Exam guide
IFRS Standards in ACCA SBR: The Full List and Where to Focus
Last updated 9 September 2026 · Written by the AccountingTutorAI team · Reviewed by a qualified CPA (Canada)
Quick summary
This page lists every document on the ACCA SBR (INT) examinable documents list for the September 2026 to June 2027 exam sessions, grouped by theme, with a one-line note on why each matters and a link to our free study guide where one exists.
ACCA publishes an examinable documents list for SBR once a year. The current list covers the September 2026, December 2026, March 2027 and June 2027 sessions and includes standards and amendments issued up to 31 August 2025 — a document can be examinable even if its effective date is still in the future. Everything below is taken from that list for SBR (INT).
IFRS 18 has replaced IAS 1 — and it is examinable
IAS 1 no longer appears on the SBR examinable documents list. Its place is taken by IFRS 18 Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements, which restructures the statement of profit or loss into operating, investing and financing categories, mandates new subtotals, and brings management-defined performance measures into audited disclosure. IAS 8 also continues under a new title: "Basis of Preparation of Financial Statements". IFRS 18 has been examined across several recent sittings and examiner’s reports describe it as among the weakest-answered content — which makes it one of the highest-payoff topics on this page. Start with our IFRS 18 study guide.
Group accounts
IFRS 3 Business Combinations
Goodwill, consideration and fair value adjustments — the machinery of Question 1 every sitting.
Read the full guide →IFRS 10 Consolidated Financial Statements
Control, non-controlling interests, and step acquisitions and disposals — recent Question 1s have centred on these.
Read the full guide →IAS 28 Investments in Associates and Joint Ventures
Equity accounting and disposals of associates; Question 1 does not always centre on subsidiaries.
Guide coming soonIFRS 11 Joint Arrangements
Classifying joint operations versus joint ventures and the accounting that follows.
Guide coming soonIFRS 12 Disclosure of Interests in Other Entities
What groups must disclose about subsidiaries, associates and unconsolidated entities.
Guide coming soonIAS 27 Separate Financial Statements
How a parent accounts for group companies in its own individual financial statements.
Guide coming soonIAS 21 The Effects of Changes in Foreign Exchange Rates
Functional versus presentation currency and translating foreign operations — a regular Question 1 ingredient.
Read the full guide →Revenue, inventories and leases
IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers
The five-step model plus the tested detail: variable consideration, agent-versus-principal analysis, up-front fees, repurchases.
Read the full guide →IAS 2 Inventories
Measuring inventory at cost or, if lower, net realisable value — recently examined through an ethics lens as much as a technical one.
Read the full guide →IFRS 16 Leases
Right-of-use model, remeasurements, sale and leaseback, and lessor accounting including subleases.
Read the full guide →Financial instruments and fair value
IAS 32 Financial Instruments: Presentation
Debt versus equity and compound instruments — tested recently and answered poorly.
Read the full guide →IFRS 9 Financial Instruments
Classification, amortised cost, expected credit losses and hedge accounting; appears somewhere in almost every exam.
Read the full guide →IFRS 7 Financial Instruments: Disclosures
Risk and instrument disclosures that support stakeholder-focused requirements.
Guide coming soonIFRS 13 Fair Value Measurement
The fair value hierarchy and highest and best use — recently decisive in a goodwill calculation.
Read the full guide →Non-current assets
IAS 16 Property, Plant and Equipment
Recognition, revaluation and derecognition — often the starting point before another standard takes over.
Read the full guide →IAS 23 Borrowing Costs
Capitalising borrowing costs on qualifying assets, including time apportionment traps.
Read the full guide →IAS 36 Impairment of Assets
Cash-generating units, value in use and loss allocation — a favourite for mixed discussion-and-calculation parts.
Read the full guide →IAS 38 Intangible Assets
Recognition criteria and measurement after acquisition, including intangibles acquired in business combinations.
Read the full guide →IAS 40 Investment Property
Classification and change-of-use transfers — tested recently in both directions (from inventory and from owner-occupied).
Read the full guide →IFRS 5 Non-Current Assets Held for Sale and Discontinued Operations
Held-for-sale classification, and measuring such assets at carrying amount or, if lower, fair value net of selling costs.
Read the full guide →IAS 41 Agriculture
Biological assets measured at fair value net of selling costs — a breadth topic that surfaces in themed scenarios.
Guide coming soonProvisions, employment and tax
IAS 37 Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets
Constructive obligations, restructurings and onerous contracts — core discussion territory.
Read the full guide →IAS 10 Events after the Reporting Period
Adjusting versus non-adjusting events, frequently paired with provisions or going concern.
Read the full guide →IAS 19 Employee Benefits
Defined benefit accounting plus termination and short-term benefits — a full recent question spanned all three.
Read the full guide →IFRS 2 Share-based Payment
Grant-date fair value, vesting estimates and the cumulative expense model.
Read the full guide →IAS 12 Income Taxes
Deferred tax on temporary differences, including deferred tax arising on business combinations.
