IAS 37 - Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets is an accounting standard issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) that provides guidelines for recognizing and measuring provisions, contingent liabilities, and contingent assets.

Provisions are liabilities recognized when a business faces a present obligation due to a past event, its settlement is probable, and the amount involved can be reliably estimated. For example, a company facing a legal case may need to recognize a provision in its accounts for the expected settlement amount.

Contingent liabilities, on the other hand, are possible obligations arising from past events whose outcome will be confirmed only by the occurrence or non-occurrence of future events that are not entirely within the entity's control. For instance, the potential cost of a lawsuit where the outcome is not yet determinable would be disclosed as a contingent liability.

Similarly, contingent assets are potential assets that arise from past events but are not recognized in the financial statements until their realization is virtually certain. For example, a company that has initiated a legal claim against another entity might disclose the potential monetary compensation as a contingent asset in its financial notes.