"The ASC believes that the adoption of the IFRS for SMEs would benefit the smaller entities in Singapore by reducing undue financial reporting burden arising from the considerable number of recognition and measurement bases and detailed disclosures requirements."

Eligibility to use the IFRS for SMEs in Singapore:

An entity is eligible to use the SFRS for Small Entities if: (I) it is not publicly accountable; and (II) it qualifies as a small entity by virtue of it satisfying two out of the three threshold criteria as prescribed by the ASC.

(I) An entity is deemed to be publicly accountable if:

1. Its debt or equity instruments are traded in a public market or it is in the process of issuing such instruments for trading in a public market (such as a domestic or foreign stock exchange or an over-the-counter market, including local and regional markets), or
2. It is a deposit-taking entity and/or holds assets in a fiduciary capacity for a broad group of outsiders as one of its primary businesses. This is typically the case for banks, insurance companies, securities brokers/dealers, mutual funds and investment banks, or
3. It is a public company defined under the Singapore Companies Act, or
4. It is a charity defined under the Charities Act, or
5. It is a credit society defined under the Co-operative Societies Act or a society deemed to be a credit society under the Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Act 2008.

(II) An entity qualifies as a small entity if it satisfies two of the following three criteria (determined on a consolidated basis):

1. Total annual revenue of not more than S$10 mil;
2. Total gross assets of not more than S$10 mil; and
3. Number of employees not more than 50.