What is included in a summary of significant accounting policies?

Question

Can you give an example?

Answer 1

I would take a look at the website for a major company. Under Investor relations they will typically post a copy of their annual report and you can see exactly what they are listing as siginificant accounting policies.

Typically it discusses the method used to calculate depreciation, and the nature of intercompany transactions which help you make sense out of the numbers they are presenting.

Answer 2

IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements states:

Disclosure of Accounting Policies
108. An entity shall disclose in the summary of significant accounting policies:
(a) the measurement basis (or bases) used in preparing the financial statements; and
(b) the other accounting policies used that are relevant to an understanding of the financial statements.

So the accounting policies you disclose must be relevant to your financial statements (fs). You should look down your balance sheet and income statement and ensure every item that has an a/cg policy has that policy disclosed.

The link leads you to IFRS Model Financial Statements 2006 and the IFRS Presentation and Disclosure Checklist for 2006. This is a huge model, with almost every item possible, so don't worry if you don't need more than half of them.