Accounting and Auditing Research and Databases: Practitioner's Desk Reference

IASB Authorities

The IASB issues pronouncements labeled International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and interpretations labeled IFRICs. IFRICs interpret the IASB's own statements. The IASB also recognizes predecessor authorities from the IASC titled International Accounting Standards (IAS) and Standards Interpretations Committee interpretations (SIC). As of July 2012, the IASB follows 28 of the 41 previously issued IASs and has issued 13 new IFRSs. Most IFRSs contain:

1. An introduction

2. A table of contents

3. An objective

4. A scope

5. Definitions

6. The actual standard

7. A list of the IASB members actually voting

8. The basis for a qualifying or dissenting vote of an IASB member

9. Appendices containing background information, a glossary of terms, examples of applying the standard, and other ancillary information

IFRSs are used as a basis of financial reporting for many companies, stock exchanges, and regulatory authorities that allow presentation of financial statements using IFRS. IFRSs are also used by supranational bodies to produce results that meet the needs of capital markets, by many countries having national accounting requirements, and as international benchmarks by countries that develop their own accounting requirements.⁴

The Standards Interpretations Committee (SIC) was established in 1997 to timely answer questions by financial statement preparers and users about issues not clearly covered by an existing set of authoritative pronouncements. ...