IASB Seeks Comments on Review of the IFRS for SMEs
The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has issued a request for information as the first step in its initial comprehensive review of the International Financial Reporting Standards for Small to Medium-Sized Enterprises (IFRS for SMEs). It says that the objective is to seek public views of whether any amendments to the IFRS for SMEs are needed and, if so, what the amendments should be. The deadline for responses is 30 November 2012.
When it first issued the IFRS for SMEs in July 2009, the IASB said that it would assess the first two years’ experience that entities had in implementing it. It also said that, after the initial review, it expected to consider amendments to the IFRS for SMEs approximately once every three years.
The request for information asks specific questions on particular sections of the IFRS for SMEs, as well as general questions about respondents’ experience with it. Respondents are encouraged to raise any other issues that they want to put forward. The document does not contain any preliminary views of the IASB or its SME Implementation Group (SMEIG).
“Millions of small companies in around 80 jurisdictions worldwide are already using the IFRS for SMEs,” said SMEIG chairman Paul Pacter. “It is becoming a passport to raise capital on a local or cross-border basis. This comprehensive review will enable the board to fine-tune the standard.”