AICPA | IFRS for SMEs - U.S. GAAP Comparison Wiki

Welcome to the AICPA’s IFRS for SMEs — U.S. GAAP
Comparison Wiki

The purpose of this Wiki is to provide a detailed and comprehensive comparison of the International Accounting Standards Board’s International Financial Reporting Standard for Small- and Medium-Sized Entities (“IFRS for SMEs”) with corresponding requirements of United States generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”). But this is more than just a comparison resource, it is a Wiki. That means it is a collaborative, ongoing work in progress for anyone to contribute and use.

This Wiki is intended to be a rich resource. The AICPA Accounting Standards team decided to introduce the comparison resource during its development stage to help you learn and to learn ourselves about the similarities and differences between IFRS for SMEs and U.S. GAAP. Anyone preparing financial statements under IFRS for SMEs in the United States and anyone interested in the differences between the two sets of accounting standards will find this comparison resource valuable.

The comparison resource will cover all sections of IFRS for SMEs. Disclosure requirements of the IFRS for SMEs sections are excluded. As the AICPA completes sections, it will add the information to the Wiki. The AICPA Accounting standards team welcomes anyone with an interest in and knowledge of IFRS for SMEs and U.S. GAAP to read the Wiki and contribute.

Inasmuch as this Resource is a work-in-progress, the completeness and accuracy of the content varies from section to section. True to the wiki platform, the AICPA looks to AICPA members and the accounting profession to complete, correct, and improve upon the work begun by the Accounting Standards team. Sources of authoritative literature should be consulted when preparing or reporting upon financial statements.

As more fully explained below, contributions to the Wiki will be monitored and reviewed by AICPA technical staff. It is expected that after all sections of the comparison resource are introduced and exposed for review and editing, the resource will be maintained and updated periodically by the AICPA.

Contributing to IFRS for SMEs — U.S. GAAP Comparison Wiki

Anyone can contribute to the AICPA’s IFRS for SMEs - U.S. GAAP Comparison Wiki by clicking on the Edit this Chapter button. By contributing to this Wiki you can improve this resource for the whole CPA profession. Specifically, contributing means improving what we have presented in the U.S. GAAP column of the Wiki. As you can see in the Wiki, each section is a three-column table. The first column specifies the IFRS for SMEs paragraph number. The second column presents what the IFRS for SMEs requirement is and the third column presents the AICPA staff’s views on how corresponding requirements in U.S. GAAP compare. It is the guidance in that third column which we hope readers of this Wiki will contribute to and improve upon.

As you read the Wiki and use it as a resource, you may conclude, based on your knowledge, that the information presented in the U.S. GAAP column needs improvement. Perhaps clarification is needed, maybe additional guidance would be helpful, possibly the information is incorrect and needs fixing. Whatever the improvement, we would appreciate your knowledge-sharing and welcome your contribution. Before you contribute, you will want to read the Tutorial and Registering sections below.

Tutorial — Making Edits

Users are limited to making edits to the content contained in the U.S. GAAP column. If you believe a change or addition needs to be made to the existing content, click on the Edit this Chapter button. You must be registered to make edits. See the Registering section below. The Editor is a simple, self-explanatory word processor. Place your cursor in the U.S. GAAP box and make your changes. Various formatting buttons reside at the top of the Editor if you need them. When you are done typing in your edits, click on the Save & Close button after entering the word you see in the image at the bottom of the Editor.

Registering

To help ensure the reliability and high quality of the AICPA’s IFRS for SMEs — U.S. GAAP Comparison Wiki, we ask that anyone who chooses to make edits, register. Registration is very quick and easy. Click on the Login box and enter a username, password, title, and company/firm name. You don’t have to register to use the Wiki as a resource. Registration is only required if you choose to make edits.

Reliability and Quality Control

Our intent is for the AICPA’s IFRS for SMEs — U.S. GAAP Comparison Wiki to be a high-quality resource. AICPA Accounting Standards team members act as administrators, monitoring the edits made to the Wiki to check the accuracy of the edits. If Accounting Standards team members identify edits as inaccurate or of poor-quality, they can quickly be reversed or corrected. If a user of the Wiki disagrees with the content or wishes to discuss the Wiki with AICPA staff, he or she can contact the AICPA at rdurak@aicpa.org. The AICPA administrators can temporarily or permanently ban editors of the Wiki who consistently post changes or additions that are inaccurate or not consistent with the purpose of the Wiki.

Disclaimer

The AICPA IFRS for SMEs — U.S. GAAP Comparison Wiki has not been approved, disapproved, or otherwise acted upon by any senior technical committees of the AICPA, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or the IASB and has no official or authoritative status. This Wiki is not a source of established authoritative accounting principles as described in Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Codification™. This Wiki is prepared by the staff of the AICPA’s Accounting Standards team. It is designed to provide knowledge-sharing and information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is presented with the understanding that the AICPA is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services.

About the IASB and IFRS for SMEs

The IASB (www.iasb.co.uk) is an independent accounting standard-setting body, based in London. It consists of 15 members from nine countries, including the United States. The IASB began operations in 2001 when it succeeded the International Accounting Standards Committee. It is funded by contributions from major accounting firms, private financial institutions and industrial companies, central and development banks, national funding regimes, and other international and professional organizations throughout the world. While the AICPA was a founding member of the International Accounting Standards Committee, the IASB's predecessor organization, it is not affiliated with the IASB. The IASB neither sponsors nor endorses the AICPA's IFRS resources website (www.IFRS.com).

IFRS for SMEs is a modification and simplification of full IFRS aimed at meeting the needs of private company financial reporting users and easing the financial reporting burden on private companies through a cost-benefit approach. IFRS for SMEs is a self-contained global accounting and financial reporting standard applicable to the general-purpose financial statements of, and other financial reporting by, entities that in many countries are known as small- and medium-sized entities. The full text of IFRS for SMEs is available at the IASB web site (www.iasb.co.uk).