International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC)

International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC)

Formation of the International Accounting Standards Committee

The International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) was formed in 1973 through an agreement made by professional accountancy bodies from Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Ireland, and the United States of America. Additional sponsoring members were added in subsequent years, and in 1982 the sponsoring "members" of the IASC comprised all of the professional accountancy bodies that were members of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC).

From its formation in 1973 until a comprehensive reorganization in 2000, the structure for setting International Accounting Standards was known as the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC).

The International Accounting Standards Committee was essentially the structure, rather than a committee in the traditional sense of a group of people. There was no actual "committee" of that name.

Elements of the old IASC structure

Major components of the old IASC structure were:

·         IASC Board –

·         Consultative Group – an advisory body representing a wide range of international organizations with an interest in accounting

·         Standing Interpretations Committee (SIC) – developed and invited public comment on interpretations of IASC Standards, subject to final approval by the IASC Board

·         Advisory Council – oversight body (despite its name, the Advisory Council functioned more like the Board of Trustees of the current IFRS Foundation)

·         Steering Committees – expert task forces for individual agenda projects.

IASC Board

The standard-setting board of the IASC was known as the IASC Board. The IASC Board had 13 country members and up to 3 additional organizational members who operated on a part-time, volunteer basis. Each member was generally represented by two "representatives" and one "technical advisor". The individuals came from a wide range of backgrounds – accounting practice, business (particularly multinational businesses), financial analysis, accounting education, and national accounting standard-setting. The Board also had a number of observer members (including representatives of IOSCO, FASB, and the European Commission) who participated in the debate but did not vote.

The IASC Board promulgated a substantial body of Standards, Interpretations, a Conceptual Framework, and other guidance that was adopted directly by many companies and that was looked to by many national accounting standard-setters in developing national accounting standards.

List of I.A.S Issued:

The international accounting standards committee has so far issued the following standards.

IAS 1: Presentation of Financial Statements.
IAS 2: Inventories
IAS 3: Consolidated Financial Statements Originally issued 1976, effective 1 Jan 1977. Superseded in          1989 by IAS 27 and IAS 28 
IAS 4: Depreciation Accounting Withdrawn in 1999, replaced by IAS 16, 22, and 38, all of which were   issued or revised in 1998
IAS 5: Information to Be Disclosed in Financial Statements Originally issued October 1976, effective 1 January 1997. Superseded by IAS 1 in 1997
IAS 6: Accounting Responses to Changing Prices Superseded by IAS 15, which was withdrawn December 2003
IAS 7: Cash Flow Statements
IAS 8: Accounting Policies, Changes in Accounting Estimates and Errors
IAS 9: Accounting for Research and Development Activities – Superseded by IAS 38 effective 1.7.99
IAS 10: Events After the Balance Sheet Date
IAS 11: Long-Term Construction Contracts [Cf. Construction in progress for the customer standpoint]
IAS 12: Income Taxes
IAS 13: Presentation of Current Assets and Current Liabilities – Superseded by IAS 1.
IAS 14: Segment Reporting (superseded by IFRS 8 on 1 January 2008)
IAS 15: Information Reflecting the Effects of Changing Prices – Withdrawn December 2003
IAS 16: Property, Plant and Equipment
IAS 17: Leases
IAS 18: Revenue
IAS 19: Employee Benefits
IAS 20: Accounting for Government Grants and Disclosure of Government Assistance
IAS 21: The Effects of Changes in Foreign Exchange Rates
IAS 22: Business Combinations – Superseded by IFRS 3 effective 31 March 2004
IAS 23: Borrowing Costs
IAS 24: Related Party Disclosures
IAS 25: Accounting for Investments – Superseded by IAS 39 and IAS 40 effective 2001
IAS 26: Accounting and Reporting by Retirement Benefit Plans
IAS 27: Consolidated Financial Statements
IAS 28: Investments in Associates
IAS 29: Financial Reporting in Hyperinflationary Economies
IAS 30: Disclosures in the Financial Statements of Banks and Similar Financial Institutions – Superseded by IFRS 7 effective 2007
IAS 31: Interests in Joint Ventures
IAS 32: Financial Instruments: Presentation (Financial instruments disclosures are in IFRS 7 Financial Instruments: Disclosures, and no longer in IAS 32)
IAS 33: Earnings Per Share
IAS 34: Interim Financial Reporting
IAS 35: Discontinuing Operations – Superseded by IFRS 5 effective 2005
IAS 36: Impairment of Assets
IAS 37: Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets
IAS 38: Intangible Assets
IAS 39: Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement
IAS 40: Investment Property
IAS 41: Agriculture