The layer the auditor trusts

The standards register

Source of record

Token capitalisation rests on a small set of accounting standards, split across IFRS and US GAAP. This register characterises each one accurately and resolves every inline anchor on the site to its primary source. It is the layer the auditor trusts: no position on the site is stated without a paragraph here behind it.

IFRS versus US GAAP

Two of the standards, IAS 38 and IAS 36, are IFRS and govern the recognition, amortisation and impairment of the intangible for IFRS reporters. The remaining four are US GAAP and govern internal-use and marketed software, including the recent ASU 2025-06 amendment. The disciplines converge on the same economic asset but differ in mechanics, most sharply on when capitalisation begins.

The standards

IAS 38

Intangible Assets: recognition of internally generated intangibles and amortisation.

IAS 36

Impairment of Assets: indicators, recoverable amount and value in use.

ASC 350-40

Internal-Use Software under US GAAP: which development costs are capitalised.

ASC 985-20

Software to Be Sold, Leased or Marketed: the technological-feasibility threshold.

ASU 2025-06

Targeted improvements introducing the probable-to-complete threshold.

ASU 2018-15

Implementation costs in a cloud computing arrangement.

Paragraph-level anchors

Every characterisation on the site links to one of the register entries below, each mapped to its primary source. The scope text is a plain-language summary of the paragraph, not a substitute for reading it.

Anchor	Jurisdiction	Scope
IAS 38	IFRS	Recognition, measurement, amortisation and disclosure of intangible assets, including internally generated intangibles.
IAS 38 §54-62	IFRS	Internally generated intangibles: the research phase (expensed) versus the development phase (capitalised when six conditions are all met).
IAS 38 §97	IFRS	Amortise a finite-life intangible on a systematic basis over its useful life; amortisation begins when the asset is available for use.
IAS 38 §98	IFRS	The amortisation method reflects the pattern in which the asset's future economic benefits are expected to be consumed; straight-line is used if that pattern cannot be determined reliably.
IAS 38 §100	IFRS	The residual value of an intangible asset is assumed to be zero unless there is a commitment by a third party to purchase it or an active market exists.
IAS 38 §104	IFRS	The amortisation period and method are reviewed at least at each financial year-end; changes are accounted for as changes in accounting estimate.
IAS 38 §118	IFRS	Disclose, per class of intangible, a reconciliation of the carrying amount at the beginning and end of the period (additions, amortisation, impairment losses, and other movements).
IAS 36	IFRS	Ensures assets are carried at no more than their recoverable amount; sets impairment indicators, recoverable-amount measurement and reversal rules.
IAS 36 §12	IFRS	The minimum set of external and internal indicators an entity considers when assessing whether an asset may be impaired.
IAS 36 §18	IFRS	Recoverable amount is the higher of fair value less costs of disposal and value in use.
IAS 36 §30	IFRS	Elements reflected in the calculation of an asset's value in use, including estimated future cash flows and a suitable discount rate.
ASC 350-40	US GAAP	Internal-use software: which development costs are capitalised versus expensed, historically across the preliminary, application-development and post-implementation stages.
ASC 985-20	US GAAP	Software to be sold, leased or otherwise marketed: costs are expensed until technological feasibility is established, then capitalised.
ASU 2025-06	US GAAP	Removes the project-stage bright lines in ASC 350-40 and introduces a probable-to-complete threshold for beginning capitalisation of internal-use software costs.
ASU 2018-15	US GAAP	Aligns the accounting for implementation costs in a hosting arrangement that is a service contract with the internal-use software guidance in ASC 350-40.