In the field of accounting, there exist a number of standards that promote consistency and transparency in accounting work. Many countries have their own standards in this regard, in addition to international standards. If you are interested in an accounting job, Finance Monkey UK it can be helpful to understand what this means and what these standards are. In this article, we explain what accounting standards are, why they are important, and give an overview of UK GAAP and IFRS.
What are accounting standards, and why are they important?
Accounting standards are rules, procedures, and measures that define how companies can keep their books and accounts. These standards apply to most businesses and help create consistency in the way they record, disclose, measure, and handle their financial transactions. This applies to everything related to a company’s finances, including assets, liabilities, equity, income, and expenses.
One of the main reasons for this is that banks, government agencies, and other organizations know what to expect and can find relevant information, even if they receive accounts from multiple companies. It provides consistency, reliability, and transparency and generally facilitates due diligence of entities when all entities apply the same standards, especially when This Standard includes mandatory minimum requirements. There are two options for accepted standards. One is the UK generally accepted accounting practice (UK GAAP), and the other is International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
There are also different standards for each of them.
Related:
What is basic accounting (principles, operations, and training)
UK GAAP standards
In the case of UK GAAP, there are seven different standards that can apply to different types of business activities or types. UK GAAP standards come from the Financial Reporting Council (FRC).
The seven main UK GAAP standards are:
FRS100
Financial Reporting Standard (FRS) 100 deals with “the application of financial reporting requirements.” This means that it is not really a set of accounting requirements that entities and professionals can follow, but rather it provides guidance on the application of relevant standards from the standards.
Other financial statements, such as FRS102. It provides guidance on how to apply the Statement of Best Practices (SORP), explains exemptions for certain articles under the Companies Act 2006, and includes requirements for converting to one of the applicable standards, including International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
FR 101
FRS 101 is the “Minimized Disclosure Framework” and includes certain exemptions from disclosure, particularly for subsidiaries and their individual financial statements. This includes intermediate parent companies and holding companies that use IFRS. The FRS 101 standards apply only to a company that meets certain eligibility criteria, namely, a company that is part of a group of companies for which the parent company prepares consolidated financial statements. Available to the public and includes reports of the entity in question. It also applies to companies that use IFRS requirements as their reporting framework.
FRS 101 requires that the financial statements of these companies include a summary of any exemptions they have applied for, the name of the parent company that prepared the consolidated statements, and from which the consolidated statements can be accessed.
FRS 102
It is the “financial reporting standard applicable in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.” This is a comprehensive financial reporting standard that shares some similarities with IFRS. It was significantly revised in 2017. It also includes a number of disclosure exemptions related to items like the cash flow statement.
There are 35 sections in this, each related to a different area of accounting. Some of them include small entities, presenting financial statements, statements of cash flows, investments, intangible assets, leases, liabilities and equity, income, grants, government grants, welfare, income taxes, currency conversion, and hyperinflation.
FRS 103
FRS 103 relates to insurance contracts, as defined in second. This Standard covers the reporting and accounting requirements for any organization wishing to issue an insurance policy, including in the United Kingdom. Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland.
This Standard defines allowed practices and areas where entities can seek additional options, provided they meet legal and regulatory requirements. It also requires a number of disclosures from these companies, including disclosures that help users of their financial statements understand their future cash flows from insurance policies, the amount, the time, and any associated uncertainties.
FRS 104
FRS 104 deals with “interim financial statements”. This International Standard provides guidance in the preparation of any interim financial statements, particularly for all organizations applying in FRS 102. It is also applicable to organizations wishing to prepare reports. The interim period is in accordance with the “Minimized Disclosure Framework” of FRS 101. FRS 104 prescribes the minimum content of an interim financial report.
These five minimum accounts are a summary statement of financial position, a single or separate statement of comprehensive income, a summary statement of changes in equity, and a summary statement of cash flows. Selected narrative. It also states that an organization should use the same accounting policy throughout the financial year.
