16 July 2014

'Making the Right Choices': Implementing the New European Accounting Directive: statement from EFAA-ACCA-NBA

The EFAA-ACCA-NBA issued the following joint release:
 
'In implementing the New European Accounting Directive, the Member States have choices which give them the chance to improve accounting in their country and those choices should be more evidence-based. This was the main conclusion of a roundtable facilitated by EFAA (European Federation of Accountants and Auditors for SMEs), with the support of ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants), and NBA (Nederlandse Beroepsorganisatie van Accountants).
 
Directive 2013/34/EU on the annual financial statements, consolidated financial statements and related reports of certain types of undertakings - the so-called Accounting Directive - was published on 26 June 2013 and entered into force on 20 July 2013. It replaces the existing Fourth and Seventh Company Law Directives that addressed reporting by companies generally and by groups. It represents the culmination of a significant amount of debate on the accounting acquis in Europe and incorporates within it some 100 Member State Options. The implementation period is now approaching its deadline, and Member States are required to translate the Directive into their national law by 20 July 2015.'
 
The organisations highlight this point:'The determination of which Member State Options to use raises however some interesting and sometimes complicated questions.' They held a roundtable with stakeholders to address them. Richard Martin, Head of Corporate Reporting at ACCA, who moderated said: “The Member State Options will have a big impact on small companies. This is an important moment for accounting in Europe, each Member State has to assess what route to take. Some of the options are old ones, that already existed in the Fourth and Seventh Directives, while others are new, introduced with the new text. However, even if the option is old, the new legislation has triggered a debate on whether we got the law right before, or if there are any amendments that should be made in order to improve the existing regime. There are indeed several changes that Member States will have to consider because of the replacement of the law”.
 
Henk Verhoek, Coordinator Financial Reporting, NBA added: “Because of the Member State Options, the level of consistency across Europe has been reduced. One of the objectives might be to harmonise the accounting in the EU so that we have one accounting language. Unfortunately, this is not the outcome of the political process that has taken place within the EU.'

 
Bodo Richardt, EFAA President, concluded: “In order to facilitate better accounting in the EU, there is a need for further intelligent discussions, considering other views, and getting feedback based on facts and not political gut feelings.'

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