Recognising Revenue from the Construction of Real Estate in Financial Statements of Developers in Poland

The core business of real estate developers is performance long term developer contracts (directly or by subcontractors), that include constructing and selling residential and non-residential real estates. The characteristic feature of such contracts is the construction of properties that are generally financed by the principal over the whole project, by way of contractually agreed advances, and then – after the investment process has been completed – the ownership right is transferred to the buyer. Due to no unequivocal regulations in scope of revenue recognition resulting from property development contracts until 31 December 2008 some developers recognised revenues on developer contracts in accordance with IAS 18 "Revenue" some used the method of revenues and expenses percentage-of-completion in accordance with IAS 11 "Construction Contracts". The immediate aim of this paper is a comparative analysis of Polish and international rules adopted by property development companies when recognising revenue and outcome of development contracts and a presentation of the effect that IFRIC Interpretation 15 "Agreements for the Construction of Real Estate" has on the reporting of such companies.