The Universal COA is suitable for use IFRS | US GAAP and other comparable accounting standards ⚠.
IFRS approaches accounting from a reporting-focused perspective, with emphasis on recognition, measurement, and financial statement presentation and disclosure. As such, it does not prescribe bookkeeping procedures or a standard chart of accounts. Entities operating in jurisdictions such as the UK, Canada, Australia, Japan, Korea, China, India, etc. may generally define any COA provided it yields a financial report consistent with IFRS guidance.
Nevertheless, as designing a workable COA is a time consuming and laborious process, many entities prefer to use an off-the-self version particularly if it can be, with minimal effort, adjusted to reflect the entity’s financial structure.
US GAAP approaches accounting from a reporting-focused perspective, with emphasis on recognition, measurement, and financial statement presentation and disclosure. As such, it does not prescribe bookkeeping procedures or a standard chart of accounts. Entities operating in the United States may define any COA provided it yields a financial report consistent with US GAAP guidance.
Nevertheless, as designing a workable COA is a time consuming and laborious process, many entities prefer to use an off the self-version particularly if it can be, with minimal effort be adjusted to reflects the entity’s financial structure.
IFRS | US GAAP approaches accounting from a reporting-focused perspective, with emphasis on recognition, measurement, and financial statement presentation and disclosure. As such, it does not prescribe bookkeeping procedures or a standard chart of accounts. Accounting standards in many jurisdictions, e.g., the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Japan, Korea, China, and India, use a comparable approach, leaving structural issues such as chart-of-accounts design to the entity.
By contrast, a number of European Union member states (particularly France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Czech Republic) implement the EU Accounting Directive through a national GAAP that defines a rigid accounting structure, including a COA that all domiciled legal entities are obligated to follow. Internationally, rigid accounting structures are somewhat less common, and are found in jurisdictions such as Russia, OHADA member states or (for public sector entities) Nigeria.
For example, Czech national standards (link: businesscenter) state this about recognizing revenue (CAS 19. 4.2): "the sale of products and merchandise is, on the basis of relevant documents (such as invoices), credited to the relevant account in account group 60 - Revenue with the corresponding debit made to the relevant account in account group 31 - Receivables (short and long-term) or account group 21 - Cash."
Similarly, French (link: anc.gouv.fr) accounting standard Art. 947-70 (view pdf) states: "… Les montants des ventes, des prestations de services, des produits afférents aux activités annexes sont enregistrés au crédit des comptes 701 "Ventes de produits finis", 702 "Ventes de produits intermédiaires", 703 "Ventes de produits résiduels", 704 "Travaux", 705 "Études", 706 "Prestations de services", 707 "Ventes de marchandises" et 708 "Produits des activités annexes"."
Many jurisdictions either allow or require public interest entities (usually entities traded on capital markets) to apply IFRS alongside national GAAP.
In these jurisdictions, the universal and/or IFRS charts of accounts presented on this page may be used for IFRS purposes. However, mapping these COAs to, and particularly using them in place of, prescribed national COAs may conflict with national legislation.
For example, in the Czech Republic, the Accounting Act 563/1991 paragraph §19a (1) states:
"An [unconsolidated] entity that is a trading company and is an issuer of investment securities admitted to trading on a European regulated market shall apply international accounting standards regulated by European Union law (hereinafter referred to as "international accounting standards") for accounting and the preparation of financial statements" [paragraph § 23a requires IFRS at the consolidated entity level].
This implies, if the COA presented here is used for IFRS bookkeeping purposes and IFRS recognition guidance is applied correctly, it may (implicitly) used in place of the chart of accounts mandated by the same law but only by a trading company (consolidated entity) that is an issuer of investment securities admitted to trading on a European regulated market.
Nevertheless, the Income Tax Act 586/1992 §23 (2) states:
"The tax base is determined a) from the net income (profit or loss), always without the influence of International Accounting Standards, for taxpayers required to maintain accounts. A taxpayer that prepares financial statements in accordance with International Accounting Standards regulated by European Community shall apply for the purposes of this Act to determine net income and to determine other data decisive for determining the tax base a special legal regulation [CZ GAAP]). When determining the tax base, entries in off-balance sheet account books are not taken into account, unless otherwise provided in this Act. ..."
