Pakistan
- Pakistan is included in the IFAD GAAP Convergence Studies
- National professional organisation websites:
- Response to IFAC Member Body Survey on Standard Setting and Regulation
- World Bank ROSC Accounting and Auditing Report
- Participant in the Asian-Oceanian Standard-Setters Group (AOSSG)
Financial reporting framework in Pakistan
Under the Pakistani Companies Ordinance (1984), the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan notifies the accounting standards that are applied by entities in Pakistan.
Pakistan has adopted most but not all International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) for mandatory application by listed companies, banks and other financial institutions and Economically Significant Entities (ESE), even when these are not listed.
IFRSs are usually adopted as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and generally include 'any further revisions thereof', however, some differences are worth noting:
- IFRS 1 was not adopted as Pakistan has not adopted all IFRSs.
- Application of the requirements of IFRIC 4 and 12 has been waived for all companies. (A voluntary application is possible.)
- IFRS 14 and IFRS 17 have not yet been adopted.
- Standards relevant for financial institutions (IAS 39, IAS 40 , and IFRS 7) have not been adopted for banks and other financial institutions regulated by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). The SBP has prescribed its own criteria for recognition and measurement of financial instruments for such financial entities. However, adoption of IAS 40 for these companies is currently under consideration by the SBP.
- For insurance entities there is specific guidance for the measurement of some investments that differs from IAS 39.
- Power sector companies have been granted some relieve from the requirements of IAS 21. These regard the capitalisation of exchange losses and the fact that these companies nedd not recognize embedded derivatives under IAS 39. (If they want to do, they can adopt the requirements voluntarily.)