International accounting standards

Accounting standards have been in use for many years to increase comparability and transparency in accounts. Treasurers deal in financial instruments (such as raising debt and transacting in the foreign exchange and derivatives markets) and so they need to be familiar with the accounting treatment of such instruments.

International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)

The IFRS Foundation is an independent body established to develop a single set of globally accepted international financial reporting standards. These are intended to be of a high quality, understandable and enforceable.

Within the IFRS Foundation, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) produces international accounting guidelines in the form of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). These IFRSs are increasingly becoming the global standards for financial reporting.