Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council. Evaluation of Regulation (EC) No 1606/2002 of 19 July 2002 on the application of international accounting standards

Over ten years after the adoption of Regulation 1606/2002 ("IAS Regulation") and following an initial review of its operation in 2008, the Commission decided to assess whether it achieved what it set out to do as part of the Regulatory Fitness and Performance Programme (REFIT). In parallel, Regulation 258/2014 requires the Commission to report both on the findings of the evaluation including, if appropriate, proposals for amendments, and on the governance arrangements of relevant bodies.

The objective of adopting International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) for use in the EU was to improve the efficient functioning of the EU capital markets and the internal market.

Under the Regulation, since 2005, the consolidated financial statements of listed EU companies have been prepared in accordance with IFRS. Member States may extend the application of IFRS to individual annual financial statements and to non-listed companies. The "Transparency Directive" also stipulates that all issuers (including non-EU ones) whose securities are listed on a regulated market located or operating in the EU must use IFRS.

This report summarises the findings of the evaluation and identifies potential improvements. The accompanying Commission Staff Working Document sets out further detail supporting this report.

EUR-Lex: COM(2015)301: Follow the progress of this report through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2015:301:FIN

EUR-Lex: SWD(2015)120: Evaluation of Regulation (EC) No 1606/2002 of 19 July 2002 on the application of international accounting standards http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=SWD:2015:120:FIN

European Commission: Banking and Finance: Accounting: Evaluation of the IAS Regulation http://ec.europa.eu/finance/accounting/ias-evaluation/index_en.htm

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