UK ASB finds EC comments on SME ED 'disappointing'
19 Sep 2007
Ian Mackintosh, Chairman of the United Kingdom Accounting Standards Board, has written to European Internal Markets and Services Commissioner Charlie McCreevy expressing disappointment at the negative stance toward the proposed IFRS for SMEs that Commissioner McCreevy expressed in his remarks at a public event in Portugal on 13 September 2007 (see our News Story of 14 September 2007).
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The responses we had [to the ASB's invitation to comment on the IASB's SME Exposure Draft] expressed a large degree of support for the ED. While most respondents did not see the proposed IFRS for SMEs as being suitable for small, and in particular micro, entities, there was a strong majority in favour of the standard being available for application by middle tier and larger companies that – in line with the IASB's definition – do not have public accountability and publish general purpose financial statements for external users. This view is consistent with the discussions that were held in the four public meetings in which the ASB participated with the major accountancy bodies in the UK and Ireland. On the evidence of the feedback the ASB has received, it is disappointing that the Commission appears to be taking such a negative stance on the IASB's proposed IFRS for SMEs and seeming to rule out the possibility of Member States applying the standard. |
