When a new IFRS standard applies in South Africa
South Africa has no local endorsement step for IFRS, so new standards such as IFRS 18 apply from the IASB's own date. How to track it for each client.
By Achekam · · 4 min read · For Accountants & audit firms in South Africa
A client's financial director has read that IFRS 18 replaces the old presentation standard and wants to know when it hits their statements. A junior on your team asks whether South Africa first has to "adopt" a new standard, the way some countries do. The partner remembers SA GAAP and wonders whether there is still a local version to fall back on.
The answers are short, but the consequences for planning are not. In South Africa, a standard issued by the IASB applies from the date the IASB sets, with no local step in between. This article explains why, and how a firm can track the dates across its client base.
IFRS "as issued from time to time"
The IFRS Foundation's jurisdiction profile for South Africa states that since May 2011 the Companies Act Regulations refer directly to "IFRS as issued from time to time by the IASB or its successor body".
The profile draws the consequence: standards and amendments are immediately effective as and when the IASB issues them, South Africa has no formal endorsement process, and it has not eliminated any IFRS accounting policy options or modified any IFRS Accounting Standards. The profile was last updated in June 2016, so treat it as a description of the framework rather than a list of current standards.
In practice, that means there is no South African gazette to wait for and no local carve-out to look up. The effective date in the standard is the effective date for your client.
Who this affects
The same profile states that IFRS Accounting Standards are required for all domestic companies whose securities trade in a public market, under both the Companies Act Regulations and the JSE Listings Requirements, and in the separate company statements of those companies.
Many of your other clients will also report under full IFRS, by requirement or by choice, and their dates follow the IASB's in the same way. Clients on the IFRS for SMEs Standard or on their own policies are on different tracks, which is why the first column of any watch list should be the framework. For the choice between frameworks, see choosing a reporting framework.
No SA GAAP to fall back on
Older partners sometimes ask whether a client could stay on the local standards instead. The IFRS Foundation's profile states that SA GAAP was withdrawn for years commencing on or after 1 December 2012, because SA GAAP was identical to IFRS Standards. There is no parallel local framework running a few years behind the IASB.
IFRS 18 as the worked example
The IFRS Foundation's page on IFRS 18, Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements, says the standard is effective for annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027, with earlier application permitted. The IASB issued it in April 2024.
Read the date carefully: it is the start of the reporting period that matters, not the date the statements are signed.
- A client with a December year-end first applies it to the year that starts in January 2027.
- A client with a February year-end first applies it to the year that starts in March 2027 and ends in February 2028.
- A client with a June year-end first applies it to the year that starts in July 2027 and ends in June 2028.
Early application is a separate decision for each client, discussed in applying IFRS 18 early.
Building the watch list
A watch list does not need special software. It needs one row per client and the discipline to update it when the IASB issues something new.
| Column | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Client | Entity name |
| Framework | Full IFRS, IFRS for SMEs or own policies |
| Year-end | Month |
| Standard or amendment | For example, IFRS 18 |
| First affected year | The first annual period starting on or after the effective date |
| Early application | Considered, decided, and by whom |
| Status | Policies reviewed, layout agreed, client informed |
Sort by first affected year. Clients whose next year falls into scope need a conversation now, because comparatives, systems and board packs may all have to change.
Where Achekam helps, and where it stops
Achekam's statement templates cover companies on full IFRS, IFRS for SMEs or their own policies, as well as other South African entity types, and their wording is written for South African practice. Staff can roll a set of statements forward to the next year, carrying settings, policies, notes and wording and rebuilding every figure from the new trial balance; adjusting entries, typed comparatives and signatures are not carried forward.
That roll-forward is exactly where a new standard can slip through. Policy wording that was right last year is carried into this year unchanged, so someone has to read it against the standards that now apply.
Three limits are worth stating plainly:
- No live feed. Achekam does not pull a live feed of standards and regulatory changes. Its Standards & Regulatory Updates page shows what its knowledge base records, so the firm's own watch list remains the control.
- Layout changes are the firm's to make. A firm can add its own statement lines and groups and change the wording of any row title, and later builds keep those choices. Each custom line still totals into a standard line. That flexibility lets a firm adjust a presentation, but it is the firm's judgement, not a built-in IFRS 18 layout.
- Template choice is per set. See statement templates by entity type for which template suits which client.
Keep the profile at hand
The IFRS Foundation's jurisdiction profile for South Africa explains how the Companies Act Regulations refer to IFRS and why there is no endorsement step. Share it with the junior who asked, then spend an hour this month building the watch list, starting with every client whose next financial year begins in 2027.
General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.
