Definition

International Financial Reporting Standards—GAAP's global cousin that's supposed to harmonize accounting worldwide, with mixed success.

Example Usage

Our European subsidiary reports under IFRS while we use GAAP in the US.

Origin

Developed by IASB starting in 1973; adoption accelerated post-2000s

Fun Fact

Converting between GAAP and IFRS requires reconciliation statements because the two systems give different answers

Source: IASB (International Accounting Standards Board)

Related Terms

Intermediate

payback

The magical moment when an investment stops being a money pit and actually returns something positive, also known as ROI's less sophisticated cousin. In finance, it's the break-even point where you finally stop losing money; in life, it's revenge served cold. Either way, someone's getting their due.

💰 Finance / Accounting
Advanced

Topside Entry

A journal entry made at the corporate level above the normal operational accounting system, often used for adjustments or consolidation. It's headquarters overriding local books, sometimes legitimately, sometimes suspiciously.

💰 Finance / Accounting
Intermediate

materiality threshold

The dollar amount below which errors or omissions don't matter enough to disclose in financial statements—essentially the accounting version of 'close enough for government work.' It's how auditors decide which issues are worth losing sleep over.

💰 Finance / Accounting
Beginner

rate

The speed at which something happens or the proportional relationship between two values—basically, how fast or how much per unit of measurement. Think of it as the mathematical way to compare apples to oranges (or interest to principal).

💰 Finance / Accounting
Beginner

borrow

To temporarily steal someone else's money with the legal promise to give it back, plus interest as a rental fee. In golf, it's calculating the slope of the green so your putt doesn't veer off into the rough like your financial planning.

💰 Finance / Accounting
Intermediate

VAT

Value Added Tax, the European way of making you pay incrementally for everything at each stage of production and distribution. Unlike American sales tax that hits you once at checkout, VAT is baked into the price at every step, making it simultaneously more transparent and more insidious. British tourists love explaining this to confused Americans at duty-free shops.

💰 Finance / Accounting

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Intermediate

acquittal

The formal legal ruling that someone is not guilty of the crime they were charged with—basically the defendant's "get ...