Thus, since Czech accounting law assumes the mandated chart of accounts will be used for accounting purposes, if a different chart of accounts is used, it will need to yield the same result as if the mandated chart or accounts were used. While this is not impossible with careful mapping and associated adjustments, it is generally more practical to use the mandated national GAAP COA for Czech accounting and taxation purposes, and a separate IFRS compatible COA for IFRS recognition, measurement, reporting, and disclosure purposes.
While generally comparable, IFRS and US GAAP do not provide identical guidance.
Thus, while this universal COA may be used for dual reporting purposes, adjustments will be necessary. Adjustments will also need to be made if, for example, a US GAAP parent consolidates its IFRS subsidiary or vice versa.
The Illustrations section outlines most common differences between IFRS and US GAAP.
We strongly recommend reviewing the Illustrations section thoroughly before attempting to use the universal COA for dual reporting and/or consolidation purposes.
In its basic form, it is suitable for a small business and is available free of charge.
As a general rule, only publicly traded entities have a formal obligation to apply IFRS or US GAAP guidance. As such, their accounting system must be robust enough to fulfill the extensive recognition and measurement guidance outlined in these standards.
Non-public entities in jurisdictions that do not mandate accounting practices have more flexibility and may elect to use any structure they choose. Nevertheless, a sound account structure will help any business, regardless of size, optimize its operational efficiency and fuel data-driven decision-making. Equally important, it allows the entity to fulfill the tax reporting obligation shared by all entities, regardless of size or ownership structure.
Since the IFRS SME standard | ASC non-public entity guidance is the backbone of accounting for all entities, COAs that reflect this guidance are useful to all but the smallest businesses.
Businesses whose accounting consists of tracking cash flow so they can report income to a tax authority have no need for a COA or any formal accounting system. Their accounting needs can be met by simply downloading a bank statement and adding up all their cash receipts and disbursements.
As anyone who has ever started a business knows, starting a business is the easy part. Keeping it running smoothly and profitably is where the real challenge lies. To help those just starting out, this site publishes workable, basic COAs, that can be expanded as needed, free of charge. After all, every business that survives the startup phase makes the business community richer and more diverse so is in everyone's best interest.
In its advanced form, it is scalable and may be used by businesses of any size.
Its advanced version is suitable for a single large entity as well as a group of entities. Its expanded version is designed for entities facing complex tasks such as accounting for various financial instruments or consolidating subsidiaries operating in foreign jurisdictions, particularly where they are also subject to non‑IFRS or non‑US GAAP accounting and/or reporting requirements. For publicly traded entities, its XBRL cross‑referenced version is designed to assist in drafting the machine‑readable financial reports required by some regulators.
A guide on how to set up the COA to serve various roles is presented on the implementation guidance page below.
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Universal COA (basic version)
The 2025 version has been revised and updated to improve operability.
The XBRL cross-reference sheet has been updated to reflect the 2025 FASB-issued taxonomy. Once the IASB publishes its 2025 taxonomy, it will be updated to reflect any changes.
For reference, the 2024 pro versions will remain available for download during a transition period.
|
Account Title |
Account # |
Depth |
Balance |
|
Assets |
1 |
0 |
Dr |
|
Cash and Financial Assets |
1.1 |
1 |
Dr |
|
Cash and Cash Equivalents |
1.1.1 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Restricted Cash and Financial Assets |
1.1.2 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Financial Assets and Investments |
1.1.3 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Receivables and Contracts |
1.2 |
1 |
Dr |
|
Accounts, Notes and Loans Receivable |
