Compatibility of the IFRS for small and medium-sized entities and the new EU-accounting directive

Abstract

The new EU-Accounting Directive of 26 June 2013 (DIRECTIVE 2013/34/EU) has the intention to harmonize the accounting and financial reporting of enterprises in the European Union. "Think small first" is the central principle in the new EU-Accounting Directive and the new regulations have to be adopted in the laws of European member states by 20 July 2015. The International Financial Reporting Standard for Small and Medium-sized Entities (IFRS for SMEs) was published in 2009 by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). The IASB intended to create simplified international financial reporting standards for the special needs of smaller and medium-sized enterprise. The IASB completed in May 2015 a comprehensive review of the IFRS for SMEs and made amendments to the Standard. The revised version of the IFRS for SMEs will be issued in the last quarter of 2015. The aim of the paper is to analyze the compatibility of the IFRS for SMEs and the new EU- Accounting Directive and the problems in connection with the harmonization of the European accounting legislation especially in Germany. Based on the results of the research most of the former incompatibilities could be removed, but the remaining complexity of the IFRS for SMEs and the lack of an option for the member states to adopt the IFRS for SMEs as an accounting and reporting standard besides or instead their local accounting principles will prevent the wide use of the IFRS for SMEs in Germany and in other member states of the European Union.