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Costa Rica
National Professional Accountancy Organisation Website: Colegio de Contadores Publicos de Costa Rica Response to IFAC Member Body Survey on Standard Setting and Regulation
Financial Reporting Framework in Costa Rica – March 2010
The Costa Rican Institute of Certified Public Accountants is by Law the responsible entity to adopt and modify accounting principles in Costa Rica. Since year 2000, the Institute has adopted IFRSs as the sole accounting framework in Costa Rica, and made it public through a resolution published in the Official Newspaper. With the exception of 'public entities' (see next paragraph) all business entities in Costa Rica follow IFRSs and their audit reports refer to conformity with IFRSs. Listed companies are required to prepare their financial statements under IFRSs, while regulated entities (namely banks and finance entities, stockbrokers, and pension funds) are supervised by government regulatory agencies that have established their own accounting guidelines. While those guidelines are based on IFRSs, there are some differences due to specific accounting policies adopted by those regulators. Accordingly, audit reports for those entities normally refer to financial statements prepared in accordance with the accounting framework set forth by the regulator rather than IFRSs. On 30 September 2009, the Institute adopted the IFRS for SMEs, to be effective for financial years beginning 1 January 2010. However, the Institute is still deliberating which entities will qualify as SMEs, and therefore are eligible to use the IFRS for SMEs.
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For an overview of all Spanish language publications available on IAS Plus please click here: Nuestros Recursos en Español.

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