What is Accounting Standard? How many Accounting standards are there?

What is Accounting Standard? 

Accounting standards(ASs) are written policy documents issued by the Government with the support of other regulatory bodies e.g., Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) issuing Accounting standards for corporates in consultation with National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) covering the following aspects of accounting transactions in the financial statements :

:- Recognition 

:- Measurement 

:- Presentation 

:- Disclosure 

The ostensible purpose of the standard setting bodies is to promote the dissemination of timely and useful financial information to investors and certain other stakeholders , having an interest in the company's economic performance . 

Accounting Standard reduce the accounting alternatives in the preparation  of financial statements within the bounds of rationality , thereby ensuring comparability of financial statements of different enterprises . 

Different Accounting Standards deals with different aspects of transactions in the financial statements.

How many Accounting standards are there?

There are 29 (effectively 27) Accounting Standards so far issued by The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) :--

AS 6 - ' Depreciation Accounting ' has been withdrawn on revision of AS 10 " property , plant and Equipment "

AS 8 - " Accounting for Research and Development " has been withdrawn consequent to the issuance of AS 26 " Intangible assets "