ICAI explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Recognition and measurement get most of the attention at year end, but a set of statements can comply on numbers and still fail on notes. The ICAI publication Accounting Standards (AS): Disclosures Checklist, Revised October 2022, collects the disclosure requirements of the Accounting Standards in one place so that a finance team can tick them off. This guide explains how the publication is laid out and how to use it, and gives our own table of disclosures that are easy to overlook, each tied to the AS paragraph we read. Preparing the notes and the checklist review is part of our books of accounts and compliance work.
Accounting Standards as on 1 April 2025 (ICAI compendium), read with the Companies (Accounting Standards) Rules, 2021 as amended up to G.S.R. 169(E) of 10 March 2026. Later amendments should be checked on icai.org and mca.gov.in. The checklist is of October 2022 and predates both G.S.R. 169(E) of 10 March 2026 and ICAI's revised criteria for non-company entities for periods commencing on or after 1 April 2024.
The checklist is ICAI guidance, not a standard, revised in October 2022 for financial years beginning on or after 1 April 2022. It lists disclosure requirements only, never recognition or measurement, in Yes, No or N/A form against a reference to the paragraph of the standard. It does not include Schedule III or other regulatory disclosures. It is not a substitute for the standards, and because it predates the 2026 amendments and the 2024 criteria, you must update it for both.
What the publication is, and what it leaves out
| Feature | What the publication says |
|---|---|
| Edition | Revised October 2022; the foreword dates it 27 October 2022; applicable for financial years beginning on or after 1 April 2022 |
| Standards covered | AS 1 to 5, 7 and 9 to 29, with the disclosures in relevant announcements |
| Guidance notes folded into a standard's part | Those on corporate dividend tax and on credit for minimum alternative tax (inside AS 22), depreciation under Schedule II (AS 10), share-based payments (AS 15), real estate transactions (AS 7) and interim reporting (AS 25) |
| Guidance notes covered separately | Derivative contracts (revised 2021), oil and gas producing activities, rate regulated activities, certified emission reductions |
| Guidance notes left out | Those on combined and carve-out statements, expenditure on corporate social responsibility, schools, political parties and e-commerce entities, and several others with no relevant disclosure |
| Layout | A row for each disclosure with a reference such as 3.18, meaning paragraph 18 of AS 3, and Yes, No and N/A columns |
| Scope limit | Recognition and measurement are not covered; other regulatory disclosures, such as Schedule III, are not covered |
| Relaxations | Mentioned at the relevant places for small and medium sized companies and for micro, small and medium sized non-company entities |
How to use it at year end
- Fix which standards apply to the entity. Our guides to the list of Accounting Standards and to the Schedule III format help with the framework and the company statements; the size tests are not restated here.
- Work through the parts for each applicable standard. Mark each row Yes, No or N/A and note the page of the notes that gives it.
- Add what the checklist does not cover: Schedule III or the guidance note format for the entity, and any amendment after October 2022, including the Pillar Two paragraphs of AS 22 and the 2024 classification criteria.
- Return to the standard itself for any row marked No or unclear; the checklist says a Yes is not by itself full compliance.
- Keep the completed checklist with the working papers.
Disclosures that are easy to overlook, standard by standard
This is our own selection from the standards, with the paragraph of the standard we read. It does not reproduce the checklist.
