IFRS

International Financial Reporting Standards

IFRS (and previously IAS) are accounting standards issued by the IFRS Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation. The standards are developed by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB).

Students protesting with a banner "Planet over profit"

Students need to understand that accounting is political

You may not think that accounting is political or that accountants should meddle in economics and politics. After all, their job is to report objectively on the performance and condition of corporations. Faithful representation, as we know, requires neutrality. Corporations, however, are social inventions and financial reports are never passive…Read more

More tips on teaching measurement

Accounting students are understandably keen to put numbers next to everything. But often our students don’t understand why and how numbers are attached to words in financial statements. IFRS uses the term ‘measurement’ (rather than ‘valuation’) to describe the process of quantifying resources and obligations. Measurement allows us to describe…Read more

Classification

When accounting students understand that classification of assets and liabilities is an important step towards deciding how to report events, then they appreciate the importance of professional judgement in accounting. Here are some tips for teaching classification. …Read more

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Top 5 most confusing things about accounting

At Accounting Cafe we’re discussing how we can clear up the confusing things about accounting. Terms that we take for granted are confusing for students. Make their learning journey faster and easier using these simple tips. Here are our top 5 most confusing things about accounting: 1. The most valuable…Read more

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The nature of income

Dictionaries, from an accounting perspective, invariably provide an incorrect and conflated definition of income. …Read more

Explaining “qualitative characteristics” from the IFRS Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting

Helping students to understand, rather than just memorise, IFRS principles. This article is also relevant to FASB’s Statement of Financial Accounting Concepts No. 8: Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting. The IFRS Conceptual Framework underpins what international financial reporting standards say and why they identify a particular accounting treatment. Students must…Read more