NEWYORK- The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) published on April 2, 2007 a staff overview of the exposure draft of the proposed IFRS for Small and Medium Sized Entities (SMEs).. The overview has not been approved by the IASB .The aim of the proposed standard is to provide a simplified, self-contained set of accounting principles that are appropriate for smaller, non-listed companies and are based on full International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs), developed primarily for listed companies.

In order to assist companies in preparing accounts based on the proposed IFRS for SMEs, the requirements of IFRSs have been simplified and redrafted using plain English where possible. In addition to developing a standard that will be suitable for, and easily applied by, even the smallest SMEs – the so-called ‘micro-sized’ entities with just a few employees.

The Board plans to issue a final IFRS for SMEs in the second half of 2008.

IASB is committed to developing in the public interest a single set of high quality global accounting standards.

For more information please visit the following website: www.iasb.org