The International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS/IAS) set by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) provide a reliable and transparent framework for financial reporting to support economic decisions by investors, lenders and other users of general purpose financial statements. By virtue of a new EU regulation, all EU/EEA listed companies will be required to prepare and publish IAS consolidated financial statements from 2005, which will have a major impact on companies and accounting firms. In addition, governments, standard setting bodies and other regulators in many other markets – both developed and emerging – are increasingly requiring the use of IFRS either by listed companies or by all companies.

This will be the first book to make IFRS/IAS accessible to students. It will cover the principles and application of the major standards through theme based chapters dealing with, for example, ‘Presentation of Financial Statements’, ‘Consolidated Financial Statements’, Asset Recognition and Measurement’ and ‘Income and Expense Recognition’.

Understanding International Financial Reporting Standards is suitable for both undergraduate and postgraduate students on accounting and business degrees, studying accounting standards, financial reporting, and international accounting. It will also be of interest to those studying for professional examinations based on IFRS and accountancy and business practitioners who need a general understanding of IFRS.