BC6A In Annual Improvements 2009–2011 Cycle (issued in May 2012) the Board addressed a request to clarify whether an entity may apply IFRS 1:

(a) if the entity meets the criteria for applying IFRS 1 and has applied IFRS 1 in a previous reporting period; or

(b) if the entity meets the criteria for applying IFRS 1 and has applied IFRSs in a previous reporting period when IFRS 1 did not exist.

For example, an entity may have applied IFRS 1 in a previous reporting period to meet listing requirements in a foreign jurisdiction. The entity then delists and no longer presents financial statements in accordance with IFRSs. In a subsequent reporting period, the reporting requirements in the entity’s local jurisdiction may change from national GAAP to IFRSs. Consequently, the entity is again required to present its financial statements in accordance with IFRSs.

BC6B The Board noted that the scope of IFRS 1 focuses on whether an entity’s financial statements are its first IFRS financial statements (a term defined in Appendix A). If an entity’s financial statements meet the definition of ‘first IFRS financial statements’, the entity is required to apply IFRS 1 in accordance with paragraph 2(a). However, use of the term ‘first’ raises the question whether IFRS 1 can be applied more than once.