The following is the text of Accounting Standard 1 (AS1) issued by the Accounting Standards Board of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, on “Disclosure of Accounting Policies”. The Standard deals with the disclosure of significant accounting policies followed in preparing and presenting financial statements.
Introduction
1. This statement deals with the disclosure of significant accounting policies followed in preparing and presenting financial statements.
2. The view presented in the financial statements of an enterprise of its state of affairs and of the profit or loss can be significantly affected by the accounting policies followed in the preparation and presentation of the financial statements. The accounting policies followed vary from enterprise to enterprise. Disclosure of significant accounting policies followed is necessary if the view presented is to be properly appreciated.
3. The disclosure of some of the accounting policies followed in the preparation and presentation of the financial statements is required by law in some cases.
4. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India has, in Statements issued by it, recommended the disclosure of certain accounting policies, e.g., translation policies in respect of foreign currency items.
5. In recent years, a few enterprises in India have adopted the practice of including in their annual reports to shareholders a separate statement of accounting policies followed in preparing and presenting the financial statements.
6. In general, however, accounting policies are not at present regularly and fully disclosed in all financial statements. Many enterprises include in the Notes on the Accounts, descriptions of some of the significant accounting policies. But the nature and degree of disclosure vary considerably between the corporate and the non-corporate sectors and between units in the same sector.
7. Even among the few enterprises that presently include in their annual reports a separate statement of accounting policies, considerable variation exists. The statement of accounting policies forms part of accounts in some cases while in others it is given as supplementary information.
8. The purpose of this statement is to promote better understanding of financial statements by establishing through an accounting standard the disclosure of significant accounting policies and the manner in which accounting policies are disclosed in the financial statements. Such disclosure would also facilitate a more meaningful comparison between financial statements of different enterprises.
