Updated June 2008
FRSSE (effective April 2008)
The ASB published in June 2008 an updated version of the Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities. (FRSSE) to reflect changes in company law arising from the Companies Act 2006. No changes were made to the requirements that are based upon Generally Accepted Accounting Practice.
The updated FRSSE (effective April 2008) applies to accounting periods beginning on or after 6 April 2008; the date from which the accounting and reporting regime for smaller companies in the Companies Act 2006 becomes effective. Early adoption is not permitted; hence smaller companies should continue to use the FRSSE (effective January 2007) for earlier accounting periods.
The FRSSE (effective April 2008) and FRSSE (effective January 2007) are available for download below.
Derivation information
To make the FRSSE a more manageable document, it no longer includes derivation tables in the Appendices. Instead, derivation information in respect of accounting standards and legislation is available for download below.
Background to FRSSE
The updated FRSSE (effective April 2008) includes at Appendix IV information on the development of the FRSSE. Prompted by concerns to reduce burdens on business, the ASB asked the Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies (CCAB) to establish a Working Party to examine the application of accounting standards for smaller companies. The CCAB Working party published a Consultative Document in 1994 and then in December 1995 Paper recommended in its Paper “Designed to fit” that there should be a specific Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities.
The ASB, largely accepting the CCAB Working Party’s recommendations, duly published an Exposure Draft of the proposed FRSSE in 1996 which led to the issue of the FRSSE in November 1997. The FRSSE (effective April 2008) is the fifth update of the FRSSE with details of the changes made for each update included in Appendix IV.
The FRSSE brings together the relevant accounting requirements and disclosures from the other accounting standards and UITF Abstracts, simplified and modified as appropriate for smaller entities. The basic measurement requirements in the FRSSE are the same as those in other accounting standards (although with some slight simplifications), but many of the disclosure and presentation requirements of other standards have not been included in the FRSSE.
The FRSSE is a standard that may be applied by companies that qualify as small under the Companies Act and other entities that would have qualified as ’small’ had they been incorporated. TheCompanies Act definition of ’small’ encompasses most companies with an annual turnover of up to £6.5 million. This represents a 20 per cent increase on the threshold that was in place for the FRSSE (effective January 2007). Entities adopting the FRSSE are exempt from applying all other accounting standards and UITF Abstracts. This considerably reduces the volume of accounting standards those entities need to comply with or refer to. However, it remains open to them to choose not to adopt the FRSSE and to comply with the other UK accounting standards and UITF Abstracts instead or, if they are companies, international accounting standards.
The FRSSE was developed and is kept under review by the Committee on Accounting for Smaller Entities (CASE). The ASB established CASE in 1997 as a standing committee to advise it on accounting for smaller entities with its members representing a wide spread of interests (including practitioners, businessmen, users and others with interest in smaller businesses).
Future updates of the FRSSE
CASE will continue to monitor the impact of developments in accounting standards and company law and recommend to the ASB future updates of the FRSSE, as appropriate. In particular, CASE will monitor the progress of the International Accounting Standards Board’s project to develop an accounting standard for Small and Medium Sized Entities and the impact this might have on the Board’s convergence plans.
Contact Project Director Alan O'Connor
