ICAI LLP Financial Statements Format

The ICAI LLP financial statements format is the presentation format prescribed by the ICAI Guidance Note on Financial Statements of Limited Liability Partnershipsfor an LLP's Balance Sheet and Statement of Profit and Loss. It follows the same current / non-current logic as Schedule III, but the funding side uses Partners' funds and the Statement of Profit and Loss carries a distinct Partners' remuneration line. Following the ICAI announcement dated 31 March 2026 it applies in phases — from FY 2025-26 to LLPs whose turnover exceeds Rs 5 crore, and from FY 2026-27 to all LLPs.

When it applies — the phased applicability

This is the part that has moved twice, so it is worth stating precisely. The ICAI issued the Guidance Note in August 2023, effective for financial statements covering periods beginning on or after 1 April 2024. By announcement dated 19 September 2025 the Council relaxed that: for the annual reporting period 2024-25 the Guidance Note could be applied voluntarily. Then, at its 451st meeting held on 30–31 March 2026, the Council settled the position by announcement dated 31 March 2026 — the Guidance Notes apply to Limited Liability Partnerships in a phased manner:

One practical point worth noting: the phased announcement is dated 31 March 2026 — the last day of FY 2025-26. Phase I therefore lands on a year that had already run its course, so for many firms the first application of the format is being done on a completed year rather than planned for at the start of it.

The relaxation announcement also clarified that it changed nothing about the applicability of the Accounting Standards or the Framework for the Preparation and Presentation of Financial Statements — those continue to apply on their own terms, independently of which presentation format is used.

What “Guidance Note” means for compliance

A Guidance Note is recommendatory, not a notified statutory schedule — but recommendatory does not mean optional in practice. Under the ICAI's clarification on the authority attached to its documents, a member who does not apply a relevant Guidance Note must take reasonable and adequate care over the alternative procedures adopted and document the rationale. Discharging the attest function, the auditor must examine whether the recommendations have been followed; the ICAI's FAQs state that where the client does not present the financial statements in the prescribed format, the auditor is required to disclose that in the report, and must exercise professional judgement on whether the departure warrants a modified opinion under the Standards on Auditing.

LLP Balance Sheet format

The full LLP balance sheet per the ICAI illustrative, line for line. An LLP always keeps fixed and current partner accounts, so both the Contribution and Current Account lines print — Note 3a (Partners Contribution Account, which additionally discloses each partner's agreed contribution) and Note 3b (Partners Current Account).

LLP Statement of Profit and Loss format

The LLP profit and loss compresses the expense block to five lines — cost of goods sold in one line — and shows Partners' Remuneration as an appropriation on the face, outside Total Expenses:

How it differs from a company's Schedule III

• Funding head: “Partners' funds” instead of “Shareholders' funds”.
• Capital account: split into Partners' Contribution and Partners' Current Account, with the agreed contribution disclosed.
• Partners' remuneration: shown as a separate appropriation before profit before tax.
• Asset / liability classificationfollows the same current / non-current tests as Schedule III — but the notes do not. The Guidance Note carries none of the additional regulatory disclosures the 2021 Schedule III amendment added to companies: no eleven ratios, no ageing schedules, no title deeds, promoter shareholding, struck-off companies or benami disclosures. The MSMED disclosures for trade payables are retained.

Audit and filing

Every LLP must maintain books of account and file its annual Statement of Account and Solvency (Form 8) with the MCA. Audit is mandatory unless turnover does not exceed Rs 40 lakh and contribution does not exceed Rs 25 lakh in the financial year.

Related formats

Companies use the Schedule III balance sheet format; proprietorships, partnerships, trusts and similar bodies use the ICAI Non-Corporate Entity format.