European Parliament approves new Accounting and Transparency Directives

On 12 June 2013, the European Parliament has approved a new Accounting Directive which will reduce the administrative burden for small companies. This Accounting Directive also encourages Member States to distinguish between micro- and medium-sized undertakings, in order to ensure that the administrative costs are proportionate with the size of the reporting entity.

Commissioner Barnier has issued the following statement in relation to the new Accounting Directive: “Financial reporting obligations have been modernised and costs reduced, in particular for SMEs. With the new rules on country by country reporting, we have created a framework where businesses and governments must disclose revenues from natural resources. This framework will also contribute to the fight against tax fraud and corruption”.