The introduction of European directive 2013/34/EU under Italian legislation : analysis of changes made to the domestic framework on accounting and audit requirements

Abstract

In an effort of harmonisation of policies across Member States, the European Union is constantly working on the issuance of new Directives. Nevertheless, the accounting and reporting field did not face any pivotal change in recent years. The system was still based on legislations issued in 1978 and 1983. The European Parliament and Council have then undertaken years of consultation that culminate with the release of Directive 2013/34/EU on the annual financial statements, consolidated financial statements and related reports of certain types of undertakings, repealing the two previous applicable Directives. The new Accounting Directive became the gold standard in financial reporting, including all the frameworks and information needed for the preparation of financial statements. The Directive is addressed to all Member States, and it regulate all the companies with limited liability, registered within a European country and that do not fall in the IFRS reporting system. A special consideration is given to small and medium-sized enterprises which have been identified as the cornerstone of European economy, representing a much greater amount of companies compared to large corporations. One of the objectives of the Directive is indeed to reduce administrative burden for this kind of companies and boost entrepreneurship by simplifying the regulatory environment and reducing the barriers for development. This dissertation is focused on the implementation of Directive 2013/34/EU in the Italian system. The aim is to analyse all the changes applied to the Italian legislation with the transposition of European Directive through Legislative Decree 139/2015. After the theoretical analysis on the legislation, the shift is focused on practical experiences of professionals in the field. An empirical analysis is carried out in order to gather qualitative information about the effects on the Italian framework. Conclusions are drawn in the light of the results of the research. They show that the objectives of the European Legislator are only partially attained. A good step forward in the harmonisation of accounting framework was made, but the evolution is still going on.