Ind AS Implementation Services — GAAP Transition & Financial Reporting Advisory

Ind AS Implementation Services in India

Switching from Indian GAAP (IGAAP) to Indian Accounting Standards (Ind AS) is one of the most significant financial reporting transitions a company undertakes. It changes how you recognise revenue, value financial instruments, account for leases, measure employee benefits, and present your financial statements — and it changes what your auditors, investors, and lenders see when they look at your numbers.

Many companies underestimate what Ind AS implementation actually involves. It is not a reclassification exercise. It is a fundamental shift in accounting philosophy — from a rules-based framework to one that prioritises economic substance and fair value. Getting it right requires deep technical knowledge of each standard, an understanding of how the transition interacts with your tax position, and the ability to restate comparative figures in a way that gives users of financial statements a meaningful, comparable picture.

N D Savla & Associates has supported companies across Mumbai and India through Ind AS implementation — from impact assessment and opening balance sheet restatement to financial statement preparation, audit support, and training for finance teams. If your company is approaching the Ind AS applicability threshold, is already required to comply, or wants to voluntarily adopt Ind AS ahead of a planned listing, our team is ready to take you through every step.

What Is Ind AS and Why Does It Exist?

Ind AS stands for Indian Accounting Standards — a set of accounting standards notified by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) that are converged with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The purpose of Ind AS is to bring Indian corporate financial reporting closer to the global standard used in over 140 countries, making Indian financial statements more comparable, transparent, and credible to international investors, lenders, and partners.

Before Ind AS, Indian companies reported under IGAAP — the older Indian GAAP framework under the Companies Act. While IGAAP served its purpose, it differed significantly from IFRS in areas like financial instrument measurement, revenue recognition, lease accounting, and fair value. Ind AS bridges that gap, giving Indian financial statements the credibility that global capital markets demand.

One important distinction: Ind AS is not identical to IFRS. MCA has introduced certain carve-outs — specific areas where Indian Ind AS deviates from the corresponding IFRS standard to account for Indian regulatory and economic realities. A company reporting under Ind AS is therefore not automatically IFRS-compliant, though the two frameworks are substantially aligned. Companies that also need IFRS-compliant reporting — for example, for a foreign parent company or cross-border listing — can explore our dedicated IFRS Implementation Services page.

Which Companies Are Required to Implement Ind AS in India?

The MCA has notified Ind AS applicability in phases, based on net worth and listing status:

• Phase 1 — Voluntary and Large Listed Companies — Listed companies with a net worth of ?500 crore or more were required to adopt Ind AS for financial years beginning on or after 1 April 2016 (with comparatives from 2015–16).
• Phase 2 — Listed Companies and Large Unlisted Companies — All listed companies (regardless of net worth) and unlisted companies with a net worth of ?250 crore or more were required to adopt Ind AS for financial years beginning on or after 1 April 2017.
• Phase 3 — NBFCs and Insurance Companies — RBI has issued its own roadmap for Ind AS implementation by banks, NBFCs, and insurance companies, with specific timelines and modifications applicable to the financial sector. NBFCs with a net worth of ?500 crore or more are required to follow Ind AS.
• Voluntary Adoption — Companies below the mandatory threshold can voluntarily adopt Ind AS. This is increasingly common for companies planning a future IPO, seeking foreign investment, or wanting to align with a listed parent company's reporting framework. Once a company adopts Ind AS, it cannot revert to IGAAP.

For statutory audit requirements under the Companies Act 2013, including first-year Ind AS audit support, see our Statutory Audit under Companies Act service page.

