Differences and similarity between IAS/IFRS regulation and the new Directive

The Directive 2013/34/EU of the European Parliament and the Council modifies the stipulations of the Directive 2006/43/CE and repeals the stipulations of Directives 78/660/EEC (Directive IV) and 83/349/EEC of the Council (Directive VII). The publication of this Directive aims to meet both the provisions on the individual financial statements, as well as those on the consolidated financial statements. The introduction of the new Directive aims to improve the coverage information of the accounting document and to begin a process of simplification of administrative burdens and standards for the preparation and publication of the financial statements. the Directive is a ‘bridge’ towards the IFRS that are clearly designed for the purpose of reflecting the economic substance more than the legal form as well as providing a more timely representation of economic gains and losses. Compared with the accounting standards that have historically typified Continental Europe, the new features deriving from the Directive are intended to make the determination of the earnings more informative even on the basis of a lower discretionary power, although the path towards IFRS has not yet been completed. This chapter aims to investigate such arguments more deeply on a comparative basis considering the main differences and similarities between IAS/IFRS regulation and the new Directive.