Tuesday, 15th September 2009IASB issues new IFRS for SMEs

New Standards Issued for Small and Medium-Sized Entities

The IFRS for SMEs is a self-contained standard of less than 230 pages, designed to meet the needs and capabilities of small and medium-sized entities (SMEs), which are estimated to account for over 95 per cent of all companies around the world.

It is built on the foundation of full IFRSs, however, many of the principles for recognising and measuring assets, liabilities, income and expenses have been simplified, topics not relevant to SMEs have been omitted, and the number of required disclosures has been significantly reduced. Revisions to the IFRS will be limited to once every three years. The IFRS for SMEs is separate from full IFRSs and is therefore available for any jurisdiction to adopt whether or not it has adopted the full IFRSs. It is also for each jurisdiction to determine which entities should use the standard. It is effective immediately on issue.

Introducing the IFRS for SMEs, Sir David Tweedie, IASB Chairman, said: "The publication of IFRS for SMEs is a major breakthrough for companies throughout the world. For the first time, SMEs will have a common high quality and internationally respected set of accounting requirements. We believe the benefits will be felt in both developed and emerging economies."

For more information about the new standard please download the Baker Tilly International Insight - Sept09 Newsletter or contact Nigel MacPhail.