Segment reporting under IFRS 8 is one of the most deceptively difficult disclosures in financial reporting. The standard requires entities to disclose segment information on the same basis as it is reported internally to the chief operating decision maker (CODM). That single principle — the “management approach” — sounds simple, but in practice it creates a maze of judgment calls: identifying the CODM, defining operating segments, applying aggregation criteria, allocating central costs, and reconciling segment figures back to the consolidated financial statements. Controllers routinely spend weeks chasing inconsistencies between what the board pack shows and what the notes disclose.
The friction is compounded by the reconciliation requirements in IFRS 8.28. Every material reconciling item between total reportable segment amounts and the corresponding consolidated line must be separately identified and explained. Miss a line, mislabel a cost, or change segment definitions without restating comparatives, and you invite auditor queries, regulator comments, and restatement risk. Most teams handle this in sprawling spreadsheets that no one fully trusts by the time the audit begins.
ChatGPT can compress this work dramatically — not by making the judgment for you, but by structuring the judgment. It can map your internal reporting pack to the IFRS 8 disclosure requirements, draft the reconciliation tables, flag inconsistencies between your management commentary and your segment note, and generate the first-pass disclosure language that your team then reviews and refines. Used with the right prompts and the right input files, it turns a two-week scramble into a two-day review cycle.
What makes a good IFRS 8 prompt
The quality of output depends almost entirely on what you feed the model. A generic request like “draft my segment note” produces generic boilerplate. A structured prompt that supplies the internal reporting pack, the prior-year note, the group accounting policy, and a clear success brief produces something a controller can actually mark up. The two prompts below follow that structure. Both are designed to be copied, adapted with your own file names and context, and run against your reporting documents.
First, read these files completely before responding:
management_pack_q3.md — the internal reporting pack presented to the CODM, including segment P&L, allocated central costs, and asset balances
prior_year_segment_note.md — the segment note as published in last year’s annual report, including comparatives
group_accounting_policies.md — our accounting policies, including the definition of operating segments and the basis of allocation of shared costs
Here is a reference for what I want to achieve:
[Upload a peer company’s segment note that you consider best-in-class, or describe the structure you want to emulate]
Here’s what makes this reference work:
It discloses the CODM’s identity explicitly, lists aggregation criteria applied, reconciles every segment line to the consolidated statements with labelled reconciling items, and separates “reportable segments” from “all other segments” without ambiguity. The language is plain, the tables are clean, and no reconciling item is left unexplained.
Here’s what I need for my version / SUCCESS BRIEF:
Type of output + length: A gap analysis table plus a short narrative memo, roughly 800 words of commentary plus tables
Recipient’s reaction: The group controller should read it and immediately see which IFRS 8.22 to 8.28 requirements are met, partially met, or missing
Does NOT sound like: A textbook summary of IFRS 8. It must reference our actual segment names, our actual reconciling items, and our actual allocation bases
Success means: Every IFRS 8 disclosure requirement is mapped to a specific line in our management pack or flagged as a gap, with a recommended fix and an owner
My context file contains my standards, constraints, audience. Read it fully before starting.
DO NOT start executing yet. Ask clarifying questions first.
Give me your execution plan (5 steps max) before you begin.
Notice what the prompt does. It forces the model to read three specific documents before it writes a single line, it anchors the output to a real reference, and it defines success as a measurable mapping rather than a vague “good note.” That structure is what separates a usable draft from a plausible-sounding hallucination.
From gap analysis to draft disclosure
Once the gap analysis is done, the second prompt takes over. This is where ChatGPT earns its keep on the reconciliation work — the part of IFRS 8 that consumes the most controller hours. The model is asked to draft the reconciliation tables and the accompanying narrative, using the same source files, but this time producing output that can be dropped into the disclosure draft and marked up by the team.
First, read these files completely before responding:
management_pack_q3.md — the internal reporting pack presented to the CODM, including segment P&L, allocated central costs, and asset balances
prior_year_segment_note.md — the segment note as published in last year’s annual report, including comparatives
group_accounting_policies.md — our accounting policies, including the definition of operating segments and the basis of allocation of shared costs
consolidated_fs_draft.md — the current draft consolidated income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement
Here is a reference for what I want to achieve:
[Upload the prior-year segment note and the peer benchmark note used in the gap analysis]
Here’s what makes this reference work:
Every reconciling item is separately labelled and explained in one sentence. Segment profit is defined once and used consistently. Comparative figures are restated where segment definitions changed, with the restatement disclosed. Asset and liability disclosures are limited to those reviewed by the CODM.
Here’s what I need for my version / SUCCESS BRIEF:
Type of output + length: A complete segment note draft, approximately 1,200 words plus reconciliation tables
Recipient’s reaction: The CFO should be able to read it cold and sign off, or mark up specific lines with confidence
Does NOT sound like: A generic disclosure. It must use our segment names, our allocation bases, and our actual reconciling items
Success means: Every number in the note ties to the consolidated_fs_draft.md, every reconciling item is explained, and no IFRS 8.22 to 8.28 requirement is left unaddressed
My context file contains my standards, constraints, audience. Read it fully before starting.
DO NOT start executing yet. Ask clarifying questions first.
Give me your execution plan (5 steps max) before you begin.
The practical tip here is sequencing. Run the gap analysis prompt first, resolve the flagged items with your team, and only then run the drafting prompt. If you skip the first step, the model will draft a note that looks complete but quietly papers over the gaps — which is exactly the outcome you are trying to avoid. Feed it clean inputs, ask for the plan before execution, and treat every output as a first draft that a qualified accountant reviews. Done that way, ChatGPT removes the mechanical burden of IFRS 8 compliance and leaves your team free to focus on the judgment calls that actually require human expertise.
Published on 6 October 2026 on growwithgpt.com