Top 7 IFRS and Ind AS Standards Every Accounting Student Meets First

If you are opening an accounting syllabus for the first time, the list of important IFRS and Ind AS standards for beginners can look like an alphabet soup — dozens of numbers, two naming systems, and no obvious place to start. The good news: you do not meet them all at once. A handful carry almost every early exam question and almost every real journal entry, and the rest build on those. This ranking orders the seven standards you genuinely meet first, by how early they show up in a Financial Accounting (FA) and Financial Reporting (FR) learning path — from how a balance sheet is laid out all the way to how a lease lands on the books.

Each pick is paired with its Indian twin (the Ind AS number that the Ministry of Corporate Affairs notifies for Indian companies) and a plain-English line on what it governs. If you would rather build this foundation properly than stitch it together from scattered videos, a structured ACCA Knowledge Level exam preparation course walks these same standards in the order below.

Which IFRS and Ind AS standards should a student learn first?

Start with the five that drive routine transactions — presentation (IAS 1), inventories (IAS 2), property, plant and equipment (IAS 16), cash flows (IAS 7) and provisions (IAS 37) — then add revenue (IFRS 15) and leases (IFRS 16). The deciding criterion for this ranking is simple: how early the standard appears in a typical FA/FR syllabus and how often beginners touch it in practice questions.

Read the table top to bottom and you have your study order. IAS 1 is first because it is the frame every other standard hangs inside — you cannot answer an inventories question cleanly if you do not know where inventory sits on the statement of financial position. The bottom two, revenue and leases, are ranked last not because they are optional but because they assume you already understand the four above them.

The top 7 IFRS and Ind AS standards, ranked

Here is what each standard actually does, who it matters most to, and the one trap beginners fall into. Work down the list in order; each builds on the last.

1. IAS 1 / Ind AS 1 — Presentation of Financial Statements

IAS 1 sets the rules for what a complete set of financial statements looks like: the statement of financial position, the statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income, the statement of changes in equity, the cash-flow statement and the notes. It is the map. Meet it first, because every later standard tells you what goes inside a line that IAS 1 has already named. The common beginner trap is treating presentation as cosmetic — in practice, misclassifying current vs non-current items is one of the fastest ways to lose easy marks.

2. IAS 2 / Ind AS 2 — Inventories

IAS 2 governs how you value stock: at the lower of cost and net realisable value, with cost measured using FIFO or a weighted-average formula (LIFO is not permitted). Get this wrong and both your profit and your balance sheet are wrong at the same time, which is exactly why examiners love it. If the choice between cost formulas and its effect on reported profit is still fuzzy, our walkthrough of inventory valuation: FIFO vs weighted average and its profit effect shows the mechanics with worked numbers.

3. IAS 16 / Ind AS 16 — Property, Plant and Equipment

IAS 16 covers long-lived physical assets: what you capitalise into their cost, how you depreciate them over their useful life, and the choice between the cost model and the revaluation model. Depreciation is where most early journal-entry questions live. If the difference between methods still feels abstract, read our breakdown of depreciation methods: straight line vs written down value before you attempt revaluation. The trap: forgetting to reassess useful life and residual value, which quietly changes every future year's charge.

4. IAS 7 / Ind AS 7 — Statement of Cash Flows

IAS 7 explains how to build the cash-flow statement, splitting movements into operating, investing and financing activities. It is the reality check on profit — a company can report a profit and still run out of cash. Beginners meet it once they are comfortable with the profit statement, because the indirect method starts from profit and unwinds the non-cash items back to cash. The usual mistake is mixing up where interest and dividends sit; the standard allows some choice, but you must apply it consistently.

5. IAS 37 / Ind AS 37 — Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets

IAS 37 is the judgement standard: it tells you when a possible future outflow is a liability you must recognise, something you only disclose, or something you ignore entirely. The deciding test is whether a present obligation exists, whether an outflow is probable, and whether you can estimate it reliably. This is the first standard that teaches you accounting is not only arithmetic — it is a structured decision. We unpack the exact recognise-disclose-ignore logic in provisions vs contingent liabilities: recognise, disclose or ignore.

6. IFRS 15 / Ind AS 115 — Revenue from Contracts with Customers

IFRS 15 replaced the old revenue rules with a single five-step model that applies to almost every industry. It answers the deceptively hard question: when, and how much, revenue should you recognise? In India, Ind AS 115 was notified by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs on 28 March 2018 and applied for financial years beginning 1 April 2018. The five steps are worth memorising early because every revenue question routes through them:

Source: IFRS 15 five-step model, IFRS Foundation.

