<P> International Financial Reporting Standards, usually called IFRS, are standards issued by the IFRS Foundation and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) to provide a common global language for business affairs so that company accounts are understandable and comparable across international boundaries . They are a consequence of growing international shareholding and trade and are particularly important for companies that have dealings in several countries . They are progressively replacing the many different national accounting standards . They are the rules to be followed by accountants to maintain books of accounts which are comparable, understandable, reliable and relevant as per the users internal or external . IFRS, with the exception of IAS 29 Financial Reporting in Hyperinflationary Economies and IFRIC 7 Applying the Restatement Approach under IAS 29, are authorized in terms of the historical cost paradigm . IAS 29 and IFRIC 7 are authorized in terms of the units of constant purchasing power paradigm . </P> <P> IFRS began as an attempt to harmonize accounting across the European Union but the value of harmonization quickly made the concept attractive around the world . However, it has been debated whether or not de facto harmonization has occurred . Standards that were issued by IASC (the predecessor of IASB) are still within use today and go by the name International Accounting Standards (IAS), while standards issued by IASB are called IFRS . IAS were issued between 1973 and 2001 by the Board of the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC). On 1 April 2001, the new International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) took over from the IASC the responsibility for setting International Accounting Standards . During its first meeting the new Board adopted existing IAS and Standing Interpretations Committee standards (SICs). The IASB has continued to develop standards calling the new standards "International Financial Reporting Standards". </P> <P> Criticisms of IFRS are (1) that they are not being adopted in the US (see US GAAP), (2) a number of criticisms from France and (3) that IAS 29 Financial Reporting in Hyperinflationary Economies had no positive effect at all during 6 years in Zimbabwe's hyperinflationary economy . The IASB offered responses to the first two criticisms, but has offered no response to the last criticism while IAS 29 was as of March 2014 being implemented in its original ineffective form in Venezuela and Belarus . </P> <P> Financial statements are a structured representation of the financial positions and financial performance of an entity . The objective of financial statements is to provide information about the financial position, financial performance and cash flows of an entity that is useful to a wide range of users in making economic decisions . Financial statements also show the results of the management's stewardship of the resources entrusted to it . </P>

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