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International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) meaning

What does International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) mean?
International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are the accounting rules most often referenced in UK and Irish legal documents to describe how financial statements are prepared for disclosure, warranties, pricing adjustments and financial covenants in corporate, finance and capital markets transactions. IFRS are issued by the International Accounting Standards board (IASB). The term is descriptive rather than a statutory definition: UK legislation refers to “international accounting standards”. For financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2021, UK issuers on a UK regulated market must prepare consolidated accounts using UK‑adopted international accounting standards (IFRS as endorsed by the UK Endorsement Board) under the Companies Act 2006 and FCA rules. For earlier periods, EU‑endorsed IFRS applied. In Ireland, EU‑endorsed IFRS under Regulation (EC) No 1606/2002 applies to consolidated financial statements of issuers on an EU regulated market. Usage is otherwise consistent across England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Practical significance: specific IFRS (for example, IFRS 9, IFRS 15 and IFRS 16) can materially affect EBITDA, net assets, distributable profits and covenant headroom, impacting earn‑outs, default analysis and damages. Contracts commonly define “Applicable Accounting Standards” and should state whether UK‑adopted or EU‑endorsed IFRS applies and whether applied consistently over time or as at a...
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View the related News about International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)

NEWS
Banking and finance weekly: Supreme Court LIBOR ruling, UK EMIR reporting changes, Companies House register reforms, sustainable finance and derivatives updates, FCA non-bank leverage priorities—14 August 2025

In this issue Sustainable finance and ESG round up LIBOR and benchmarks Lending Security Sustainable finance Derivatives Regulation for derivatives lawyers Regulation for banking lawyers Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Useful information Sustainable finance and ESG round up Sustainable finance and ESG monthly round-up—11 August 2025. This Finance Group update features: (1) an International Sustainability Standards Board consultation on proposed changes to the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board Standards and guidance for IFRS S2, (2) the IFRS Foundation’s near-final guidance on reporting uncertainties within financial statements, and (3) new United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative guidance for banks on climate adaptation and resilience. For more, see News Analysis: Sustainable finance and ESG monthly round-up—11 August 2025. LIBOR and benchmarks On 23 July 2025, the UK Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment, overturning the fraud convictions of traders Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo. Ellen Gallagher, partner at Vardags Ltd,...

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NEWS
UK and EU financial services regulatory update: FCA expansion, PRA plan, enforcement, MiFID/MiCA, ESG delays, fund liquidity tools, PISCES sandbox, T+1, digital pound—17 April 2025

In this issue: UK, EU and international regulators and bodies Authorisation, approval and supervision Operational resilience Financial crime and sanctions Consumer protection Complaints, compensation and claims management Investigations, enforcement and discipline Regulation of capital markets Packaged Retail and Insurance-based Investment Products (PRIIPs) Dispute resolution for financial services lawyers Regulation of derivatives Sustainable finance and ESG Investment funds and asset management UK MiFID II EU MiFID II Payment services and systems Fintech and cryptoassets Regulation of AI in FS LexTalk®Financial Services: a Lexis®Nexis community Financial Services Enforcement Database Daily and weekly news alerts Intraday news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Latest Q&As No Weekly Highlights on 24 April 2025 UK, EU and international regulators and bodies FCA announces first international presence in US and Asia-Pacific regions The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has unveiled its...

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NEWS
Weekly banking and finance update: ESG and sustainable finance, IFRS 18, LMA delayed settlement compensation, Companies House guidance, ICMA/ISDA/ISLA, FSB consultation, restructuring case, key dates and resources

In this issue: Sustainable finance and ESG round–up Lending Security Sustainable finance Debt capital markets Derivatives Structured products and securitisation Regulation for derivatives lawyers Restructuring Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Useful information Sustainable finance and ESG round–up Sustainable finance and ESG weekly round–up Sustainable finance and ESG round–up Sustainable finance and ESG weekly round–up For a summary of this week’s Sustainable finance and ESG developments, see: Sustainable finance and ESG weekly round–up—18 April 2024. Lending LMA publishes guidance on primary delayed settlement compensation The Loan Market Association (LMA) has issued guidance on primary delayed settlement compensation, setting out a suggested timetable for stages in the syndication process and embedding fault-based delayed settlement compensation. The note aims to reconcile the differing priorities of stakeholders involved in syndication. See: LNB News 17/04/2024 68. Source: LMA issues Primary Delayed Settlement Compensation Guidelines to promote efficiency...

