Business, Size Matters
We are constantly reiterating the importance of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to the Irish economy, and with good reason. SMEs make up over half of all Irish business and have begun to form the backbone of our economy in recent years. Unfortunately SMEs are also often the most difficult businesses to get off the ground and keep running in the current changing economic climate. This is why our recent newsletter focus has been largely targeted to providing information on newly available funding and assistance for these vital businesses. Today we will be discussing the new Companies (Accounting) Act of 2017 and what this means for SMEs.
The Companies (Accounting) Act 2017 was brought into effect as of Friday, June 9th 2017. According to the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation this new act may free up some much needed time for SMEs as it should reduce their financial reporting obligations allowing this time to be used to further the business in other ways.
Importantly and interestingly for owners of small businesses, this Act is due to create significant changes to the creation of what is known as a ‘Micro Company’. In order to be classified as a Micro Company, a business must not have a turnover exceeding €700,000, a balance sheet exceeding €350,000 or average employee numbers exceeding 10. In return, being classified as a Micro Company offers the company a number of benefits including there being no obligation to file a director’s report and exemptions from disclosing director’s remuneration.
Some companies previously defined as Medium may under this act be redefined as Small whilst some companies previously defined as small may be redefined as Micro due to a change in the thresholds for qualification for these categories. In addition, any companies which are redefined as Small Businesses will need only file abridged financial statements, provided their turnover does not exceed €12million, their balance sheet does not exceed €6million and their average number of employees does not exceed 50.
It is possible that conversely, some Medium and Large companies may find themselves with a greater level of financial reporting than previous under these new thresholds so we would heavily advise studying the changes this act poses in detail and knowing the new status of your business thoroughly as well as the new financial reporting requirements associated with this definition.
Should you require any further information, guidance or assistance on these or any other business or financial issues please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us here at EcovisDCA where we are always happy to be of assistance.
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~ DCA PARTNERS, DECLAN DOLAN & EAMONN GARVEY