1.2.1 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Contracts with Customers |
1.2.2 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Nontrade and Other Receivables |
1.2.3 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Inventory |
1.3 |
1 |
Dr |
|
Merchandise |
1.3.1 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Raw Material, Parts and Supplies |
1.3.2 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Work in Process |
1.3.3 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Finished Goods |
1.3.4 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Other Inventory |
1.3.5 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Accruals and Additional Assets |
1.4 |
1 |
Dr |
|
Prepaid Expense |
1.4.1 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Accrued Income |
1.4.2 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Additional Assets |
1.4.3 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Property, Plant and Equipment |
1.5 |
1 |
Dr |
|
Land and Land Improvements |
1.5.1 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Buildings, Structures and Improvements |
1.5.2 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Machinery and Equipment |
1.5.3 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Furniture and Fixtures |
1.5.4 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Right of Use Assets (Classified as PP&E) |
1.5.5 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Additional Property, Plant and Equipment |
1.5.6 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Construction in Progress |
1.5.7 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Agricultural (Biological) Assets |
1.5.8 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Intangible Assets (Excluding Goodwill) |
1.6 |
1 |
Dr |
|
Intellectual Property |
1.6.1 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Computer Software |
1.6.2 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Trade and Distribution Assets |
1.6.3 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Contracts and Rights |
1.6.4 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Right to Use Assets (Classified as Intangible) |
1.6.5 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Crypto Assets |
1.6.6 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Other Intangible Assets |
1.6.7 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Acquisition in Progress |
1.6.8 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Goodwill |
1.7 |
1 |
Dr |
|
Liabilities |
2 |
0 |
(Cr) |
|
Payables |
2.1 |
1 |
(Cr) |
|
Trade Payables |
2.1.1 |
2 |
(Cr) |
|
Dividends Payable |
2.1.2 |
2 |
(Cr) |
|
Interest Payable |
2.1.3 |
2 |
(Cr) |
|
Other Payables |
2.1.4 |
2 |
(Cr) |
|
Accruals, Deferrals and Other Liabilities |
2.2 |
1 |
(Cr) |
|
Accrued Expenses |
2.2.1 |
2 |
(Cr) |
|
Accrued Taxes (Other than Payroll) |
2.2.2 |
2 |
(Cr) |
|
Deferred Income and Refund Liabilities |
2.2.3 |
2 |
(Cr) |
|
Percentage of Completion (Liability Accounts) |
2.2.4 |
2 |
(Cr) |
|
Other Liabilities |
2.2.5 |
2 |
(Cr) |
|
Financial Labilities |
2.3 |
1 |
(Cr) |
|
Notes Payable |
2.3.1 |
2 |
(Cr) |
|
Loans Payable |
2.3.2 |
2 |
(Cr) |
|
Bonds (Debentures) |
2.3.3 |
2 |
(Cr) |
|
Other Debts and Borrowings |
2.3.4 |
2 |
(Cr) |
|
Lease Obligations |
2.3.5 |
2 |
(Cr) |
|
Derivative Financial Liabilities |
2.3.6 |
2 |
(Cr) |
|
Provisions (Contingencies) |
2.4 |
1 |
(Cr) |
|
Customer Related Provisions |
2.4.1 |
2 |
(Cr) |
|
Litigation and Regulatory |
2.4.2 |
2 |
(Cr) |
|
Additional Provisions |
2.4.3 |
2 |
(Cr) |
|
Equity |
3 |
0 |
(Cr) |
|
Owners Equity (Attributable to Owners of Parent) |
3.1 |
1 |
(Cr) |
|
Equity at Par |
3.1.1 |
2 |
(Cr) |
|
Additional Paid-in Capital |
3.1.2 |
2 |
(Cr) |
|
Retained Earnings |
3.2 |
1 |
(Cr) |
|
Appropriated |
3.2.1 |
2 |
(Cr) |
|
Unappropriated |
3.2.2 |
2 |
(Cr) |
|
Deficit |
3.2.3 |
2 |
Dr |
|
In Suspense |
3.2.4 |
2 |
Zero |
|
Accumulated OCI |
3.3 |
1 |
Dr or (Cr) |
|
Exchange Differences on Translation |
3.3.1 |
2 |
Dr or (Cr) |
|
Remeasurements Cash Flow Hedges |
3.3.2 |
2 |
Dr or (Cr) |
|
Remeasurements Available-For-Sale Financial Assets |
3.3.3 |
2 |
Dr or (Cr) |
|
Remeasurement of Defined Benefit Plans |
3.3.4 |
2 |
Dr or (Cr) |
|
Revaluation Surplus (IFRS) |
3.3.5 |
2 |
(Cr) |
|
Additional AOCI Items |
3.3.6 |
2 |
Dr or (Cr) |
|
Other Equity Items |
3.4 |
1 |
Dr or (Cr) |
|
ESOP Related Items |
3.4.1 |
2 |
Dr or (Cr) |
|
Subscribed Stock Receivables |
3.4.2 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Treasury Stock |
