Is IFRS 18 on Your Exam? ACCA Already Tests It, the CPA Does Not, and SOCPA Has Not Said When
IFRS 18 has been examinable in ACCA's FR and SBR papers since September 2025 and in DipIFR since December 2025. The CPA tests no IFRS in its 2026 or 2027 Blueprints, IMA's CMA names six IFRS differences and presentation is not one of them, and SOCPA examines IFRS as endorsed in the Kingdom without saying which cycle first examines IFRS 18. One dated table, each body's own timing rule, and how to answer when the date in the question decides.
An ACCA candidate who sat Financial Reporting in September 2025 could already be asked for an IFRS 18 operating profit, sixteen months before any company had to apply the standard. A SOCPA candidate sitting Financial Accounting in March 2027, eleven weeks after IFRS 18 takes effect, has no SOCPA rule saying whether the paper tests it.
The rest split three ways: the US CPA tests no IFRS at all, IMA's CMA (the US Certified Management Accountant) names six IFRS differences and presentation is not one, and the IIA's Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) examines no accounting standard. Below is each body's answer as at 3 November 2026. IFRS 18 replaces IAS 1; it is unrelated to IAS 18, the old revenue standard.
The answer in one dated table
| Exam | IFRS 18 tested? | From | Rule that decides | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SOCPA Fellowship, Financial Accounting | Not announced | No date published | Scope is IFRS as endorsed in the Kingdom; no timing rule | Guidance framework, p. 5 |
| US CPA, FAR and BAR | No IFRS at all | n/a | US GAAP unless stated | 2026 and 2027 Blueprints |
| US CPA, US counterpart | ASU 2024-03 (DISE) | Q1 2027, our reading | AICPA "later of" policy | AICPA; FASB |
| IMA's CMA | Not in the outline | n/a | LOS A.2.ff: six IFRS differences, not presentation | CMA LOS, 2024 |
| IIA's CIA | No | n/a | No accounting standard among the references | IIA exam references |
| ACCA FR | Yes, without MPMs | September 2025 | Issued by 31 August, examinable the next exam year | ACCA lists |
| ACCA SBR | Yes, with MPMs | September 2025 | Same rule | ACCA lists |
| ACCA DipIFR | Yes | December 2025 | Same rule | DipIFR lists |
| CFA Level I | Not named | n/a | Names no standards; keeps IFRS against US GAAP cash flows | CFA Institute outline |
MPMs are management-defined performance measures, which IFRS 18 brings into the audited notes.
SOCPA: IFRS as endorsed in the Kingdom, and no published rule on timing
Page 5 of SOCPA's February 2026 guidance framework holds the only scope statement for Financial Accounting: the subject assesses IFRS as endorsed in Saudi Arabia, plus SOCPA's complementary standards and pronouncements. SOCPA endorsed IFRS 18 on 26 December 2024 (item 42 of its endorsement document) for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027. On the literal words, IFRS 18 has been in scope since December 2024. Yet none of SOCPA's published exam documents says when a newly endorsed standard enters the exam, and SOCPA has not announced which cycle first examines IFRS 18. The framework still speaks IAS 1: candidates prepare "the income statement (statement of comprehensive income)". Our SOCPA Financial Accounting study guide shows "IAS 1, then IFRS 18 from 2027": that is the standard's effective date, not an exam date. SOCPA has not announced the switch.
SOCPA's 2025 report on low-performance topics lists sixteen Financial Accounting topics; the first two, absent from the 2024 list, are presentation of financial statements and cash and the statement of cash flows, the two areas IFRS 18 rewrites.
How SOCPA asks it. Financial Accounting, main topic 1, conceptual framework of financial reporting and accounting cycle (5 to 15%): subtopics 1/1/10 presentation and 1/2/5 preparing financial statements, with the framework's classifying and aggregating task at Application and correcting statements at Analysis. Main topic 2, measurement, presentation and disclosure of the main statement elements (45 to 65%): subtopic 2/1 cash and the statement of cash flows, from Remembering and Understanding to Analysis. The second essay in SOCPA's September 2025 mock paper asks for a statement of cash flows for 2025 by the indirect method, and the model answer starts from net profit. Dated 2027, it would start at operating profit, with zakat in SOCPA's "Zakat and income taxes category" (see IFRS 18 as endorsed in Saudi Arabia). For the March 2027 cycle, learn both and answer to the date.
CPA: no IFRS in the 2026 or 2027 Blueprints, and the US changes that are tested
The Blueprints effective January 2026, and the 2027 edition approved on 16 September 2026, contain neither "IFRS" nor "IASB". FAR and BAR assume "a for-profit business entity reporting under U.S. GAAP unless otherwise stated in the fact pattern" and limit subject matter to a References list with no IASB source. IFRS has not been tested on the CPA exam since July 2021 covers the traps.
The CPA tests the US counterparts instead. ASU 2024-03, Disaggregation of Income Statement Expenses (DISE), issued in November 2024, makes public business entities split each relevant expense caption into five cost types in a note, for annual periods beginning after 15 December 2026 and, per ASU 2025-01, interim periods within annual periods beginning after 15 December 2027. By our reading of the AICPA policy quoted below, it is testable from the quarter starting 1 January 2027; the AICPA has published testing notices for QC 1000 and H.R. 1, none for this ASU. The other counterpart is Item 10(e) of Regulation S-K, the SEC's non-GAAP rule, inside a named Reference.
