Interim Statement

Interim Statement
See also
Focus report Abridged accounts Materiality principle Temporary account Statement of affairs Opening balance Prior period adjustments Closing entries Comparative statements

Interim Statement is defined as the financial report covering a period of less than one year. Adjective interim means literally provisional or temporary. Statement in other words is pronouncement, affirmation or report.

Interim financial report. An interim financial report refers to either a complete set of financial statements for an interim period (prepared in accordance with the requirements of International Accounting Standards, IAS 1), or a set of condensed financial statements for an interim period (prepared in accordance with the requirements of IAS 34).

Interim period. A financial reporting period shorter than a full financial year (e.g., a period of three or six months).

Scope of Interim Report

Interim financial reports must include interim financial statements as follows:

• a balance sheet as at the end of the current interim period together with a comparative balance sheet as at the end of the immediately preceding financial year;
• a single statement of comprehensive income or a separate statement of income and comprehensive income for the current interim period and, where different, cumulatively for the current financial year to date with comparative single statement of comprehensive income or separate income statement and comprehensive income statement for the comparable interim period of the immediately preceding financial year;
• a statement of changes in equity cumulatively for the current financial year-to-date and a comparative statement for the comparable year-to-date of the immediately preceding financial year; and
• a cash flow statement which is prepared cumulatively for the current financial year-to-date with a comparative statement for the comparable year-to-date of the immediately preceding financial year.

Form and content

Form and content of interim financial statements:

1. IAS 34 mandates that if an entity chooses to present the complete set of (interim) financial statements instead of opting for the allowed method of presenting only condensed interim financial statements, then the form and content of those statements should conform to the requirements set by IAS 1 for complete set of financial statements.
2. However, if an entity opts for the condensed format approach to interim financial reporting, then IAS 34 requires that, at a minimum, those condensed financial statements include each of the headings and the subtotals that were included in the entity's most recent annual financial statements, along with selected explanatory notes, as prescribed by the standard.
3. IAS 34 requires disclosure of earnings per share (both basic Earnings per share EPS and diluted EPS) on the face of the interim statement of comprehensive income. This disclosure is mandatory whether condensed or complete interim financial statements are presented. However, since EPS is only required (by IAS 33) for publicly-held companies, it is likewise only mandated for interim financial statements of such reporting entities.
4. IAS 34 mandates that an entity should follow the same format in its interim statement showing changes in equity as it did in its most recent annual financial statements.
5. IAS 34 requires that an interim financial report be prepared on a consolidated basis if the entity's most recent annual financial statements were consolidated statements. Regarding presentation of separate interim financial statements of the parent company in addition to consolidated interim financial statements, if they were included in the most recent annual financial statements, this standard neither requires nor prohibits such inclusion in the interim financial report of the entity.

References

• Collings S., (2016), UK GAAP Financial Statement Disclosures Manual, John Wiley & Sons Ltd, United Kingdom.
• Flood J. M., (2015), Wiley GAAP 2015: Interpretation and Application of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Connecticut.
• PKF International Ltd, (2015), Wiley IFRS 2015: Interpretation and Application of International Financial Reporting Standards, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New Jersey.
• Robinson R. (ed.) (2015), International Financial Statement Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New Jersey.

Author: Katarzyna Siedlarczyk