| Standard | Disclosures that are easy to overlook | Paragraph |
|---|---|---|
| AS 1 | Policies shown together in one place as part of the statements; a change in policy not material now but expected to be material later; the fact where going concern, consistency or accrual is not followed | 25, 26, 27 |
| AS 2 | The policy including the cost formula; the total carrying amount; its classification suited to the business | 26, 27 |
| AS 3 | Components of cash and equivalents with a reconciliation to the balance sheet; the policy on the composition; significant balances not available for use, with management commentary | 42, 43, 45 |
| AS 4 | Nature, uncertainties and financial effect (or a statement that it cannot be estimated) for contingencies; dividends declared after the balance sheet date disclosed in the notes; material events after the date in the approving authority's report | 16, 14, 15 and 17 |
| AS 5 | Items of exceptional size, nature or incidence; the nature and amount of a change in estimate; the effect of a change in policy | 12, 27, 32 |
| AS 7 | Costs incurred plus recognised profits, advances and retentions for contracts in progress; the methods for revenue and for stage of completion; gross amounts due from and to customers | 39, 38, 41 |
| AS 9 | The circumstances in which revenue recognition has been postponed pending resolution of significant uncertainties | 14 |
| AS 10 | A statement where useful lives or rates differ from those in the governing statute; restrictions on title and assets pledged; contractual commitments for acquisition | 81(c), 82(a), 82(c) |
| AS 11 | Exchange differences in profit or loss; net differences in the translation reserve with a reconciliation; reasons where the reporting currency differs from the domicile's currency | 40, 41 |
| AS 14 | Names and nature of business, effective date, method, particulars of the scheme; shares issued and percentage exchanged under pooling; consideration and goodwill amortisation period under purchase | 43, 44, 45 (text also at 24 to 26) |
| AS 16 | The policy and the amount of borrowing costs capitalised | 23 |
| AS 18 | The related party and relationship where control exists, even with no transactions; any element needed to understand the transactions; balances, provisions and write-offs | 21, 23 |
| AS 20 | EPS excluding extraordinary items; reconciliation of the numerators and the denominators; the nominal value of shares | 48 |
| AS 22 | Break-up of deferred tax into components; the nature of evidence for assets on losses or unabsorbed depreciation; for Pillar Two, paragraphs 32A to 32D | 31, 32, 32A-32D |
For AS 14, the compendium sets out the disclosures twice, at paragraphs 24 to 26 and 43 to 45; for standards not shown here, read the disclosure paragraphs of the standard itself. Related party disclosure is explained in our AS 18 guide and policy disclosure in our AS 1 guide.
Who may skip rows
Small and medium sized companies and micro, small and medium sized non-company entities have relaxations from some disclosures, and the checklist marks them at the relevant places. The relaxations and the conditions for them are in ICAI's criteria and the Companies (Accounting Standards) Rules, explained in our guides to the standards and the rule posts; check them against the current criteria rather than the 2022 text.
What the checklist does not tell you
- Pillar Two and the 2024 criteria. The 2022 edition predates the Pillar Two paragraphs of AS 22 and the revised classification of non-company entities.
- Tax-specific items. The AS 22 part carries items on corporate dividend tax and on credit for minimum alternative tax from the guidance notes folded into it; whether they apply to your year is a question for our income-tax guides, not for the checklist.
- Schedule III disclosures. Not included; use the company format or the guidance note format for non-company entities.
- Recognition and measurement. Never covered.
Common mistakes
- Ticking Yes without checking the standard, when a Yes does not mean full compliance.
- Using the checklist for a company without Schedule III, or for a non-company entity without the guidance note format.
- Not adding amendments after October 2022.
- Treating N/A as a default instead of testing whether a relaxation really applies.
- Leaving the completed checklist out of the working papers.
Need help with year-end disclosures?
If your finance team wants the checklist worked against your draft statements, with the missing notes drafted, our team can do it. See our books of accounts and compliance service and send us the draft statements and the notes.
Key takeaways
- The checklist is ICAI guidance on disclosures only, revised October 2022.
- Use it with the standards, not instead of them.
- Add Schedule III or the guidance note format, and every change after October 2022.
- Mark relaxations only after testing the current criteria.
- Keep the completed checklist with the working papers.
Read next
- AS 22, Accounting for Taxes on Income
- ICAI Guidance Note on Financial Statements of Non-Corporate Entities
- Schedule III: format of financial statements under the Companies Act
Disclaimer: Based on the Accounting Standards issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India as on 1 April 2025, the Companies (Accounting Standards) Rules, 2021 as amended up to G.S.R. 169(E) of 10 March 2026, the Companies Act, 2013 and the ICAI guidance named in the article, as consulted on 4 October 2026. The worked example uses invented figures. Later amendments should be checked on icai.org and mca.gov.in. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.