IFRS Balance Sheet (Statement of Financial Position): Format, Line Items, Example

Who applies IFRS in Uzbekistan from 2026

• public interest entities (Presidential Resolution PP-282): exchange-listed issuers, banks, microfinance organisations, payment institutions, investment funds, exchanges; companies with a state share of 50% or more and large organisations whose assets and revenue are at least 1 million BCV (base calculation value) for two consecutive years (for large organisations, also 500 or more employees) (Regulation No. 3736);
• public interest entities are added to the Register annually by 1 July and keep their accounts under IFRS from 1 January of the following year;
• other companies may switch voluntarily by notifying the tax authority by 1 March; companies that voluntarily prepare IFRS financial statements are exempt from reporting under NAS (national accounting standards) (Presidential Resolution PP-4611).

Transition and comparative information

The first IFRS financial statements include a full set for the first period and the previous year, and the accounting policies are the same for all periods presented (IFRS 1). That is why an IFRS balance sheet at the start of the comparative period is needed well before the first annual financial statements.

What an IFRS balance sheet shows

The statement of financial position captures the company's position at the reporting date: assets, liabilities and equity. Assets are resources controlled by the company from which economic benefits are expected to flow; liabilities are present obligations whose settlement will lead to an outflow of resources.

Equity is defined as the difference between assets and liabilities. This means that any error in measuring an asset or recognising a liability directly distorts the picture of the company's own funds.

That is why an IFRS balance sheet is read together with the notes. The line "property, plant and equipment" says little on its own until you know which model is used to measure these assets and whether they have been tested for impairment.

Structure: current and non-current

The classic presentation of an IFRS balance sheet divides items into current and non-current. An asset is current if the company expects to realise it within its operating cycle or holds it primarily for trading.

A liability is current if it is due within the near-term period or the company does not have an unconditional right to defer settlement. Whether such a right exists is a frequent source of disputes when classifying loans.

The standards also permit presentation by liquidity if it provides more relevant information. This format is used, for example, by financial institutions.

• non-current assets: property, plant and equipment, intangible assets, investments
• current assets: inventories, receivables, cash
• non-current liabilities: loans, deferred taxes, provisions
• current liabilities: trade payables, payroll, current portion of loans
• equity: share capital, retained earnings, reserves

How an IFRS balance sheet differs from the national form

The main difference is the priority of economic substance over legal form. An asset is recognised on the balance sheet not because it is registered in the company's name, but because the company controls the related benefits and risks.

The second difference is the role of estimates. International standards require regular impairment testing of assets, measurement of expected credit losses on receivables, and recognition of provisions for obligations whose likelihood is confirmed.

The third is disclosures. In IFRS financial statements the notes to the balance sheet are often longer than the primary statements themselves: they disclose accounting policies, judgements, assumptions and related parties.

Line items that most often need restatement

When moving to international standards, most adjustments relate to property, plant and equipment and receivables. The former require a review of useful lives and impairment testing; the latter require an estimate of expected losses rather than a mechanical allowance.

Leases are a separate area. A contract that may not have appeared on the balance sheet under national rules often leads under IFRS to recognition of a right-of-use asset and a corresponding liability.

Inventories are also reviewed: they are carried at the lower of cost and net realisable value, so slow-moving stock has to be written down rather than kept at purchase price.

• property, plant and equipment: useful lives, impairment, measurement model
• receivables: expected credit losses
• inventories: write-down to net realisable value
• leases: recognition of an asset and a liability
• deferred taxes arising from measurement differences
• provisions and contingent liabilities

Typical conversion mistakes

The most common is undocumented adjustments. The calculation was done in a spreadsheet, the author remembers the logic, but a year later nobody can reproduce it, including the author. For the audit, this means the figure has to be rebuilt from scratch.

The second mistake is a formal approach to estimates: the allowance is calculated "the same as last year", and impairment is not tested because "the assets are working". In IFRS financial statements an estimate without support carries no weight.

The third is inconsistency between the balance sheet and the other statements and notes. Auditors quickly find discrepancies between the statement of financial position, the statement of cash flows and the disclosures, and these undermine confidence in the financial statements as a whole.

How we help with the IFRS balance sheet

Leader Audit works with financial statements under international standards: we help set up the conversion, work through contentious line items and prepare for the audit so that it does not turn into a reconstruction of calculations.

We start with a diagnostic review: we look at the accounting policies, the existing adjustments and how they are supported. Usually it is already clear at this stage which balance sheet items will need rework.

Then, together with your accounting team, we document the methodology and the procedure for documenting calculations. The goal is for the IFRS balance sheet to be reproducible from accounting data rather than rebuilt every year.