IAS 8 — Accounting Policies, Changes in Accounting Estimates and Errors

Effective date:

First effective as Canadian GAAP under Part I for interim and annual financial statements relating to fiscal years beginning on or after January 1, 2011.  Earlier application of Part I was permitted.

Published by the IASB:

December 2005

Included in Part I of CPA Canada Handbook:

January 2010

Overview

IAS 8 Accounting Policies, Changes in Accounting Estimates and Errors is applied in selecting and applying accounting policies, accounting for changes in estimates and reflecting corrections of prior period errors.

The standard requires compliance with any specific IFRS applying to a transaction, event or condition, and provides guidance on developing accounting policies for other items that result in relevant and reliable information. Changes in accounting policies and corrections of errors are generally retrospectively accounted for, whereas changes in accounting estimates are generally accounted for on a prospective basis.

History of IAS 8

The following table shows the history of this standard subsequent to the adoption of IFRS in Canada. 

Date1

Development

Comments

Included in Part I of the CPA Canada Handbook2

January 2010

Part I of the CPA Canada Handbook issued

Effective for interim and annual financial statements relating to fiscal years beginning on or after January 1, 2011. Earlier application is permitted.

January 2010

October 31, 2018

Amended by Disclosure Initiative — Definition of Material (Amendments to IAS 1 and IAS 8) [Completed]

IAS 1 has been re­vised to in­cor­po­rate a new definition of “material” and IAS 8 has been revised to refer to this new definition in IAS 1.  The amendment is effective for annual reporting periods beginning on or after January 1, 2020. Earlier application is permitted.

February 2019

February 12, 2021

Amended by Definition of Accounting Estimates (Amendments to IAS 8)

These amendments introduce the definition of an accounting estimate and include other amendments to IAS 8 to help entities distinguish changes in accounting estimates from changes in accounting policies. The amendments are effective for annual periods beginning on or after January 1, 2023 and changes in accounting policies and changes in accounting estimates that occur on or after the start of that period. Earlier application is permitted.

June 2021

The above summary does not include details of consequential amendments made as the result of other projects.

Related Interpretations

  • None

Related IFRIC Agenda Rejection Notices

The rejection notices are available in our Deloitte Global section.

  • IAS 8 — Application of the IAS 8 hierarchy (March 2011)

AcSB’s IFRS Discussion Group meetings

  • October 16, 2018 - IFRS 2 and IAS 8: Modifications to Performance Conditions
  • October 5, 2017 - IAS 8 and IAS 12: Change in Tax Rate for Indefinite Life Intangible Assets
  • November 29, 2016 - IAS 8 and IAS 12: Change in Tax Rate for Indefinite Life Intangible Assets

Amendments under consideration

  • None

Correction list for hyphenation

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