Air france-klm (AF), a french company, prepares its financial according to international financial reporting standards. AF's annual report for the year ended March 31, 2011, which includes financial statements and disclosure notes.

Describe the apparent differences in the order of presentstion of the components of the balance sheet between IFRS as applied by Air France-KLM (AF) and a typical balance sheet prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

Air France-KLM Case

Under U.S. GAAP, we present current assets and liabilities before noncurrent assets and liabilities. IAS No. 1 doesn't prescribe the format of the balance sheet, but balance sheets prepared using IFRS often report noncurrent items first. AF's balance sheet presents noncurrent assets and liabilities before current assets and liabilities and also presents equity before liabilities.

Another difference is the order of the individual line items within categories. For example, in the United States, current assets generally are listed in order of liquidity, with cash and cash equivalents listed first, followed by short-term investments, accounts receivable, and then inventories. AF's current assets appear to be listed in the reverse order of liquidity.