ACCOUNTING: COMMISSION WELCOMES MEPS' AMENDMENTS TO REFORM RULES.

The European Commission has welcomed the European Parliament's recommendations to extend its June 2002 proposal to amend the EU's Accounting Directives. The proposal aims to align current EU legislation with the International Accounting Standards (IAS) which all EU listed companies must use for their consolidated accounts from January 2005 onwards. The report tabled by Marianne Thyssen (EPP-ED, Belgium), which was adopted by the plenary session in Strasbourg on January 14 at first reading (co-decision procedure), seeks to improve the disclosure of risks and uncertainties and increase the consistency of audit reports across the EU. The Commission now hopes that the Council of Ministers will be able to adopt the Regulation in a single reading in March.

The key recommendation that the Thyssen report makes is that companies should be forced to disclose, in their annual report, the risks and uncertainties that they face. Ms Thyssen also recommends that the new Directive is extended to cover the Annual Accounts of Banks Directive (86/635/EEC). Furthermore, the Belgian MEP wants all Member...