Italian small and medium-sized enterprises and harmonization of european accountancy

Abstract

The process towards accountancy harmonization in the European Union has made crucial steps after the approval of directive 2001/65/EC, concerning the introduction of the fair value evaluation criterion, and of regulation (EC) 1606/2002, concerning the application of I.A.S. – I.F.R.S. by the listed companies. Furthermore, these two measures have been the premise for promoting a progressive common approach for the accountancy laws and procedures of the EU countries, with the aim of creating a shared accountancy language: the adoption of directive 2003/51/EC. This directive affects the IV directive, namely the core of EU Accountancy Law and therefore, as its specific consequence and emanation, the VII directive, directive 86/635/ EEC on banks and other financial institutions and directive 91/674/EEC concerning insurance companies. Furthermore, the European Commission intends to support those companies – not a minority share – which are not required to apply the I.A.S. – I.F.R.S. directly, in compliance with regulation (EC) 1606/2002, in producing annual accounts with internationally accepted criteria, characterized by a transparent information system in relation to investors and creditors. Once the prominent aspects of directive 2003/51/EC have been specified, the purpose of the work is to assess their potential impact on the laws in force and on the practice generally accepted in Italy in the present day, whilst considering how the national legislation has so far received and implemented directive 2001/65/EC and regulation (EC) 1606/2002. Notably, the perspective we will apply to this purpose relates to small- and mediumsized enterprises, namely the typical characters of an economic model rooted on family capitalism; as such, these characters are frequently distant from the capital financial market.