Key Differences Between Ind AS and IGAAP — What Changes for Your Business

• Revenue Recognition (Ind AS 115) — Ind AS 115 replaces the earlier revenue standards with a single five-step model focused on identifying performance obligations and recognising revenue when (or as) those obligations are satisfied. For companies with multi-element contracts, variable consideration, or long-term service agreements, this can substantially change both the timing and the amount of revenue recognised.
• Lease Accounting (Ind AS 116) — Under IGAAP, operating leases were kept off the balance sheet. Ind AS 116 requires lessees to recognise a right-of-use (ROU) asset and a corresponding lease liability for almost all leases — bringing significant assets and liabilities onto the balance sheet that were previously invisible to creditors and investors.
• Financial Instruments (Ind AS 109) — IGAAP used historical cost for most financial instruments. Ind AS 109 introduces three measurement categories — amortised cost, fair value through other comprehensive income (FVOCI), and fair value through profit or loss (FVTPL) — with specific classification criteria based on business model and cash flow characteristics.
• Employee Benefits (Ind AS 19) — Actuarial gains and losses on defined benefit obligations, which could be deferred under IGAAP, must now be recognised immediately in Other Comprehensive Income (OCI) under Ind AS 19. This changes both the P&L and equity presentation significantly for companies with large gratuity or pension obligations.
• Deferred Tax (Ind AS 12) — Ind AS 12 requires a balance sheet approach to deferred tax, using temporary differences between the carrying amount of assets and liabilities and their tax base. This is broader than the IGAAP timing difference approach and typically results in additional deferred tax assets or liabilities being recognised on transition.
• Business Combinations (Ind AS 103) — Under Ind AS 103, the purchase price allocation (PPA) exercise on acquisitions requires fair valuing all identifiable assets and liabilities at the acquisition date — including intangibles like customer relationships, trademarks, and technology that would not have been separately recognised under IGAAP.

Ind AS 101: First-Time Adoption — The Transition Standard

Ind AS 101 (First-time Adoption of Indian Accounting Standards) governs how a company makes its transition from IGAAP to Ind AS. It sets the rules for preparing the opening Ind AS balance sheet — the starting point for all Ind AS reporting — and for restating the prior year comparative figures.

The opening balance sheet under Ind AS is prepared as at the transition date, which is one year before the first Ind AS reporting period. For example, a company adopting Ind AS for financial year 2024–25 would prepare its opening Ind AS balance sheet as at 1 April 2023, with the 2023–24 year presented as the comparative period.

Ind AS 101 provides a number of mandatory exceptions and optional exemptions that companies can apply to ease the transition burden. For example, companies can elect to carry forward the IGAAP carrying value of property, plant and equipment as deemed cost under Ind AS, avoiding a full fair value exercise at the transition date. Getting Ind AS 101 right is critical — errors in the opening balance sheet flow through into every subsequent period's financials and can trigger audit qualifications or restatements later.

Our Ind AS Implementation Process — Step by Step

1. Applicability Assessment and Readiness Review — We begin by confirming your current applicability status, expected transition date, and reporting obligations under the MCA roadmap. We then conduct a readiness review of your existing accounting policies, IT systems, and finance team capabilities to identify gaps before the formal transition work begins.
2. Ind AS Impact Assessment — We perform a detailed, standard-by-standard review of how each applicable Ind AS will affect your business — covering financial statement presentation, measurement changes, new disclosure requirements, and estimated quantitative impact on equity and profit. This impact assessment is presented to your board and audit committee before transition work begins.
3. Ind AS 101 Exemption Elections — We analyse all available optional exemptions under Ind AS 101 and recommend the elections that best balance practical transition relief with long-term financial statement quality. Elections are documented with rationale for auditor review.
4. Opening Balance Sheet Preparation — We restate your IGAAP balance sheet as at the transition date to comply with Ind AS, applying all elected exemptions and mandatory exceptions. This includes fair value calculations, reclassifications, new asset/liability recognition, and the resulting equity adjustment.
5. Accounting Policy Documentation — We prepare a comprehensive set of Ind AS-compliant accounting policies tailored to your business — covering recognition, measurement, presentation, and disclosure for every material area. These policies form the backbone of your Ind AS financial statements and your auditor's assessment.
6. Comparative Period Restatement — We restate the prior year's financials under Ind AS to provide the comparative figures required in your first Ind AS financial statements. This involves applying the same recognition and measurement principles retrospectively, with appropriate disclosure of the reconciliation between IGAAP and Ind AS figures.
7. Financial Statement Preparation and Disclosure Notes — We prepare the complete Ind AS financial statements — balance sheet, statement of profit and loss (including OCI), cash flow statement, statement of changes in equity, and all required notes and disclosures. Disclosure requirements under Ind AS are significantly more extensive than IGAAP, and we ensure full compliance.
8. Audit Support and Finance Team Training — We work alongside your statutory auditors through the first Ind AS audit, responding to queries, supporting documentation requests, and explaining technical positions. We also conduct training sessions for your finance and accounts team to ensure they can sustain Ind AS compliance independently after the initial transition.

