Under IFRS, IAS 16 governs accounting for property, plant, and equipment.
IAS 16, formally titled “Property, Plant and Equipment,” sets the recognition and measurement rules for tangible assets used in production, supply, rental, or administration and expected to last more than one accounting period. It covers initial cost, subsequent measurement, depreciation, impairment, and disclosures.
The standard originated with earlier International Accounting Standards Committee guidance and was substantially revised by the IASB in 2003. Later amendments addressed bearer plants, revenue-based depreciation methods, and proceeds from items produced while an asset is being prepared for use.
A common mix-up is confusing IAS 16 with IFRS 16. IFRS 16 deals primarily with leases, while IAS 36 addresses impairment of assets and IAS 38 covers intangible assets. Those standards can interact with property, plant, and equipment accounting, but they do not replace IAS 16 as the central standard.