IFRS for Small and Medium-sized Entities (SMEs)

On July 9, 2009, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) issued an International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) designed for use by small and medium-sized entities (SMEs), which are estimated to represent more than 95 percent of all companies. Read more about the release of IFRS for SMEs.

John L. Daly, CPA, summarizes the key provisions in a recent article:

"The good news is that IFRS for SMEs is relatively short. Presented on an odd-sized 6”x 9¾” paper with a tiny 8.5-point font, the full text runs only 231 pages. This compares to some 2,500 pages for full IFRS and 25,000 pages for U.S. GAAP. IFRS for SMEs is not some severely scaled-down standard designed for third world countries, but a comprehensive principles-based standard. Other good news is that most of the standards discussed in IFRS for SMEs will seem familiar and common sense to U.S. accountants. There will be few unfamiliar terms."

Read Daly's full article here.