Exam guide
IFRS Standards in DipIFR: What’s Covered and Where to Focus
Last updated 14 September 2026 · Written by the AccountingTutorAI team · Reviewed by a qualified CPA (Canada)
Quick summary
This page groups the standards covered by the current DipIFR syllabus by theme, drawn from ACCA’s official syllabus and study guide and cross-checked against the standards that have actually appeared in the three most recent examiner’s reports. Unlike our FR and SBR standards pages, DipIFR does not publish a single numbered examinable documents list in the same format, so treat this as a syllabus-based map rather than a literal document checklist — always confirm against the current official syllabus before you finalise a revision plan.
DipIFR’s syllabus is organised into broad areas rather than a flat list of standard codes: international sources of authority and ethics; the elements of financial statements; presentation and additional disclosures; and preparation of external reports for combined entities and joint arrangements, plus a section on CBE navigation skills. The groups below map those areas to specific IFRS Accounting Standards and, where relevant, IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards.
What’s new for the current syllabus cycle, and what DipIFR covers that FR does not
The current syllabus cycle renamed the accounting-policies area to “Basis of Preparation of Financial Statements,” aligned with IAS 8’s amended title, and added a new area allowing examination of IFRS 19 Subsidiaries without Public Accountability: Disclosures. Presentation language now follows IFRS 18. DipIFR also goes further than FR in two specific areas: it examines hedge accounting under IFRS 9 in depth (fair value and cash flow hedges), and it covers IFRS 11 Joint Arrangements — distinguishing a joint operation from a joint venture — which FR does not examine at all. On sustainability reporting, DipIFR has examined both IFRS S1 and the more detailed climate-specific IFRS S2; FR, by contrast, currently covers only IFRS S1.
Framework, ethics and presentation
— Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting
Underpins recognition and measurement judgement throughout the paper, and is examined directly in Question 3 or 4 style questions on occasion.
Guide coming soon— IESBA / ACCA Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct
Tested every sitting as a 5-mark component of Question 2. Application to the specific scenario is what scores marks — generic recitation of the code does not.
Guide coming soonIFRS 18 Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements
DipIFR’s presentation area now follows IFRS 18’s terminology and statement structure.
Read the full guide →IAS 8 Basis of Preparation of Financial Statements
Accounting policies, changes in estimates and correction of prior period errors — renamed from its earlier title for the current syllabus cycle.
Read the full guide →Revenue, inventories and agriculture
IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers
The five-step recognition model must be applied to the scenario’s facts, not just reproduced from memory — a repeatedly flagged weak spot.
Read the full guide →IAS 2 Inventories
Cost versus net realisable value, including cost-of-completion adjustments for goods not yet finished.
Read the full guide →IAS 41 Agriculture
Fair value measurement of biological assets — a narrower topic that has historically been one of the better-answered areas in Question 4.
Guide coming soonNon-current assets, impairment and exploration
IAS 16 Property, Plant and Equipment
Cost, depreciation and revaluation — frequently paired with IAS 40 to test whether a candidate applies the right standard to the right property.
Read the full guide →IAS 38 Intangible Assets
The identifiability criterion, and the distinction between research and development costs, are recurring sources of lost marks.
Read the full guide →IAS 36 Impairment of Assets
Recoverable amount and cash-generating unit allocation — including goodwill impairment across multiple CGUs in a consolidation question.
Read the full guide →IAS 40 Investment Property
Distinguishing investment property from owner-occupied property under IAS 16 is a recurring exam scenario.
Read the full guide →IFRS 6 Exploration for and Evaluation of Mineral Resources
A narrower topic; candidates have been reported defaulting to IAS 38 instead of recognising it applies.
Guide coming soonIFRS 13 Fair Value Measurement
Definitions and the fair value hierarchy, including judgement calls such as bid versus ask versus average price.
Read the full guide →Leases, financial instruments and share-based payment
IFRS 16 Leases
Lessee accounting for the right-of-use asset and lease liability.
Read the full guide →IFRS 9 Financial Instruments
Classification and measurement, plus hedge accounting (fair value and cash flow hedges) in more depth than FR examines.
Read the full guide →IAS 32 Financial Instruments: Presentation
Classifying an instrument as debt or equity — redeemable preference shares as a liability is a recurring trap.
Read the full guide →IFRS 2 Share-based Payment
Equity-settled and cash-settled schemes, examined at a general-principles level.
Read the full guide →Provisions, employee benefits, tax and foreign exchange
IAS 37 Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets
Recognition criteria, including the constructive obligation concept for items such as restoration provisions.
Read the full guide →IAS 19 Employee Benefits
Distinguishing defined contribution from defined benefit plans, including where actuarial gains and losses are presented.
