Egypt

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Financial Reporting Framework in Egypt

Under the Corporate Law No. 159 of 1981 and the Capital Market Authority Law No. 95 of 1992, all companies in Egypt (listed and unlisted) must prepare financial statements in accordance with Egyptian Accounting Standards, and those financial statements must be audited by a Certified Public Accountant according to the Egyptian Auditing Standards. Joint audits are required for banks and other financial institutions.

Egyptian Accounting Standards (EAS) are developed by the Standards Committee of the Egyptian Society of Accountants and Auditors. A committee headed by the Minister of Investment reviews, approves, and issues the standards. The current version of full EASs, issued in 2006 and effective for financial years beginning 1 January 2007, applies on all Egyptian entities established under the provisions of the above-mentioned laws regardless of their legal form (that is, Joint-stock, Limited liability, or Partnership limited by shares) and regardless of whether or not they are listed in the Egyptian Stock Market 'EGX'. EASs comply with IFRSs, in all material respects, except in certain EASs where the differences are significant mainly due to the applicable Egyptian laws and regulations. Some of those differences are also due to the latest changes on IFRSs in connection with improvements in 2008 and 2009.

The Egyptian Society of Accountants and Auditors is presently developing an exposure draft of a proposed Egyptian Accounting Standard for SMEs. The exposure draft is based on the IFRS for SMEs but is expected to propose several differences, including differences in the areas of leases and distributions of profits to employees. The Board of the Egyptian Society of Accountants and Auditors expects to release the proposed EAS for SMEs in 2010. However, the effective date for implementation has not yet been decided.

Correction list for hyphenation

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