The first survey that resulted in the Final Report of the Survey on the IFRS for SMEs among German SMEs asked 4.000 non-listed companies regarding the need for the IFRS for SMEs in Germany and their assessment of the requirements of the IFRS for SMEs compared to those under the German Accounting Modernisation Act. The final question was whether the SMEs participating in the survey would consider applying the IFRS for SMEs in their single and/or consolidated accounts if it were legally possible in the future. 14% of the responding entities answered with "yes", 83% with "no". 73% of those who answered with "no" stated that they prefer German GAAP, 17% percent preferred full IFRSs and 10% cited "other reasons".

The second survey that resulted in the Final Report of the Survey on the IFRS for SMEs among German "small" publicly traded entities targeted 342 "small" listed companies (with sales up to 130 million Euro) and analysed their assessment of the IFRS for SMEs in general, compared to full IFRS and advantages or disadvantages in potentially applying the IFRS for SMEs. The survey showed that a majority of the participating publicly traded entities see the IFRS for SMEs as a sensible regulatory alternative that should be available to them. This is in clear contrast to the IASB's intention to exclude publicly traded entities from the scope of the standard.

Click for:

• Final Report of the Survey on the IFRS for SMEs among German SMEs (PDF, 935k, link to ACSG website)
• Final Report of the Survey on the IFRS for SMEs among German "small" publicly traded entities (PDF, 799k, link to ACSG website)
• Access to German language versions of the reports on the ACSG website
• Our IAS Plus country page for Germany