3.4.3 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Miscellaneous Equity |
3.4.4 |
2 |
(Cr) |
|
Non-controlling (Minority) Interest |
3.5 |
1 |
(Cr) |
|
Revenue |
4 |
0 |
(Cr) |
|
Recognized Point of Time |
4.1 |
1 |
(Cr) |
|
Goods |
4.1.1 |
2 |
(Cr) |
|
Services |
4.1.2 |
2 |
(Cr) |
|
Recognized Over Time |
4.2 |
1 |
(Cr) |
|
Products |
4.2.1 |
2 |
(Cr) |
|
Services |
4.2.2 |
2 |
(Cr) |
|
Adjustments |
4.3 |
1 |
Dr |
|
Variable Consideration |
4.3.1 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Consideration Paid (Payable) to Customers |
4.3.2 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Other Adjustments |
4.3.3 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Expenses |
5 |
0 |
Dr |
|
Expenses Classified by Nature |
5.1 |
1 |
Dr |
|
Material and Merchandise |
5.1.1 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Employee Benefits |
5.1.2 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Services |
5.1.3 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Rent, Depreciation, Amortization and Depletion |
5.1.4 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Increase (Decrease) in Inventories of Finished Goods and Work in Progress (IFRS) |
5.1.5 |
2 |
Dr or (Cr) |
|
Other Work Performed by Entity and Capitalized (IFRS) |
5.1.6 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Expenses Classified by Function |
5.2 |
1 |
Dr |
|
Cost of Sales |
5.2.1 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Selling, General and Administrative |
5.2.2 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Uncollectible Accounts Expense (Reversal) |
5.2.3 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Other (Non-Operating) Income and Expenses |
6 |
0 |
Dr or (Cr) |
|
Other Revenue and Expenses |
6.1 |
1 |
Dr or (Cr) |
|
Other Revenue |
6.1.1 |
2 |
Dr or (Cr) |
|
Other Expenses |
6.1.2 |
2 |
(Cr) |
|
Gains and Losses |
6.2 |
1 |
Dr |
|
Foreign Currency Transaction Gain (Loss) |
6.2.1 |
2 |
Dr or (Cr) |
|
Gain (Loss) on Investments |
6.2.2 |
2 |
Dr or (Cr) |
|
Gain (Loss) on Derivatives |
6.2.3 |
2 |
Dr or (Cr) |
|
Crypto Asset Gain (Loss) |
6.2.4 |
2 |
Dr or (Cr) |
|
Gain (Loss) on Disposal of Assets |
6.2.5 |
2 |
Dr or (Cr) |
|
Debt Related Gain (Loss) |
6.2.6 |
2 |
Dr or (Cr) |
|
Impairment Loss (Reversal, IFRS) |
6.2.7 |
2 |
Dr or (Cr) |
|
Other Gains and (Losses) |
6.2.8 |
2 |
Dr or (Cr) |
|
Taxes and Fees (Other than Income and Payroll) |
6.3 |
1 |
Dr |
|
Real Estate Taxes and Insurance |
6.3.1 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Highway (Road) Taxes and Tolls |
6.3.2 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Direct Tax and License Fees |
6.3.3 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Excise and Sales Taxes |
6.3.4 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Customs Fees and Duties (Not Classified as Sales or Excise) |
6.3.5 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Non-Deductible VAT (GST) |
6.3.6 |
2 |
Dr |
|
General Insurance Expense |
6.3.7 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Administrative Fees |
6.3.8 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Fines and Penalties |
6.3.9 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Miscellaneous Taxes |
6.3.10 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Other Taxes and Fees |
6.3.11 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Income Tax Expense (Benefit) |
6.4 |
1 |
Dr or (Cr) |
|
Intercompany and Related Party Accounts |
7 |
0 |
Dr or (Cr) |
|
Intercompany and Related Party Assets |
7.1 |
1 |
Dr |
|
Intercompany Balances (Eliminated in Consolidation) |
7.1.1 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Related Party Balances (Reported or Disclosed) |
7.1.2 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Intercompany Investments |
7.1.3 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Intercompany and Related Party Liabilities |
7.2 |
1 |
(Cr) |
|
Intercompany Balances (Eliminated in Consolidation) |
7.2.1 |
2 |
(Cr) |
|
Related Party Balances (Reported or Disclosed) |
7.2.2 |
2 |
(Cr) |
|
Intercompany and Related Party Income and Expense |
7.3 |
1 |
Dr or (Cr) |
|
Intercompany and Related Party Income |
7.3.1 |
2 |
(Cr) |
|
Intercompany and Related Party Expenses |
7.3.2 |
2 |
Dr |
|
Income (Loss) from Equity Method Investments |
7.3.3 |
2 |
Dr or (Cr) |
The COA published on this page may be republished provided the following citation is provided: