Title:
Accounting and Disclosure of Crypto Assets Under International Financial Reporting Standards: Challenges and Opportunities for Financial Reporting in UAE Companies

Authors:
Haider.Layedh Meteab, Iraq

Abstract:

The paper analyses the accounting reporting and disclosure of crypto assets by UAE listed companies as per International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), without a specific international standard on the recognition, measurement, and disclosure of such assets. The research problem is due to the plurality of accounting practices due to the use of the existing IFRS standards, where comparability is compromised, and this has influenced the viability of financial reporting. The research will be descriptive-analytical in nature and will rely on applied analysis using content analysis of annual reports of the sample of UAE listed firms representing various economic sectors in the years 2022-2024. The composite index of disclosure based on the IFRS was prepared, which consisted of the asset classification dimension, the fair value measurement dimension, the risk disclosure dimension, and the transparency dimension. The results indicate that the companies sampled have considerable differences in the disclosure level. Firms that have direct exposure to crypto assets are more transparent compared to those that have an indirect digital exposure. Although the fair value measurement improves the level of disclosure, it also creates volatility and measurement instability in the reporting periods. The research ends by stating that special IFRS standard should be developed on crypto assets to improve reliability and comparability in reporting.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.51505/IJEBMR.2026.1109