Services/IFRS Implementation
PRACTICE / IFRS

IFRS Implementation & Consultation

From first-time adoption to the technical judgements that recur every reporting cycle across IFRS 9, 15, 16 and 17, we help finance teams reach defensible IFRS positions and disclosures that withstand audit scrutiny. A current priority is IFRS 18, the new presentation standard effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027, which reshapes the face of the income statement and how performance measures are governed. We help you plan that change now, while there is time to do it properly.

9 · 15 · 16 · 17 · 18
Standards covered
First-time
Adoption to BAU
Audit-ready
Position papers
Complex standards, made clear.

Adopting IFRS, or applying a newly effective standard, is rarely a matter of mechanical bookkeeping. It turns on accounting policy choices, transition elections, contract-by-contract analysis and disclosures that auditors, regulators and lenders will test in detail. The cost of getting it wrong is measured in restatements, qualified opinions and the erosion of stakeholder confidence.

Finspera 21's IFRS practice is led by specialists in first-time conversion to IFRS and in the major standards, revenue under IFRS 15, financial instruments under IFRS 9, leases under IFRS 16 and insurance contracts under IFRS 17. We work as an extension of your finance function, not a detached reviewer: sizing the change, resolving the technical questions, and leaving behind documentation your auditor can rely on.

IFRS 18, Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements, was issued by the IASB in April 2024 and applies to annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027, with earlier application permitted. It replaces IAS 1 and carries much of it forward, but it changes the structure of the statement of profit or loss: new defined subtotals for operating profit and for profit before financing and income taxes, income and expenses sorted into operating, investing and financing categories, and formal disclosure of the company-specific performance measures many businesses already publish. Because it alters the face of the income statement and the governance around alternative performance measures, the work is more than a presentational tidy-up, and comparatives will need to be restated on the new basis. Finspera 21 helps you plan the transition early, mapping your current profit or loss to the new categories, taking an inventory of the management-defined performance measures you use in investor and lender communications, and preparing the reconciliations and explanations those measures now require. We size the change against your reporting, agree the presentation decisions with your auditors in advance, and leave documented policies your team can apply each cycle. Starting well before 2027 turns a reporting-season pressure into a controlled, well-evidenced change.

Every engagement is led by a subject-matter expert who owns the technical conclusions. We keep the analysis grounded in the standards as issued by the IASB and in the specific facts of your contracts and circumstances, so that the position we help you reach is one you can explain and sustain long after we have finished.

Capabilities

What we do.

We work in defined phases so the scope, the deliverables and the technical conclusions are clear at every stage, and so the knowledge stays with your team.

01

Transition & first-time adoption

Structured IFRS 1 conversions with the transition decisions documented and defended.

02

Major standard implementation

End-to-end application of the standards that most often reshape reported results.

03

Ongoing technical consultation

On-call access to considered accounting judgement between and during reporting cycles.

04

Audit-ready documentation

The written record that turns a judgement into a position an auditor will accept.

New standard

IFRS 18 and the new face of the income statement

Effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027, IFRS 18 changes how results are presented and how the measures you report to the market are governed. Four themes will shape your transition, and each one is worth planning for now.

New defined subtotals

The statement of profit or loss must show two defined subtotals, operating profit and profit before financing and income taxes, giving every entity a common structure.

Three income and expense categories

Income and expenses are classified as operating, investing or financing, so results are more comparable and the way the numbers read is more consistent across companies.

Management-defined performance measures

Company-specific subtotals used in public communications must be disclosed, reconciled to the closest IFRS subtotal and explained, bringing your alternative measures inside the audited accounts.

Aggregation and disaggregation

Clearer principles govern how items are grouped or split, and whether they belong in the primary statements or the notes, reducing unhelpful catch-all balances.

Our Approach

How we work.

A disciplined, staged engagement model, from first question to defensible outcome.

PHASE 01

Scoping & gap analysis

We establish which standards are in play, review a representative sample of contracts and balances, and produce a gap analysis that sizes the accounting and disclosure impact against your current framework.

