Beyond the GAAP – September 2023

In mid-September, the European Commission (EC) launched a consultation on a draft delegated act that proposes to increase by 25% the size criteria set out in the Accounting Directive to classify undertakings and groups into different categories (micro, small, medium and large), in order to reflect inflation over the past ten years. This change in the thresholds, presented as part of a plan to increase the competitiveness of EU companies, would reduce the number of undertakings affected by the obligation to present and publish financial
statements and by the requirements on sustainability reporting introduced by the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).

Following the summer break, the IASB began work again in September. It has published an exposure draft on volume 11 of Annual Improvements to IFRS Accounting Standards, and tentatively decided to widen the scope of its project on climate-related risks in the financial statements to include other sources of uncertainty. Meanwhile, the European Financial
Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG), which is the technical advisor to the EC on the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), has continued to focus on draft standards for SMEs. On 28 November 2023, EFRAG will hold its annual conference, on the theme, “European Corporate Reporting: two pillars for success”.