IFRS 8 vs ASC 280: segment reporting

Segment notes are where investors find out which parts of a business make money, and regulators on both sides of the Atlantic comment on them more than almost any other disclosure. IFRS 8 and ASC 280 identify the same segments in most cases, but since ASU 2023-07 the US notes carry much more expense detail. This guide compares the two side by side, works through the disclosures that differ for the same company, and covers matrix structures, profit measures, interim reports and goodwill.

By Muhammad Bilal, Chartered Accountant. Reviewed by Awais Jameel, Chartered Accountant. Updated . 6 minute read.

Short answer

IFRS 8 vs ASC 280 is one of the most converged comparisons, because the two standards came from the same project and share the management approach: operating segments are the components whose results the chief operating decision maker (CODM) regularly reviews, and the same 10% and 75% tests decide which are reported. The differences are in what is disclosed. Since ASU 2023-07, US GAAP requires significant segment expenses regularly provided to the CODM, other segment items and the CODM's title, and allows more than one measure of segment profit, while IFRS 8 requires specified amounts only when they are included in the measure reviewed or regularly provided. IFRS 8 requires segment liabilities when they are regularly provided to the CODM; US GAAP does not. In a matrix organization, US GAAP bases segments on products and services, while IFRS 8 applies its core principle. Geographic disclosures of noncurrent assets include intangible assets under IFRS but not under US GAAP. In this guide's example, the same company reports CU 400 million of home country noncurrent assets under IFRS 8 and CU 300 million of long-lived assets under ASC 280.

At a glance

Approach
Management, both
Thresholds
Same 10% and 75%
Segment liabilities
IFRS, if reviewed
Segment expenses
More detail in US
Matrix structures
US: by product
Geographic assets
IFRS adds intangibles
IFRS 8 vs ASC 280: segment reportingApproach: Management, both; Thresholds: Same 10% and 75%; Segment liabilities: IFRS, if reviewed; Segment expenses: More detail in US; Matrix structures: US: by product; Geographic assets: IFRS adds intangibles.KEY FACTS AT A GLANCEIFRS 8 vs ASC 280: segment reportingApproachManagement, bothThresholdsSame 10% and 75%Segment liabilitiesIFRS, if reviewedSegment expensesMore detail in USMatrix structuresUS: by productGeographic assetsIFRS adds intangiblesTax BakersIFRS 8 vs ASC 280: segment reportingApproach: Management, both; Thresholds: Same 10% and 75%; Segment liabilities: IFRS, if reviewed; Segment expenses: More detail in US; Matrix structures: US: by product; Geographic assets: IFRS adds intangibles.KEY FACTS AT A GLANCEIFRS 8 vs ASC 280: segmentreportingApproachManagement, bothThresholdsSame 10% and 75%Segment liabilitiesIFRS, if reviewedSegment expensesMore detail in USMatrix structuresUS: by productGeographic assetsIFRS adds intangiblesTax Bakers
Key facts at a glance, as set out in this guide.

What do IFRS 8 and ASC 280 have in common?

Both apply to companies whose debt or equity is publicly traded, or that are in the process of issuing it. Both identify operating segments from the information the CODM uses to allocate resources and assess performance, allow aggregation of segments with similar economic characteristics, and require a segment to be reported if it has 10% or more of revenue, of the absolute profit or loss, or of assets, until reported segments cover at least 75% of external revenue. Both measure segment amounts on the basis used internally, reconcile them to the financial statements, and require entity-wide disclosures of revenue by product and geography and of reliance on major customers. See IFRS 8 operating segments, which works through the thresholds.

IFRS 8 vs ASC 280: what are the differences?

IFRS 8 vs ASC 280 at a glanceIFRS 8 vs ASC 280 at a glanceTOPICIFRSUS GAAPDisclose segment liabilitiesIf reviewedNot requiredSignificant segment expensesIf reviewedRequiredIntangibles in geographic assetsIncludedExcludedMatrix: segments by productNot requiredRequiredSeveral segment profit measuresOne measureAllowed
Same segments in most cases; US GAAP asks for more expense detail.
AreaIFRS 8ASC 280
Segment expensesSpecified amounts, such as depreciation, interest and material items of income and expense, when included in the measure reviewed by the CODM or regularly providedSince ASU 2023-07, significant expense categories regularly provided to the CODM and included in segment profit, plus other segment items
Segment liabilitiesRequired if regularly provided to the CODMNot required
Measures of segment profitThe one closest to IFRS measurement, if the CODM uses severalMore than one may be disclosed, if one is the measure closest to US GAAP
Matrix organizationsSegments identified by the core principle, whatever the form of organizationSegments based on products and services
Geographic noncurrent assetsInclude intangible assetsLong-lived assets exclude intangible assets
AggregationDisclose the judgments made, including the economic indicators assessedDisclose whether operating segments have been aggregated
Single-segment companiesEntity-wide disclosuresAll ASC 280 disclosures, including significant expenses, under ASU 2023-07
Interim reportsSegment revenue and profit, and assets or liabilities that changed materially, under IAS 34All annual disclosures about segment profit or loss and assets