7. IFRS 16 / Ind AS 116 — Leases

IFRS 16 changed how lessees account for leases: almost every lease now puts a right-of-use asset and a lease liability on the balance sheet, ending the old "off-balance-sheet" operating lease. Ind AS 116 took effect for Indian companies from 1 April 2019, replacing the earlier Ind AS 17. It sits last on this list because it leans on everything above it — you need PPE depreciation (IAS 16), present-value thinking, and the presentation rules of IAS 1 to account for a lease cleanly. The trap: assuming a short-term or low-value lease must go on the balance sheet, when the standard gives you a recognition exemption.

IFRS vs Ind AS: why India runs twin standards

For almost every standard above, the Ind AS version is the same rulebook with a different label. The numbering follows two patterns: the older standards keep the original IAS number (IAS 1 becomes Ind AS 1, IAS 2 becomes Ind AS 2), while the newer IFRS-series standards are re-numbered into the 100s (IFRS 15 becomes Ind AS 115, IFRS 16 becomes Ind AS 116). Once you know that rule, you can translate between a global textbook and an Indian one on sight.

The other difference is timing. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs aligns Ind AS effective dates to India's April–March financial year, so they typically start about three months after the IASB's 1 January date — Ind AS 115 from 1 April 2018 against IFRS 15's 1 January 2018, and Ind AS 116 from 1 April 2019 against IFRS 16's 1 January 2019. The content is substantially the same; a few "carve-outs" aside, learning the IFRS version first means you are 95% of the way to the Ind AS answer.

IAS 1 vs IFRS 18: what changes for presentation in 2027?

IAS 1 is the one standard on this list with a successor already dated. In April 2024 the IASB issued IFRS 18, Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements, which replaces IAS 1 for reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027 (early adoption is permitted). It does not rewrite recognition or measurement — inventories, PPE and revenue rules are untouched — but it reshapes how the profit statement is presented. For a student starting now, IAS 1 is still the live, examinable standard; IFRS 18 is the change you should be aware is coming.

Source: IFRS Foundation / IASB, IFRS 18 issued 9 April 2024.

How to choose where to start as an accounting student

Your starting point depends on where you are, not on which standard is "most important" in the abstract. Use this logic:

If you are brand new to accounting, learn IAS 1 first and do not move on until you can draw a clean set of statements from a trial balance. Then take IAS 2 and IAS 16 together — inventories and PPE are where double-entry becomes muscle memory. These three alone answer a large share of early FA questions.

If you are comfortable with the basics and preparing for FR, prioritise IAS 37, IFRS 15 and IFRS 16, in that order. These are the judgement-heavy standards that separate a pass from a strong pass, and they reward practice over reading. Readers moving toward the advanced papers can see how these threads come together in our overview of ACCA Strategic Business Reporting: syllabus, IFRS and ethics.

If you are short on time before an exam, drill the five transaction standards (IAS 1, 2, 16, 7, 37) for reliable marks, then do as many IFRS 15 five-step questions as you can fit — it is the highest-yield single topic in modern revenue accounting.

Frequently asked questions about IFRS and Ind AS standards

Which IFRS standard should a beginner learn first?

IAS 1, Presentation of Financial Statements (Ind AS 1 in India). It defines what a complete set of financial statements contains and how items are classified, so every other standard you learn afterwards fits into a frame you already understand. Trying to learn inventories or revenue before presentation usually causes avoidable classification errors.

What is the difference between IFRS and Ind AS?

Ind AS are India's accounting standards, converged with IFRS and notified by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. The content is substantially the same, with a few India-specific carve-outs. Numbering differs: older standards keep the IAS number (IAS 2 to Ind AS 2) while newer IFRS-series standards are re-numbered into the 100s (IFRS 15 to Ind AS 115).

Why is Ind AS 115 numbered 115 and not 15?

India re-numbers the newer IFRS-series standards by adding 100 to the IFRS number, so IFRS 15 becomes Ind AS 115 and IFRS 16 becomes Ind AS 116. The older IAS-series standards keep their original number. It is purely a labelling convention; the underlying rules are the converged ones.

Is IAS 1 being replaced?

Yes. The IASB issued IFRS 18, Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements, in April 2024. It replaces IAS 1 for periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027, with early adoption allowed. It changes how the profit statement is presented but does not alter recognition or measurement, so standards like IAS 2, IAS 16 and IFRS 15 are unaffected.

How many accounting standards does a student need for the basics?

You do not need all of them at once. The seven ranked here — presentation, inventories, PPE, cash flows, provisions, revenue and leases — cover the large majority of early Financial Accounting and Financial Reporting questions. Master these first, then add the specialised standards as your syllabus introduces them.

This article is for educational purposes only and explains accounting standards for learning. Standard numbering and effective dates follow the IFRS Foundation and the Ministry of Corporate Affairs; always confirm the current text on the official sources before relying on it in practice. NIFM provides training and exam preparation; professional examinations are administered by their respective bodies independently.