IFRS Compliant · Full Standards Coverage · ZATCA Aligned

IFRS Accounting Services Saudi Arabia

IFRS-compliant financial statements and accounting advisory for Saudi businesses — first-time adoption, complex standards, and ongoing IFRS technical support.

IFRS accounting Saudi Arabia financial statements
IFRS Financial Reporting

Saudi Arabia mandated the adoption of IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) for most commercial entities — listed companies from 2017, and most other entities in subsequent years. IFRS is significantly more complex than the previous Saudi GAAP, introducing new standards on revenue recognition, lease accounting, financial instruments, and impairment that require specialist expertise to apply correctly.

Intelli Solutions provides full-scope IFRS accounting services for Saudi businesses — from preparing annual IFRS-compliant financial statements and navigating complex accounting judgements to first-time IFRS adoption projects and training your finance team on the standards that affect your business most. Our IFRS team holds ACCA, ACA, and CPA qualifications with specific IFRS technical training updated annually.

Key IFRS Standards in Saudi Arabia

IFRS 15 — Revenue Recognition

Critical for real estate developers, contractors, and subscription businesses. Five-step model determines when and how much revenue to recognise — particularly challenging for long-term contracts and multiple-element arrangements.

IFRS 16 — Leases

Right-of-use assets and lease liabilities on the balance sheet for all leases over 12 months. Significant impact on retail, hospitality, and office-intensive businesses — with EBITDA and leverage ratio effects.

IFRS 9 — Financial Instruments

Expected Credit Loss (ECL) model for receivables and financial assets. Particularly impactful for businesses with large debtor books, intercompany lending, or investments in financial instruments.

IAS 36 — Impairment

Annual impairment testing for goodwill and intangible assets with indefinite useful lives. Also triggered for other assets when impairment indicators exist — requires detailed value-in-use or fair value modelling.

IAS 21 — Foreign Exchange

Translation of foreign currency transactions and balances, functional currency determination, and translation of foreign operations — relevant for Saudi businesses with USD-denominated contracts or overseas subsidiaries.

IAS 19 — Employee Benefits

EOSB provision calculation under IAS 19 requires actuarial assumptions (discount rate, salary growth, employee turnover) — particularly important for companies with large Saudi national workforces.

First-Time IFRS Adoption in Saudi Arabia

1

Opening Balance Sheet

Prepare the IFRS opening balance sheet at the transition date — identifying all assets and liabilities that must be recognised or derecognised under IFRS compared to previous Saudi GAAP.

2

Accounting Policy Selection

Determine and document IFRS accounting policies — including available first-time adoption exemptions that can simplify the transition (IFRS 1 optional exemptions).

3

Restatement of Comparatives

Restate the prior year financial statements on an IFRS basis to provide comparative information required for the first IFRS annual report.

4

Disclosure Preparation

Prepare all IFRS disclosure notes — accounting policies, estimates and judgements, and specific standard disclosures — ensuring completeness against the disclosure checklist.

5

Audit Coordination

Work with your SOCPA external auditor to support the first-year IFRS audit — providing accounting analyses, technical memos, and management representations as required.

By the numbers

IFRS Accounting Services Saudi Arabia — Key Facts

2017
IFRS mandatory for Saudi listed co.
IFRS 15/16/9
Most impactful standards
IAS 19
EOSB actuarial provision
SOCPA aligned
All opinions
FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Most Saudi commercial entities — LLCs, JSCs, and foreign branches — apply full IFRS. However, SMEs (as defined by SOCPA) have the option to apply IFRS for SMEs, which is a simplified version of full IFRS with reduced disclosure requirements. SAMA-regulated entities (banks and insurance) apply full IFRS with specific SAMA requirements overlaid. We advise on the appropriate framework for each client's circumstances.
IFRS 16 requires lessees to recognise a right-of-use (ROU) asset and a lease liability for most leases with terms over 12 months — including commercial property leases, equipment finance leases, and vehicle leases. The impact is a larger balance sheet, higher depreciation and interest expense (instead of the previous operating lease expense), and improved EBITDA. Saudi businesses with multiple locations or large equipment fleets are particularly affected.
ZATCA calculates Zakat based on its own Zakat base methodology — which does not simply follow IFRS net profit or net assets. There are numerous differences between IFRS accounting and the Zakat base calculation, including the treatment of fixed assets, provisions, investments, and financing instruments. Our Zakat team works alongside the IFRS accounting team to ensure the Zakat return is correctly reconciled from the IFRS financial statements.
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SOCPA ApprovedZATCA CompliantFree ConsultationEst. 2010