Question

As an aid to your revision, list the examples given in IAS 38 of activities that might be included in either research or development.

Answer 1

Research is original and planned investigation, undertaken with the prospect of gaining new scientific or technical knowledge and understanding. An example of research could be a company in the pharmaceuticals industry undertaking activities or tests aimed at obtaining new knowledge to develop a new vaccine. The company is researching the unknown, and therefore, at this early stage, no future economic benefit can be expected to flow to the entity.

Development is the application of research findings or other knowledge to a plan or design for the production of new or substantially improved materials, devices, products, processes, systems, or services, before the start of commercial production or use. An example of development is a car manufacturer undertaking the design, construction, and testing of a pre-production model.