UK endorsement of IFRS

This includes all IFRS Accounting Standards that were EU-endorsed at 31 December 2020 plus those that have subsequently been endorsed by the UK Endorsement Board (UKEB).

The latest version of the Endorsement Status Report is available on the UKEB’s website.

Although unendorsed standards and interpretations cannot be adopted in the UK, the requirements of those standards and interpretations may be applied early if they do not conflict with the requirements of any endorsed standards or interpretations. 

UK-adopted IFRS

The UK formally left the EU on 31 January 2020, but continued to be subject to EU rules until the end of the transition period, defined as 11.00pm on 31 December 2020 (GMT). This is referred to as the implementation period (IP) completion day in the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020.

UK legislation provides that all IFRSs that had been endorsed by the EU on or before the IP completion day became UK-adopted IFRS. On 31 December 2020, UK and EU-adopted IFRS were therefore identical.

UK endorsement of new or amended international accounting standards

Since 31 December 2020, the UKEB has been responsible for endorsing and adopting new or amended IFRS Accounting Standards for use in the UK. When reaching a decision on the endorsement of a new or amended standard, the UKEB must consider the following endorsement criteria:

• the standard is not contrary to the principle that an entity’s accounts (or consolidated accounts) must give a true and fair view of the entity’s assets, liabilities, financial position and profit or loss;
• the use of the standard is likely to be conducive to the long term public good in the UK; and
• the standard meets the criteria of understandability, relevance, reliability and comparability required to allow for making economic decisions and assessing the stewardship of management.

Before endorsing a standard, the UKEB will undertake outreach activities and hold a public consultation to gather views, opinions or other feedback on the standard and the likely impact of its adoption (or non-adoption) from UK stakeholders.

Standards issued but not yet effective or applied in the accounts

IAS 8 Accounting Policies, Changes in Accounting Estimates and Errors requires disclosure of any new standards and interpretations that have been issued but are not yet effective and have not yet been applied in the financial statements, together with information relevant to assessing the possible impact when implemented for the first time.

Further resources

• More information on IFRS and the endorsement status of individual standards
• Corporate reporting factsheets
• Access a range of practical resources on UK GAAP, IFRS and UK regulation of financial reporting