PHASE 02

Technical assessment & policy design

We resolve the judgemental questions, transition elections, measurement models, policy choices, and set them down as accounting policies and draft position papers for review.

PHASE 03

Implementation & quantification

We work alongside your team to compute transition adjustments, build or validate the supporting models (ECL, lease liabilities, CSM), and prepare the reconciliations and journal entries.

PHASE 04

Disclosure & audit support

We draft the required disclosures, assemble the position-paper file, and stand behind the conclusions through the external audit, responding to queries as they arise.

PHASE 05

Handover & ongoing consultation

We leave documented policies and models your team can run each cycle, and remain available on call for the technical questions that recur or arise anew.

"

Good advice solves today’s problem, and prepares you for the next one.

, Finspera 21
Questions

Frequently asked.

What does an IFRS implementation engagement cover?
The engagement covers the full route to compliant reporting. We handle first-time adoption, the demanding standards, IFRS 9, 15, 16 and 17, and the technical judgements beneath them. Typical deliverables include a gap analysis, accounting position papers and audit-ready disclosures. Each piece is scoped to your facts, never a template.
We're adopting IFRS for the first time, where do you start?
We begin with a gap analysis. It maps your current accounting against IFRS and pinpoints where policy, systems and disclosures must change. From there we build a transition plan, work through your opening balance sheet under IFRS 1, and document every choice in a position paper. You get a clear route, not a surprise at audit.
Which IFRS standards cause clients the most difficulty?
The recognition and measurement standards. IFRS 9 expected credit losses, IFRS 15 revenue with multiple performance obligations, IFRS 16 lease measurement and IFRS 17 for insurers all turn on genuine judgement. We work through the technical detail with you and set out the reasoning clearly. The aim is a defensible position you can apply consistently.
Will your position papers stand up to audit scrutiny?
Yes. We write position papers to be read by your auditors, with the standard cited, the judgement explained and the conclusion supported. Where it helps, we engage the audit team directly to settle questions before they become findings. Because the partner who scopes the work also delivers it, the technical view stays consistent throughout.
How is Finspera 21 different from other IFRS advisers?
Our model is partner-led. The specialist who scopes your work is the one who delivers it, so nothing is handed to a junior team behind the scenes. We are cross-disciplinary, weighing accounting, tax and systems questions together. And we are discreet. The goal is reporting that adds clarity and value, not compliance for its own sake.
What does IFRS 18 change, and does it affect us?
IFRS 18 replaces IAS 1 and keeps much of it, but it reshapes how the income statement is presented. It introduces two defined subtotals, operating profit and profit before financing and income taxes, and sorts income and expenses into operating, investing and financing categories so results are more comparable between companies. It also requires you to disclose the company-specific performance measures you use in public communications, with a reconciliation to the closest IFRS subtotal and an explanation of why each one is useful. Any entity reporting under IFRS is affected, because the change is to presentation and disclosure rather than to a single specialised standard. For most businesses the effect shows up on the face of the profit or loss and in the notes, not in the underlying numbers.
When should we start preparing for IFRS 18?
IFRS 18 is effective for annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027, with earlier application permitted, and comparatives will need to be restated on the new basis. That means the year before adoption is the point at which your figures already have to be captured the new way, so useful preparation starts well ahead of 2027. We suggest mapping your current profit or loss to the operating, investing and financing categories, listing the management-defined performance measures you report to investors and lenders, and testing how each will reconcile and be explained. Doing this early surfaces the judgemental questions while there is time to settle them with your auditors. It also avoids a rushed restatement in the middle of a reporting cycle.
?Still have a question?Ask a question
Get in touch

Discuss your IFRS position with the practice lead

Whether you are converting to IFRS for the first time, implementing a newly effective standard, or weighing a single technical judgement, a short conversation with our IFRS lead will clarify the scope and the path to an audit-ready conclusion. Arrange an initial consultation.