comprises items of income and expense (including reclassification adjustments) that is not recognized in profit or loss as required or permitted by other IFRSs.

The components of other comprehensive income include:

(a) Changes in revaluation surplus (see IAS 16 Property, Plant and Equipment and IAS 38 Intangible Assets);

(b) Actuarial gains and losses on defined benefit plans recognized in accordance with paragraph 93A of IAS 19 Employee Benefits;

(c) Gains and losses arising from translating the financial statements of a foreign operation (see IAS 21 the Effects of Changes in Foreign Exchange Rates);

(d) Gains and losses on remeasuring available-for-sale financial assets (see IAS 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement);

(e) The effective portion of gains and losses on hedging instruments in a cash flow hedge (see IAS 39).

Owners are holders of instruments classified as equity. Profit or loss is the total of income less expenses, excluding the components of other comprehensive income.

Reclassification adjustments are amounts reclassified to profit or loss in the current period that were recognised in other comprehensive income in the current or previous periods.

Total comprehensive income is 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.

Total comprehensive income comprises all components of ‘profit or loss’ and of ‘other comprehensive income’.

Although this Standard uses the terms ‘other comprehensive income’, ‘profit or loss’ and ‘total Comprehensive income’, an entity may use other terms to describe the totals as long as the meaning is clear. For example, an entity may use the term ‘net income’ to describe profit or loss.

The following terms are described in IAS 32 Financial Instruments: Presentation and are used in this Standard with the meaning specified in IAS 32:

(a) Puttable financial instrument classified as an equity instrument (described in paragraphs 16A and 16B of IAS 32)

(b) An instrument that imposes on the entity an obligation to deliver to another party a pro rata share of the net assets of the entity only on liquidation and is classified as an equity instrument (described in paragraphs 16C and 16D of IAS 32).