Read the full guide →IAS 12 Income Taxes
Current and deferred tax — consistently flagged as under-attempted relative to its exam weight.
Read the full guide →IAS 21 The Effects of Changes in Foreign Exchange Rates
Translating foreign currency transactions and monetary/non-monetary balances at the correct rate.
Read the full guide →Disclosure, segments and reduced-disclosure regimes
IAS 33 Earnings per Share
Basic EPS calculation, including adjustments for shares issued during the year.
Read the full guide →IAS 10 Events after the Reporting Period
Adjusting versus non-adjusting events — answered well by strong candidates and generically by weaker ones.
Read the full guide →IAS 24 Related Party Disclosures
Identifying related parties and the required disclosures about transactions with them.
Guide coming soonIFRS 8 Operating Segments
The reportable-segment 10% tests (revenue, profit or loss, or assets) — meeting just one of the three is enough to make a segment reportable, and the revenue test uses total revenue, not external revenue only, a commonly misapplied point.
Guide coming soon— IFRS for SMEs
Knowing when a group entity is eligible to apply the SME standard instead of full IFRS, particularly for a newly acquired subsidiary with a different accounting policy.
Guide coming soonIFRS 19 Subsidiaries without Public Accountability: Disclosures
Newly examinable for the current syllabus cycle — reduced disclosure for eligible subsidiaries that still apply IFRS recognition and measurement.
Guide coming soonSustainability disclosure standards
IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information
General sustainability disclosure requirements — examined alongside IFRS S2 in a recent sitting.
Guide coming soonIFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures
The more detailed, climate-specific standard. DipIFR examines both S1 and S2; FR currently covers only S1.
Guide coming soonGroups: consolidation, associates and joint arrangements
IFRS 3 Business Combinations
Goodwill calculation and consideration — the foundation of almost every Question 1.
Read the full guide →IFRS 10 Consolidated Financial Statements
Control and non-controlling interests, read alongside IFRS 3 to build the consolidation proforma.
Read the full guide →IAS 28 Investments in Associates and Joint Ventures
The equity method, regularly tested in the same Question 1 as a subsidiary to check both consolidation methods at once.
Read the full guide →IFRS 11 Joint Arrangements
Classifying a joint operation versus a joint venture before applying the correct accounting — a topic FR does not examine at all.
Read the full guide →— Complete disposal of a subsidiary
DipIFR examines the complete disposal of a subsidiary’s shares; step acquisitions, partial disposals and group reconstructions are explicitly outside the syllabus.
Guide coming soonWhat’s not examinable in DipIFR
Worth knowing as much for what to stop worrying about as what to study: DipIFR’s syllabus explicitly excludes complex group structures (sub-subsidiaries, mixed groups, foreign subsidiaries), step acquisitions and partial disposals, bank and financial-institution-specific financial statements, cash flow statement preparation of any kind, interim financial statements, insurance entity accounting, exposure drafts and discussion papers, a public-sector reporting perspective, multi-employer benefit schemes, and hyperinflation reporting.
If you are converting from an ACCA background, most of this list overlaps closely with the standards examinable in FR, though DipIFR goes further on hedge accounting and joint arrangements and compresses everything into a single 100-mark sitting. Browse every free study guide on the study guides index.
Frequently asked questions
How many IFRS standards are examinable in DipIFR?
Around 30 IFRS Accounting Standards, IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards and related pronouncements, drawn from ACCA’s DipIFR syllabus and study guide. DipIFR does not publish a single numbered examinable documents list the way FR and SBR do, so this page is a syllabus-based map rather than a literal document checklist — always confirm against the current official syllabus before finalising a revision plan.
Does DipIFR examine IFRS S1 and IFRS S2 sustainability standards?
Yes, both — DipIFR has examined general sustainability disclosures under IFRS S1 and the more detailed climate-specific IFRS S2 in the same sitting. This is broader than FR, which currently covers only IFRS S1.
Does DipIFR cover joint arrangements?
Yes. DipIFR examines <a href="/standards/ifrs-11/overview">IFRS 11</a> Joint Arrangements, including classifying a joint operation versus a joint venture — a topic that FR does not examine at all.
Does DipIFR require cash flow statement preparation?
No. Cash flow statement preparation, for a single entity or a group, is explicitly excluded from the DipIFR syllabus.
Which DipIFR standards carry the most exam weight?
IFRS 3 and IFRS 10 appear in almost every Question 1, since consolidation is the paper’s most consistent theme. IFRS 9 and IAS 32 (financial instruments, including hedge accounting) and the ethics component of the Code of Ethics also recur with high consistency across recent sittings.