The Italian standard-setter Organismo Italiano di Contabilità (OIC) is helping the IASB to understand investor views on accounting changes by conducting a short survey.
The requirements in IFRSs, in particular in IAS 8 Accounting Policies, Changes in Accounting Estimates and Errors, make a distinction between how an entity should present and disclose different types of accounting changes in its financial statements. Changes in accounting policies must be applied retrospectively while changes in accounting estimates are accounted for prospectively. Companies sometimes struggle to apply changes in accounting policies retrospectively and also find it sometimes difficult to distinguish between accounting policies and accounting estimates.