Although there is no requirement under International Financial Reporting Standards to publish ‘interim financial information’, it is recognised that there might be a need for some entities to publish financial information for a period shorter than their full reporting period, in addition to the annual financial statements that cover the whole period. This information could be produced voluntarily, or it could be required locally by governments, securities regulators, stock exchanges, accounting bodies or market expectations. The use of IAS 34 is encouraged for publicly traded entities that produce interim financial reports. This chapter outlines the requirements of IAS 34.

IAS 34 prescribes the minimum content that an interim financial report should contain and the principles that should be used for recognising and measuring amounts included in that report.

IAS 34 does not discourage the presentation of information in excess of the minimum required by the standard.

How should additional information provided with condensed interim financial statements be presented? Where an entity is disclosing additional information over and above that required by IAS 34, the presentation of the additional information in the interim financial report should be consistent with that in the full financial statements. Additional disclosures should focus on the objective of interim financial statements – that is, updating users on developments since the latest annual financial statements.

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Additional disclosure regarding impairment An entity is publishing an interim financial report prepared in accordance with IAS 34; but, because there has been a significant impairment of intangible assets during the interim period, the entity considers that information about the cost and amount written off the intangible asset would be beneficial to users of the interim financial report. Although full compliance with the disclosure requirements of IAS 38 and IAS 36 is not required, the additional disclosures that are given should be consistent with IAS 38 and IAS 36.

An entity should not describe an interim report as complying with IAS 34 or with IFRS if it has not been prepared in accordance with IAS 34.