Glossary
IFRS Financial Statement Preparation
IFRS financial statement preparation is the work of producing a company’s interim and annual financial statements under International Financial Reporting Standards, the accounting framework Canadian securities rules require most reporting issuers to use. It covers the numbers, the note disclosures, and the consolidated working papers that support them, all built to survive an external audit. At Treewalk, we prepare these statements for public companies on a quarterly cadence, coordinate the audit, and hand the auditor a clean file, so the reporting deadline is met without a scramble.
What it actually is
A set of IFRS financial statements is more than a balance sheet and an income statement. For a Canadian reporting issuer, a full package usually includes the statement of financial position, statement of comprehensive income, statement of changes in equity, statement of cash flows, and the accompanying notes. The notes are where most of the work lives. They explain accounting policies, judgments, and estimates in the detail IFRS demands.
Behind every published statement sits a consolidated working paper file. That file ties each number back to the general ledger, documents the accounting treatment, and captures the support an auditor will ask for. We build that file first. The statements are the output. The working papers are the reason the output holds up.
Interim statements (the quarterly ones) are typically unaudited but subject to auditor review. Annual statements are audited. Both are filed alongside Management Discussion & Analysis, so the narrative and the numbers have to agree.
Who hires us for this
Public and pre-public companies hire us to own the reporting function. We have prepared IFRS financial statements and working papers for issuers across mining, healthcare and biotech, cannabis, technology, and food and beverage, listed on the TSX Venture Exchange, the Canadian Securities Exchange, and beyond.
A few concrete examples from our files:
- On a TSXV-listed psychedelic medicine issuer that came public through a reverse takeover, we prepared quarterly and annual IFRS financial statements and MD&A, ran the working papers, and coordinated the annual audit with an external firm.
- For a CSE-listed cannabis company, we prepared the year-end consolidated IFRS financial statements and supported the audit through to filing.
- For a magnesium developer reporting in both Canada and the United States, we worked across IFRS and US GAAP, a reminder that cross-border issuers often carry two frameworks at once.
The common thread: these companies needed institutional-grade reporting without hiring a full in-house finance team.
How we approach it at Treewalk
We treat preparation and audit-readiness as one job, not two. Most reporting fire drills happen because the working papers were assembled after the fact. We build the support file as the quarter closes, so the audit request list is already answered before the auditor sends it.
To be clear about scope: we do not audit. Treewalk does not provide audit or attest services. We prepare the statements, and a separate external audit firm gives the opinion. That separation is a feature, because our only job is to make your numbers right and your file complete.
The audit rarely runs late because of the audit. It runs late because the working papers were not ready when the auditor arrived. Fix the file and you fix the timeline.
Our public company reporting is led by senior financial reporting professionals within a team of 40+ CPAs, so a technical IFRS question does not wait for one person to be free.
What this is NOT
IFRS financial statement preparation is not an audit. The auditor issues an independent opinion on statements management is responsible for. We prepare those statements on management’s behalf. Different role, different party.
It is also not a compilation. A compilation engagement under Canadian Standard on Related Services 4200 produces a basic financial statement with limited disclosure for a lender or owner, not the full note-heavy package a public issuer files publicly.
And it is not bookkeeping. Bookkeeping records the transactions. Preparation takes a closed, reconciled ledger and turns it into standards-compliant statements with the disclosures a regulator and an auditor expect.
What you get and the timeline
For a public company client, a typical quarter produces the consolidated financial statements, the note disclosures, the supporting working paper file, draft MD&A, and the CEO and CFO certificates and board or audit committee resolutions that support the filing. We also coordinate the review or audit with your external firm and support the filing to SEDAR+.
Timeline depends on the state of the underlying books. When the ledger closes cleanly, quarterly statements move quickly. When the books need remediation first, the honest answer is that clean-up comes before compliant statements. We will tell you which situation you are in early, not at the deadline.
Frequently asked questions
Is IFRS financial statement preparation the same as an audit?
No. Preparation and auditing are separate roles held by separate parties. We prepare the statements and the working papers on management’s behalf. An independent external audit firm reviews or audits them and issues the opinion. Treewalk does not provide audit or attest services.
Do we have to use IFRS, or can we use another standard?
Canadian securities rules require most reporting issuers to prepare their financial statements under IFRS as adopted in Canada. Private companies often use Accounting Standards for Private Enterprises instead. Cross-border issuers sometimes also report under US GAAP, in which case a US GAAP conversion or dual-framework process comes into play.
How is this different from bookkeeping?
Bookkeeping records and reconciles transactions. Preparation takes that closed ledger and produces standards-compliant financial statements with full IFRS note disclosures and a working paper file built for audit. We can do both, but they are distinct stages of work.
How quickly can you turn around quarterly statements?
It depends on the condition of the books. A clean, reconciled ledger supports a fast quarterly close. If the underlying records need remediation, that has to happen first. We assess the starting point at the outset so the reporting deadline is not a surprise.
Do the financial statements and MD&A need to match?
Yes. The numbers in the statements and the narrative in the MD&A must tell the same story. We prepare them together so a figure discussed in the MD&A always reconciles to the audited or reviewed statements.
Where to next
If you are weighing whether to run reporting in-house or hand it to a team that lives in this work, our public company reporting practice is the place to start. For the standards themselves, CPA Canada’s IFRS resources are a solid reference. To talk through a specific reporting timeline or audit-readiness concern, get in touch through our contact page.
