Abstract: The seventeenth session of the Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts on International Standards of Accounting and Reporting (ISAR), which was held in Geneva from 3 to 5 July 2000, deliberated on the accounting needs of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It identified a number of obstacles that SMEs face in maintaining accounting records and generating meaningful financial information. It recognized that in most member States, SMEs were required to conduct their accounting and reporting on the basis of standards that were originally intended for larger companies that were often listed on stock markets. Therefore, the session called for ad hoc expert consultations to be conducted with a view to formulating recommendations on a financial accounting and reporting framework, appropriate for SMEs. Accordingly, an ad hoc group consisting of 23 experts was formed. During the inter-session period, the group conducted a series of consultations. It deliberated on definitions and categorization of SMEs, elements of accounting and reporting that would be appropriate for SMEs at different levels, possible implementation difficulties and how the education needs of SME owners, managers, accounting personnel and others could be best met. Furthermore, preliminary discussions were held on the task of compiling guidance for SMEs. This report contains the deliberations of the ad hoc consultative group of experts and is being presented for consideration by the eighteenth session of ISAR
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International Institute for Trade and Developement : UNCTAD Collection