Read the full guide →Presentation and other reporting
IFRS 18 Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements
The replacement for IAS 1: new profit or loss categories, subtotals and management-defined performance measures. Currently the most examined "new" standard.
Read the full guide →IAS 7 Statement of Cash Flows
Including consolidated statements of cash flows, which can anchor the Question 1 spreadsheet.
Read the full guide →IAS 8 Basis of Preparation of Financial Statements
Accounting policies, estimates and errors — note the new title following IFRS 18.
Read the full guide →IAS 33 Earnings per Share
EPS as a performance indicator in stakeholder analysis requirements.
Guide coming soonIAS 34 Interim Financial Reporting
Recognition and measurement in interim reports — a breadth topic.
Guide coming soonIAS 24 Related Party Disclosures
Identifying related parties and why their disclosure matters to users.
Guide coming soonIAS 20 Accounting for Government Grants and Disclosure of Government Assistance
Grant recognition and presentation, often woven into asset scenarios.
Guide coming soonIFRS 8 Operating Segments
Reportable segments and the usefulness of segment data to stakeholders.
Guide coming soonIFRS 1 First-time Adoption of IFRS
Transition principles for first-time adopters — low frequency, but on the list.
Guide coming soonIFRS 19 Subsidiaries without Public Accountability: Disclosures
Letting eligible subsidiaries give slimmed-down disclosures — new, and directly named in the study guide.
Guide coming soonIFRS for SMEs IFRS for Small and Medium-Sized Entities
Where the SME regime simplifies full IFRS — tested as compare-and-contrast discussion.
Guide coming soonSustainability and frameworks
Conceptual Framework Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting
The basis for judgement across the whole exam — recent questions have asked for note analysis framed by its concepts.
Guide coming soonIFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information
Scope, core content and general requirements of sustainability disclosure.
Guide coming soonIFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures
Greenhouse gas metrics and targets — examined directly in a recent sitting, with very weak performance reported.
Guide coming soonESRS European Sustainability Reporting Standards (high-level differences only)
For SBR (INT), only headline contrasts with the ISSB standards — such as double versus financial materiality — are examinable.
Guide coming soonPractice Statements Management Commentary; Making Materiality Judgements
Narrative reporting and materiality judgement — support for stakeholder-analysis requirements.
Guide coming soonWhere to focus
Not all of these standards carry equal weight. Working from the exam structure and the last few examiner’s reports, a sensible priority order is:
- Guaranteed every sitting: group accounting (IFRS 3, IFRS 10, IAS 28, IAS 21) for Question 1, and ethics for Question 2.
- Current examiner emphasis: IFRS 18 and the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards — both new-ish, both repeatedly tested, both reported as weakly answered.
- High-frequency technical cores: IFRS 9 and IAS 32, IFRS 15, IFRS 16, IAS 36, IAS 19, IAS 12, IFRS 13.
- Breadth insurance: everything else on the list at "attempt a 5–8 mark part" depth — reports repeatedly criticise candidates who prepared only the headline topics.
To turn this list into a schedule, use the week-by-week SBR study plan; for how marks are actually earned, see SBR exam technique. All 23 of our free standard-by-standard guides are on the study guides index.
Frequently asked questions
Is IAS 1 still examinable in ACCA SBR?
No. IAS 1 does not appear on the SBR examinable documents list for September 2026 to June 2027. IFRS 18 Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements has taken its place for presentation topics, and IAS 8 continues under the new title Basis of Preparation of Financial Statements.
Is IFRS 18 examinable in ACCA SBR?
Yes. IFRS 18 is on the current examinable documents list and has already featured in several exam sessions, covering the redesigned profit or loss categories, required subtotals and management-defined performance measures. Examiner reports describe it as among the weakest-answered content, so it rewards focused preparation.
Are IFRS S1 and IFRS S2 examinable in SBR?
Yes. Both IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards are examinable in SBR (INT), and a recent sitting asked candidates to evaluate a greenhouse gas disclosure against IFRS S2 directly. The headline contrasts between the ISSB standards and Europe’s ESRS regime are also examinable.
How many standards are examinable in ACCA SBR?
The current SBR (INT) list contains around 37 IFRS Accounting Standards and IAS standards, plus the two IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards, the Conceptual Framework, two IFRS Practice Statements, and high-level awareness of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards.
Is the IFRS for SMEs Standard examinable in SBR?
Yes. The study guide expects you to explain how the IFRS for SMEs Standard departs from full IFRS, including where it simplifies requirements — typically tested as discussion rather than detailed computation. IFRS 19, which allows reduced disclosures for subsidiaries without public accountability, is also on the list.
Which standards are most important for passing SBR?
Group accounting standards (IFRS 3, IFRS 10, IAS 28, IAS 21) are guaranteed in Question 1, and ethics is guaranteed in Question 2. Beyond those, current examiner emphasis falls on IFRS 18 and IFRS S1/S2, with IFRS 9, IFRS 15, IFRS 16, IAS 36, IAS 19 and IAS 12 appearing most frequently across recent papers.