How the CPA asks it. DISE, by our reading, sits in FAR Area I, Financial Reporting (30 to 40%), Group A, Topics 2 (income statement) and 7 (notes), highest skill Analysis. Non-GAAP measures are BAR Area I, Business Analysis (40 to 50%), Group A, Topic 2, highest skill Analysis. A likely simulation: which captions are relevant expense captions. Study no IFRS 18 for the CPA; see the CPA FAR study guide and the FASB's expense disaggregation standard (DISE).
IMA's CMA, the IIA's CIA and CFA: outside the outlines, inside the ratios
In the CMA outlines effective 1 September 2024, IFRS appears once: Part 1, Section A, External Financial Reporting Decisions (15%), LOS A.2.ff, a closed list of six US GAAP and IFRS differences (share-based payments and employee benefits, intangibles, inventories, lessee leases, long-lived assets, impairment). Presentation is not on it. IFRS 18 brushes Part 2, Section A, Financial Statement Analysis (20%), where LOS A.2.p asks for operating profit margin and EBITDA margin: from 2027 an IFRS reporter's operating profit is defined and, for most companies, leaves out investment income. See the CMA Part 1 and CMA Part 2 study guides.
The IIA's 2025 CIA syllabus (which the Arabic exam adopts on 28 December 2026) names accounting twice, both in Part 2, Section A, Engagement Planning (50%): P2 A.3.e, recognising finance and accounting concepts relevant to the activity under review, and P2 A.6.e, identifying testing methodologies for an engagement that includes accounting. None of its exam references is an accounting standard. CFA Institute's 2027 Level I outline names neither IFRS 18 nor MPMs but keeps its IFRS against US GAAP cash flow outcome and one on non-GAAP presentation choices, and whether its readings changed is unconfirmed.
ACCA FR, SBR and DipIFR: already examinable
ACCA's examinable documents for FR, SBR International and SBR Ireland list IFRS 18, and no longer IAS 1, from September 2025 through June 2027. DipIFR's lists include it from December 2025 through June 2027, so a tutor page dating DipIFR's switch to December 2026 is a year late. FR candidates, per the examining team, present operating profit and profit before financing and income taxes "even if they are the same amount", start the indirect method at operating profit, and use profit before financing and income taxes for ROCE and interest cover; MPMs "will not be examined in FR". SBR candidates may also have to identify an MPM. Prepito has no ACCA course; CPA, ACCA or CMA compares the routes.
Each body's timing rule, quoted
| Body | Its rule | For IFRS 18 |
|---|---|---|
| ACCA | Regulations "issued by 31 August" are required "in the following exam year", and "may be examinable even if the effective date is in the future" | September 2025 |
| AICPA | "the later of: (1) the first calendar quarter beginning after the pronouncement's earliest mandatory effective date, regardless of entity type or (2) the first calendar quarter beginning six (6) months after the pronouncement's issuance date" | DISE from Q1 2027, our reading |
| IMA | Candidates are "responsible for being informed on the most recent developments" | No lag stated |
| IIA | Topical Requirements tested "at least six months after" taking effect | Not about accounting standards |
| SOCPA | None published | Not announced |
ACCA can examine a standard before companies must apply it, the AICPA only after, and SOCPA and IMA set no date.
How to answer when the date in the question decides
Where a body has no rule, the fact pattern decides: a stem for a year beginning on or after 1 January 2027 is answered under IFRS 18, a 2026 stem under IAS 1 unless it says the company adopted early. Amended IAS 7 (paragraphs 18(b), 33A and 34A) shows the gap most, for a company with no specified main business activity:
| Item | Year ended 31 December 2026, IAS 1 | Year ended 31 December 2027, IFRS 18 |
|---|---|---|
| Indirect method starts at | Profit or loss (the IAS 7 example uses profit before taxation) | Operating profit |
| Interest paid | Operating or financing, by policy | Financing |
| Dividends paid | Operating or financing, by policy | Financing |
| Interest and dividends received | Operating or investing, by policy | Investing |
Entities whose main business is lending or investing follow paragraph 34B instead, and where a Saudi stem leaves zakat's presentation open, state the label you used. The cash flow statement under IFRS 18 works a full example, and IFRS 18 vs IAS 1 restates one income statement line by line.
ACCA candidates answer under IFRS 18 now; CPA candidates answer in US GAAP, adding DISE from 2027 on our reading; CMA and CIA candidates need the ratios, not the standard; SOCPA candidates learn both and follow the date.
Where to practise this
Prepito's Financial Accounting course for the SOCPA Fellowship covers presentation and cash flows with practice questions and full explanations; the FAR course and BAR course cover the US GAAP side, including non-GAAP measures. The CMA Part 1 and CMA Part 2 courses open soon (see the CMA programme).
Sources: SOCPA's guidance framework, endorsement document, 2025 and 2024 weak-topic reports, schedule and mock paper; AICPA policy, 2026 and 2027 Blueprints; FASB ASU 2024-03, ASU 2025-01; IMA outlines, LOS; IIA exam references; ACCA FR and SBR lists for 2025 to 2026 and 2026 to 2027, DipIFR lists for 2025 to 2026 and 2026 to 2027, FR and SBR articles; CFA 2027 Level I outline; IFRS 18. As at 3 November 2026: the lists change yearly and SOCPA may announce at any time.
Try 5 questions on this material
Question 1 of 5
An entity has two classes of inventory at year end that it values item by item. The first class has a cost of 180,000 riyals and a net realisable value of 195,000 riyals, and the second class has a cost of 240,000 riyals and a net realisable value of 220,000 riyals. The inventory amount that appears in the statement of financial position is:
