About this reference
This reference unifies IAS 38, ASC 350-40, ASC 985-20, ASU 2018-15 and ASU 2025-06 into one capitalise-versus-expense framework mapped to the AI cost stack. It exists because the guidance is otherwise siloed by one standard and one jurisdiction. It is maintained by Digital Signet and anchored to primary text, not to any vendor or product.
Why standards-first, not a vendor tool
The buyer here is a financial controller preparing an auditor-defensible position under a year-end deadline, not a shopper choosing a product. So the reference is built to read and behave like the technical accounting memo she will ultimately produce: precise, paragraph-anchored, and careful to separate what a standard requires from a matter of judgement.
What is in scope
In scope: the recognition and measurement question for internal AI investment, across the AI cost stack, under IFRS and US GAAP. That includes the standards, their internal machinery, the cost taxonomy, the treatments, the jurisdiction comparisons, the earnings-quality lens and the audit-file toolkit.
What is out of scope, and the limit
Out of scope: tax treatment, transfer pricing, and the application of these standards to your specific facts, which requires professional judgement. This site is a citation-grade reference to primary IFRS and FASB text. It is not accounting advice and does not create an adviser relationship. Confirm the standard in force for your reporting period before relying on any position.
- S1IAS 38 Intangible Assets, IFRS Foundation (IFRS). https://www.ifrs.org/issued-standards/list-of-standards/ias-38-intangible-assets/
- S2Handbook: Software and website costs (ASC 350-40 internal-use software), KPMG (US GAAP). https://kpmg.com/us/en/frv/reference-library/2026/handbook-software-website-costs.html