More than 140 jurisdictions report under IFRS; the United States reports under US GAAP. If you run a US group with foreign subsidiaries, analyse a foreign company, raise capital across borders, or simply have to read a set of statements written in the other language, you have to move between the two. This guide does it in plain practitioner English: the differences that actually change the numbers, worked examples and journal entries for each, a worked reconciliation you can copy, and the workflow to build a clean multinational reporting package — without the bloat.
| Part | What it covers |
|---|---|
| 1 · Orientation | Why two systems, principles vs rules, a terminology map, and a one-page industry × differences matrix |
| 2 · The Differences | 25 topics — inventory/LIFO, PP&E revaluation, development costs, impairment, leases, ECL, provisions, deferred tax, pensions, share-based payment, consolidation, business combinations, investment property, foreign currency, cash flows, presentation — each side-by-side with a worked example |
| 3 · Currency & Group Reporting | Functional vs presentation currency, translating & consolidating foreign subsidiaries, the FX-effect-on-cash line, the net-debt reconciliation |
| 4 · A Worked Reconciliation | A full US GAAP→IFRS profit and equity reconciliation that foots, line by line, with the journal entries |
| 5 · Worked Cases | Fifteen industry conversions walked end to end — manufacturer, SaaS, pharma, real estate, airline, lender, miner, and more |
| 6 · Practitioner Playbooks | First-time adoption (IFRS 1), a conversion-project checklist, and reading a foreign company as a US analyst |
| Appendices | Master differences table, ASC↔IAS/IFRS standards map, US↔IFRS glossary, and a page-referenced index |
Controllers and CFOs of US groups with foreign operations · cross-border analysts and investors · finance teams converting to or from IFRS · search-fund and PE operators buying abroad · and the CPA who has to read an IFRS annual report on Monday.
Educational use only. Not accounting, tax, audit, or legal advice; not a substitute for US GAAP as codified by the FASB or IFRS as issued by the IASB. Current as of 2026; refreshed annually.
← Back to all guides