IFRS 8 Operating Segments applies to entities with publicly traded debt or equity instruments, or companies where these are about to be traded. The overriding principle of the standard is for companies to disclose to users ‘the nature and financial effects of the business activities in which it engages and the economic environments in which it operates’.

The research conducted by Croner-i’s Company Reporting showed that on average companies gave about three pages worth of disclosure to operating segments within their accounts, with 40% of the surveyed companies including an accounting policy.

Disclosures ranged widely from boiler-plate disclosures addressing the high-level of requirements of the standard to more detailed policies about the segments, their basis and the identification of the chief operating decision maker (CODM). It is also worth highlighting that 85% of the sample disclosed the name of the CODM, despite this not being specifically required by the standard.