For companies whose finance teams need broader support beyond Ind AS, our Financial Consulting services cover strategic financial advisory, CFO support, and financial modelling.

Ind AS for NBFCs — Special Considerations

Ind AS implementation for NBFCs is more complex than for manufacturing or services companies, because the core business of an NBFC — lending — is heavily affected by the financial instrument standards, particularly Ind AS 109.

Under Ind AS 109, NBFCs must classify their loan portfolios into three stages under the Expected Credit Loss (ECL) model. Stage 1 covers performing loans with no significant increase in credit risk; Stage 2 covers loans with a significant increase in credit risk; Stage 3 covers credit-impaired loans. Provisioning under the ECL model is fundamentally different from the RBI's existing provisioning norms — requiring forward-looking probability of default (PD) and loss given default (LGD) models that most NBFCs have not previously built.

Our team has experience supporting NBFCs through the specific demands of Ind AS implementation — ECL model development, fair valuation of the loan book, accounting for securitisation transactions under Ind AS 109, and the presentation of regulatory net worth alongside Ind AS equity. For income tax audit obligations that run parallel to your Ind AS transition, see our Income Tax Audit services — particularly relevant where Ind AS adjustments create timing differences affecting your tax audit under Section 44AB.

Ind AS vs IFRS — Are They the Same?

The short answer is: they are substantially similar, but not identical. Ind AS has been developed by ICAI in convergence with IFRS as issued by the IASB. The structure, terminology, and principles of each Ind AS standard closely mirror the corresponding IFRS. However, MCA has introduced specific carve-outs in certain standards — most notably in the area of financial instruments (Ind AS 109 vs IFRS 9) and in certain disclosure requirements — where Indian regulatory or economic conditions warranted a departure from the global standard.

For companies that need full IFRS compliance — for example, a company with a foreign parent that reports to the SEC or a European exchange — Ind AS compliance alone is not sufficient. Our team can advise on the delta between Ind AS and IFRS and prepare the additional adjustments required for a full IFRS-compliant set of financials. See our IFRS Implementation Services page for details on full IFRS adoption advisory.

Why N D Savla & Associates for Ind AS Implementation

• Technical depth across all 41 Ind AS standards. Our team has hands-on implementation experience across the full suite of Ind AS standards — not just the headline ones. We have worked through complex Ind AS 109 ECL models for NBFCs, Ind AS 116 lease recognition for retail chains, Ind AS 103 purchase price allocations for acquisitions, and Ind AS 115 revenue recognition for software and construction companies.
• Audit-side experience. Many of our Ind AS implementation team members also work on statutory audits. This means the financial statements and disclosure notes we prepare are built to the standard your statutory auditors will expect — reducing queries and speeding up the audit.
• Tax impact analysis included. Ind AS transition creates deferred tax consequences that must be carefully managed. We integrate tax impact analysis into our implementation work, so your finance team and tax advisors are not caught off guard by unexpected deferred tax positions when the first Ind AS financial statements are filed.
• Training and knowledge transfer. We do not just prepare the first set of Ind AS financials and leave. We train your finance team on the ongoing Ind AS requirements, quarterly closing procedures, and key judgement areas so that the knowledge stays inside your organisation.
• Partner-led engagement. Every Ind AS implementation at N D Savla & Associates is led by a qualified Chartered Accountant partner. You get senior involvement at every stage — from the first impact assessment meeting to the audit completion discussion.

To understand how Ind AS implementation connects to your broader audit and assurance obligations, visit our Risk Control Matrix advisory page — particularly relevant for listed companies managing IFC alongside Ind AS.

Frequently Asked Questions — Ind AS Implementation in India