IASB publishes draft IFRS for SMEs.(New and noteworthy information you can use)

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) recently published for public comment the exposure draft of its International Financial Reporting Standard for Small and Medium-sized Entities (IFRS for SMEs).

The aim of the proposed standard is to provide a simplified, self-contained set of accounting principles that are appropriate for smaller, non-listed companies and are based on full International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs), developed primarily for listed companies. By removing choices for accounting treatment, eliminating topics that aren't generally relevant to SMEs and simplifying methods for recognition and measurement, the resulting draft standard reduces the volume of accounting guidance applicable to SMEs by more than 85% when compared with the full set of IFRSs. As a result, the exposure draft offers a workable, self-contained set of accounting standards that would allow investors for the first time to compare SMEs' financial performance across international boundaries on a like-for-like basis.

To assist companies in preparing accounts based on the proposed IFRS for SMEs, the requirements of IFRSs have been simplified and redrafted using plain English where possible. However, SMEs that decide to upgrade to using full IFRSs would find the transition eased because both sets of standards are based on the same underlying principles.