Australian Accounting Standards Board

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The Australian Accounting Standards Board is a Commonwealth Agency that deals with standard setting in the private and public sectors in Australia and has its own research and administrative staff.

The Australian Accounting Standards Board (the Board) is responsible for developing and issuing AASB Accounting Standards (AASBs) and the “care and maintenance” of the body of Standards. The Board's functions and powers are set out in the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001.

Since 2002, the Board has been implementing the strategic direction from the Financial Reporting Council to adopt International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) Standards for application to periods beginning on or after 1 January 2005. In July 2004, the Board made a number of Standards that apply from 2005 and comprise:

• Australian equivalents to IASB Standards
• ancillary AASB Standards supporting the Australian equivalents to IASB Standards; and
• other AASB Standards that apply to certain types of entities.

The AASB equivalents to IASB Standards comprise:

• AASB 1, AASB 2, etc. that are equivalent to IFRS 1, IFRS 2, etc.; and
• AASB 101, AASB 102, etc. that are equivalent to IAS 1, IAS 2, etc.

The ancillary AASB Standards comprise: AASB 1031; and AASB 1048.

For periods beginning on or after 1 January 2005, the Australian equivalents to IASB Standards supersede their current Australian counterparts, if any. Current Australian Standards for which there are no IASB equivalents remain in force beyond 1 January 2005, even though they may be reissued to update them in this new regime. These include:

• AAS 22, AAS 25, AAS 27, AAS 29 and AAS 31; and
• AASB 1004, AASB 1039 and AASB 1046.

Until December 1999, the former Board and the Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (PSASB) developed AASBs that applied to entities regulated under the Corporations Law and AASs that applied to all other types of entities. AASB Standards issued from 2000 onwards apply to all types of entities, and the AAS series will be phased out over time.

Many entities regulated under the Corporations Act 2001 are required to apply Accounting Standards in preparing their financial reports. Some public sector entities are required to apply Accounting Standards by Commonwealth, State or Territory legislation, through specific instructions to preparers or reporting frameworks set out in guidelines or regulations.

Members of CPA Australia, The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and the National Institute of Accountants have a professional obligation to take all reasonable steps within their power to ensure that entities with which they are involved comply with Accounting Standards in preparing their general purpose financial reports.

One of the functions of the AASB is to develop a Conceptual Framework, not having the force of an Accounting Standard, for the purpose of evaluating proposed Accounting Standards [Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 1989, section 227(1)(a)]. The AASB considers Statements of Accounting Concepts developed by the former AASB and the Public Sector Accounting Standards Board when developing Accounting Standards. The AASB describes its policies with regard to various aspects of its due process and international harmonisation in a series of Policy Statements.

AASB Standards are usually put in place to stop fraud

--- Framework for the Preparation and Presentation of Financial Statements

1 First-time Adoption of Australian Equivalents to International Financial Reporting Standards

2 Share-based Payment

3 Business Combinations

4 Insurance Contracts

5 Non-current Assets Held for Sale and Discontinued Operations

6 Exploration for and Evaluation of Mineral Resources

7 Financial Instruments: Disclosures

8 Operating Segments

101 Presentation of Financial Statements

102 Inventories

107 Cash Flow Statements

108 Accounting Policies, Changes in Accounting Estimates and Errors

110 Events after the Balance Sheet Date

111 Construction Contracts

112 Income Taxes

114 Segment Reporting

116 Property, Plant and Equipment

117 Leases

118 Revenue

119 Employee Benefits

120 Accounting for Government Grants and Disclosure of Government Assistance

121 The Effects of Changes in Foreign Exchange Rates

123 Borrowing Costs

124 Related Party Disclosures

127 Consolidated and Separate Financial Statements

128 Investments in Associates

129 Financial Reporting in Hyperinflationary Economies

130 Disclosures in the Financial Statements of Banks and Similar Financial Institutions

131 Interests in Joint Ventures

132 Financial Instruments: Presentation

133 Earnings per Share

134 Interim Financial Reporting

136 Impairment of Assets

137 Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets

138 Intangible Assets

139 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement

140 Investment Property

141 Agriculture

1004 Contributions

1023 General Insurance Contracts

1031 Materiality

1038 Life Insurance Contracts

1039 Concise Financial Reports

1045 Land Under Roads: Amendments to AAS 27A, AAS 29A and AAS 31A

1048 Interpretation and Application of Standards

1049 Financial Reporting of General Government Sectors by Government

External links

• Australian Accounting Standard Board