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IFRS for SMEs - IFRS 16
Posted: 02 Aug 2021, 06:28
by chris23
Hello everyone,
I would like to ask whether a company that adopt IFRS for SMEs would be allowed to adopt IFRS 16?
Thanks in advance.
Re: IFRS for SMEs - IFRS 16
Posted: 02 Aug 2021, 13:14
by exIFRS
No. Paragraph P17 of the IFRS for SMEs specifically addresses this (emphasis added):
The IFRS for SMEs is a stand-alone document. SMEs shall not anticipate or apply changes made in full IFRS before those changes are incorporated into the IFRS for SMEs unless, in the absence of specific guidance in the IFRS for SMEs, an SME chooses to apply guidance in full IFRS and those principles do not conflict with requirements in the hierarchy in paragraphs 10.4–10.5.
There is specific guidance in the IFRS for SMEs on leases (Section 20), therefore to claim compliance with the IFRS for SMEs you must comply with Section 20.
It is also addressed in the Basis for Conclusions to the IFRS for SMEs Standard (BC154, emphasis added):
The alternative view is that an entity should be required to choose only either the complete set of full IFRSs or the complete IFRS for SMEs. The Board is of that view (with the sole exception of the option to apply IAS 39 for the reasons set out in paragraph BC106). Allowing SMEs optionally to revert to full IFRSs either principle by principle or standard by standard, while continuing to follow the IFRS for SMEs for other transactions and circumstances, would result in significant non-comparability. Undesirably, SMEs would have almost an infinite array of combinations of accounting policies from which to choose.