FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

摘要

While so far this series has focused on some details of recognition and measurement, one change brought about by FRS 102, The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland, that will definitely affect all preparers relates to financial statement presentation. The challenge that faced the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) arose where the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) for SMEs prescribed a new set of accounts formats that could not easily be used in FRS 102 because UK companies need to comply with the formats in company law. In an earlier draft of the standard, the original IFRS for SMEs formats were retained, accompanied by staff guidance showing how these formats could be supplemented, subtotalled and cleverly formatted to achieve technical compliance with the law, but this was not a neat solution, and as a result this did not prove popular with preparers. So in its final version, the standard refers directly to the relevant parts of company law, rather than prescribing formats (this also means that even if the company law formats change, the standard does not need to be updated).