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View the related Practice Notes about International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)

PRACTICE NOTES
UK Sustainability Disclosure Requirements: regulatory overview of UK SRS (IFRS S1/S2), FCA alignment for listed issuers, transition plans, assurance oversight, ESG ratings regulation, investment labels and Green Taxonomy developments

This Practice Note explores aspects of, and specifically, the government’s work on developing the UK Sustainability Reporting Standards. The UK government has pledged to establish a UK Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR) regime that consolidates new and existing sustainability reporting obligations for businesses, the financial sector and investment products. Its objective is a single, integrated framework of sustainability‑related disclosure requirements and metrics, so investors receive clear, comparable information to support their decision‑making. A key element of the UK SDR regime is the introduction of UK Sustainability Reporting Standards—reporting standards for use by certain UK companies and businesses to disclose sustainability‑related information. These standards emphasise sustainability‑related risks and opportunities. This Practice Note concentrates on the creation of the UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (UK SRS) and proposals for transition plan disclosures. Within Greening Finance: A Roadmap to Sustainable Investing (October 2021) (Roadmap), the government identified three types of disclosure to fall within the UK SDR regime: corporate disclosure: new requirements for companies to provide sustainability disclosures (at the...

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PRACTICE NOTES
Voluntary GHG reporting in the UK: legal context, domestic guidance (SECR, CCAs) and alignment with international standards (GHG Protocol, TCFD, SBTi, IFRS S2, ISO 14064)

Reasons for reporting greenhouse gas emissions Over the past decade, expectations on businesses and public bodies to disclose greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have steadily escalated, creating growing momentum for transparent reporting. Analyses of climate impacts—most notably assessments from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)—together with tangible extreme weather events across the real world, have sharpened this pressure by underscoring the urgent need to cut emissions. Global accords, including the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement and the UNFCCC Conferences of the Parties (COP), further amplify the drive on organisations and authorities to curb GHG releases. For further detail on the Paris Agreement and recent COP gatherings, see Practice Note: The Paris Agreement 2015—snapshot. Within the UK, the Climate Change Act 2008 imposes binding obligations on government to cut national carbon emissions, including a statutory requirement for the UK to reach net zero carbon by 2050...

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PRACTICE NOTES
Brexit: UK prospectus, listing, transparency and market abuse regimes after IP completion day—onshoring, loss of passporting, IFRS, FCA rule changes, ESMA positions and key statutory instruments (Archived)

At 11pm UK time on 31 January 2020 (exit day), the United Kingdom departed the European Union pursuant to a Withdrawal Agreement that had been duly ratified by both the UK and the EU. Throughout the implementation period—ending at 11pm UK time on 31 December 2020 and known as ‘IP completion day’—the parties worked to settle terms for their future relationship. In readiness for Brexit, the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (EU(W)A 2018) became law, repealing the European Communities Act 1972 (ECA 1972) on exit day. The European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 (EU(WA)A 2020) was enacted to enable ratification and domestic implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement, and to provide for implementation of the EEA EFTA Separation Agreement and the Swiss Citizens’ Rights Agreement. EU(WA)A 2020 also amends EU(W)A 2018. Notably, it sets out targeted savings and transitional measures so that the UK’s obligations arising under EU law during the implementation period had effect in domestic law, despite the repeal of ECA 1972. In addition, many references in EU(W)A 2018...

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