Introduction To International Financial Reporting Standards

The stated objective of the international financial reporting standards (IFRS) foundation and the international accounting standards board (IASB) is to develop, in the public interest, a single set of high‐quality, understandable, enforceable and globally accepted financial reporting standards based upon clearly articulated principles. The IFRS foundation has a committee, the Trustees' Due Process Oversight Committee, which regularly reviews and updates the due process. The due process comprises six stages: setting the agenda, project planning, developing and publishing a discussion paper, developing and publishing an exposure draft, developing and publishing the IFRS, and procedures after an IFRS is issued. The IFRS for SMEs was originally issued by the IASB in July 2009 to reduce the financial reporting burden of small and medium‐sized entities. The IFRS is appropriate for general‐purpose financial statements. IFRS for SMEs is intended for entities that do not have public accountability.