An example: the same company under both standards

A company with two reportable segments, Devices and Services, gives its CODM monthly segment profit and segment liabilities. Its property, plant and equipment and intangible assets, such as software and customer relationships, sit in two regions. All figures are in CU million.

DisclosureIFRS 8ASC 280
Segment liabilities: Devices210Not required
Segment liabilities: Services90Not required
Noncurrent assets: Home country400300
Noncurrent assets: Other countries170120
Cost of revenue, selling and R&D by segmentOnly if specified or regularly provided as suchRequired if regularly provided and significant

The IFRS note shows CU 300 million of segment liabilities that the US note leaves out, and CU 150 million more noncurrent assets by region, because intangible assets are included. The US note, in turn, gives the expense categories behind each segment's profit. See ASC 280 segment reporting for a full two-segment disclosure under ASU 2023-07.

How do segment measures relate to performance measures?

A segment measure of profit is not a non-GAAP measure under either framework, because it is required by the standard. From 2027, IFRS 18 adds management-defined performance measures for subtotals that a company uses in public communications outside the financial statements, with a reconciliation. Segment measures generally fall outside that definition because they describe parts of the business, but a total of segment profit that the company uses publicly as a measure for the business as a whole can be one. In the US, the SEC staff treat additional segment measures disclosed under ASU 2023-07 as subject to their non-GAAP rules when they are not the measure closest to US GAAP. See IFRS 18 management-defined performance measures.

How do segments affect goodwill?

Segments cap the level at which goodwill is tested. Under IAS 36, a group of cash-generating units to which goodwill is allocated cannot be larger than an operating segment before aggregation. Under ASC 350, goodwill is tested at reporting units, which are operating segments or one level below. See IAS 36 vs US GAAP impairment.

Where to go next

See IFRS vs US GAAP key differences and the IFRS vs US GAAP cheat sheet.

Keep going

Our free Excel models work through the examples in these guides, and the comparisons show where IFRS and US GAAP part ways. Every guide names the Chartered Accountant who wrote it and the one who reviewed it.

All IFRS vs US GAAP guides Free Excel models

Questions people ask

What is the main difference between IFRS 8 and ASC 280?

Since ASU 2023-07, US GAAP requires significant segment expenses regularly provided to the chief operating decision maker, while IFRS 8 requires segment liabilities when they are regularly provided, which US GAAP does not.

Do IFRS 8 and ASC 280 identify the same segments?

Usually, because both use the management approach and the same thresholds; a company with a matrix organization can differ, because US GAAP bases segments on products and services.

Are intangible assets included in geographic disclosures?

Under IFRS 8, yes: noncurrent assets include intangible assets. Under ASC 280, long-lived assets by geography exclude intangible assets.

Can a company report more than one segment profit measure?

Under ASC 280, since ASU 2023-07, yes, if one of them is the measure closest to US GAAP; under IFRS 8, the measure reported is the one closest to IFRS measurement.

Sources

The standards, updates and other documents this guide draws on.

  1. IFRS Foundation: IFRS 8 Operating Segments
  2. IFRS Foundation: Disclosure of Revenues and Expenses for Reportable Segments (IFRS 8), agenda decision, July 2024
  3. BDO Australia: IFRIC agenda decision, disclosing revenue and expenses for reportable segments
  4. FASB Accounting Standards Codification: Topic 280, Segment Reporting
  5. Deloitte DART: Segment reporting roadmap, Appendix A, differences between US GAAP and IFRS

Rules and fees change. If you are reading this long after October 26, 2026, confirm the figures with the source before you rely on them.

IFRS 8IFRS 8 operating segmentsASC 280Segment reporting under ASC 280 and ASU 2023-07Accounting standardsIFRS vs US GAAP: the key differences in one guide

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