FRS 105
This is the “financial reporting standard applicable to the micro-institutional regime.” In corporate law, there are “micro-entities” that apply these standards. According to Company House accounting guidelines, a micro-entity is an organization that meets two of three possible requirements. These requirements are that it has a turnover of £632,000 or less, its total balance sheet is less than or equal to £316,000, and that its average number of employees does not exceed 10. FRS 105 has 28 sections, similar to the 35 in 102, but only applies to micro-entities.
SORP
Statements of Recommended Practices (SORPs) contain accounting best practices. SORP development agencies publish these SORPs, which complement the standards. Therefore, there are many SORPs for different industries and entities. For example, there is a SORP for “Higher Education and Higher Education Accounting,” “FRS 102 Charity Accounting and Reporting”, and “Retirement Program Accounting and Reporting.”
IFRS. standards
The International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are an international set of rules for the financial reporting of entities from the IFRS Foundation and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). IFRS replaced the old International Accounting Standards (IAS) in 2001. These standards have 17 separate sections, including the mandatory requirements for the statement of financial position, the statement of cash flows, and the statement of cash flows. , statement of changes in equity, and statement of comprehensive income.
The 17 sections are as follows:
• IFRS1:
“First application of International Financial Reporting Standards.” This establishes procedures for any entity adopting IFRS for the first time, including certain limited exemptions for this early stage.
• IFRS 2:
‘Stake-based payments.’ This requires any entity to record stock-based payments in its financial statements, including payments in assets, cash, or equity instruments.
• IFRS 3:
‘Business Combination.’ IFRS 3 sets out the procedures to be followed when one business acquires or merges with another, using what is known as the “acquisition method” to measure the fair value of assets and liabilities. Paid at the date of redemption.
• IFRS 4:
‘An insurance contract.’ IFRS 4 applies to most insurance policies and related accounting practices, with a few exceptions.
• IFRS 5:
‘Long-term assets held for sale and decommissioning.’ This describes how entities account for long-term assets, i.e., assets that cannot be easily converted to cash and are treated as long-term assets in their statements of financial position.
• IFRS 6:
‘Exploration and assessment of mineral resources.’ This refers to the accounting practices of mineral resource prospectors and allows them to use certain accounting policies prior to applying IFRS.
• IFRS 7:
‘Financial instruments:
Disclosure’. IFRS 7 requires the disclosure of certain information regarding the entity’s use of financial instruments, the risks involved, and other relevant matters.
• IFRS 8:
‘Operating parts.’ IFRS 8 requires organizations of a certain type to disclose details about their key operating segments, customers, products, and services.
• IFRS 9:
‘Financial instruments.’ IFRS 9 includes requirements for recognition, derecognition, measurement, and general hedging accounting impairment.
• IFRS10:
‘Consolidated financial report.’ This describes the requirements for the preparation of consolidated financial statements, i.e., when an entity includes other entities it controls.
• IFRS11:
‘General agreement.’ IFRS 11 describes the requirements that apply to any entity that jointly controls a business.
• IFRS 12:
“Disclosure of Interests in Other Entities.” This Standard requires entities to provide information about partnerships, subsidiaries, and associated and structured entities.
• IFRS 13:
‘Measurement of fair value.’ This Standard provides a comprehensive framework for measuring the fair value of items such as property using market-based valuation.
• IFRS 14:
‘Regulated deferred account’. This allows an entity to use previous GAAP accounting for certain “prescribed deferred account balances” when first adopting IFRS.
• IFRS 15:
‘Customer contract revenue.’ IFRS 15 defines how IFRS profilers can recognize revenue and how entities are required to provide additional information.
• IFRS 16:
‘Lease.’ This Standard specifies how IFRS reporters may account for rentals in addition to measuring, disclosing, and presenting them.
• IFRS 17:
‘An insurance contract.’ IFRS 17 sets out the framework for recording, measuring, presenting, and disclosing insurance policies in a way that provides relevant information.
