SME Update

• Accountancy Europe publishes sanctions guidance for SMEs
• EUIPO-Accountancy Europe collaboration: interview on relevance of IP for SMEs
• SMEunited and Accountancy Europe call for guidance and tools to help SMEs with due diligence requirements

Accountancy Europe publishes guidance for accountants on sanctions introduced due to Russian attack on Ukraine

Accountancy Europe condemns the Russian government’s attacks on Ukraine and is concerned about all people affected by these acts of war.

While the EU and individual countries impose sanctions, European accountants need to step up and address how these, and other consequences of the war, affect their activities. As the situation evolves, professional accountants must continue applying their ethical values and social responsibility.

For this purpose, Accountancy Europe has prepared high-level guidance that gives an overview of points of alert on anti-money laundering (AML), cybersecurity, accounting, audit, and reporting to help accountants ask the right questions.

This guidance should help especially smaller sized accounting practices, who may struggle to identify all the ways in which their clients and client relationships might be impacted by the devastating war and the imposed sanctions. We have also published a compilation of responses issued by our national members.

To do the right thing in these difficult times, professionals will have to consider different dimensions from legal questions to ethics, risk management and corporate citizenship.

EC elaborates on estimated costs for SMEs from the Digital Services Act (DSA)

• question by MEP Adam Bielan (ECR/Poland)
• reply by Commissioner Breton

EC explains why sustainability reporting should not disincentivise SMEs from getting listed

• question by MEP Geoffroy Didier (EPP/France)
• reply by Commissioner McGuinness

Interview: insights into EUIPO-Accountancy Europe collaboration

I had the pleasure of being interviewed by the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) on Accountancy Europe’s collaboration with them. In the past 2 years, we have worked together to raise awareness among SMEs, as well as SME accountants, on the importance and benefits of intellectual property (IP) for their businesses. In the interview, I explain why we see IP as key for Europe’s SMEs, and why accountants are well-placed to help them access their IP rights. Read more

SMEunited publishes latest SME business climate barometer

SMEs’ confidence shows that business’ recovery is on hold. SMEunited’s latest SME Business Climate Index for the EU reports a standstill of SMEs’ confidence for Spring 2022.

Since last autumn, the percentage of SMEs expecting a positive or neutral economic environment decreased by 0.9%, while the indicator at the second semester of 2021 stood at 76.1%. Read more

SMEunited calls for ‘tools’ to support SMEs deal with due diligence requirements

SMEunited is calling for tools and instruments to help SMEs deal with sustainability and supply chain due diligence-related requirements. Veronique Willems, Secretary-General, calls on policy-makers to “establish rules that can be applied, controlled and enforced, and it doesn’t make sense to put forward rules where you know from the beginning that control or enforcement will be very difficult”. Luc Hendrickx, Director, warns that although most SMEs are formally left out of the scope of proposals such as the corporate sustainability reporting Directive (CSRD) and the new due diligence Directive, the provisions will inevitably spill over to SMEs too. They call for more tools and guidance, specifically tailored for SMEs, to help them deal with these requirements. Read more

Accountancy Europe also underlines importance of SME support tools

In response to the EC’s 23 February due diligence Directive, Accountancy Europe published a statement in which it calls for guidelines and supporting mechanisms for SMEs affected by the requirements. We call on EC to carefully follow the implementation procedure and keep up the dialogue with those affected to ensure supporting mechanisms correspond to their needs. Read more