The IFRS for SMEs is a self-contained Standard (less than 250 pages), designed

to meet the needs and capabilities of small and medium-sized entities (SMEs),
which are estimated to account for over 95 per cent of all companies around the
world.
Compared with full IFRS (and many national GAAPs), the IFRS for SMEs is less
complex in a number of ways:

Topics not relevant for SMEs are omitted; for example earnings per share,
interim financial reporting and segment reporting.

Many principles for recognising and measuring assets, liabilities, income and
expenses in full IFRS are simplified. For example, amortise goodwill; recognise all
borrowing and development costs as expenses; cost model for associates and
jointly-controlled entities; and undue cost or effort exemptions for specific
requirements.

Significantly fewer disclosures are required (roughly a 90 per cent reduction).

The Standard has been written in clear, easily translatable language.

To further reduce the burden for SMEs, revisions are expected to be limited to
once every three years.
The Standard is available for any jurisdiction to adopt, whether or not it has adopted full
IFRS. Each jurisdiction must determine which entities should use the Standard. The
IASB's only restriction is that entities that have public accountability should not use it.
Initial comprehensive review
In May 2015, the IASB completed a comprehensive review of the IFRS for SMEs and
made limited amendments to the Standard. The amendments can be found here. A
complete revised version of the IFRS for SMEs was issued in December 2015. Click the
banner on the right hand side to purchase the updated review. The Standard is also
available for free download here.
More information about the comprehensive review project is available here.
Implementation support:
To assist in implementation, the IFRS Foundation and the IASB have taken a number of
steps:

IFRS for SMEs free to downloadthe Standard is free to download for

private, non-commercial use. The 2009 Standard is available in more than 25
languages. Translations of the 2015 Standard will be available in due course.

Implementation guidancethe IFRS for SMEs is accompanied by

implementation guidance consisting of illustrative financial statements and a table of
presentation and disclosure requirements.

SME Implementation Groupthe SMEIG was established in 2010 to support

the international adoption of the IFRS for SMEs and monitor its implementation,
develop non-mandatory implementation guidance in the form of Q&As and make
recommendations to the IASB on the need to amend the IFRS for SMEs. Learn more
about the SMEIG.

Procedure for submitting implementation issuessmall companies and

other interested parties can submit implementation issues on the IFRS for SMEs for
consideration by the staff. Learn more about this procedure.

Training materialthe IFRS Foundation has developed comprehensive free to

download training material to support the implementation of the 2009 IFRS for
SMEs available in Arabic, English, Russian, Spanish and Turkish. We will also be
providing updated training modules to reflect the 2015 amendments to the IFRS for
SMEs later this year. Access the IFRS for SMEs training materials.

IFRS Taxonomythe IFRS Taxonomy is the XBRL (eXtensible Business

Reporting Language) representation of IFRSs, including the IFRS for SMEs.

Workshopsthe IFRS Foundation holds regional 'train the trainers' workshops,

in co-operation with regional professional associations and the world's development
agencies, to build capacity for the implementation of the IFRS for SMEs, particularly
in developing and emerging economies. Learn more about the workshops.

Newsletterwe publish a free monthly newsletter, IFRS for SMEs Update, with
the latest news about the IFRS for SMEs, including the work of the IASB and the
SMEIG, adoptions, translations and other resources. Access the IFRS for SMEs
Updates.

Presentationssome presentations about the IFRS for SMEs available for free
download. Access the IFRS for SMEs presentations.

Guidance for micro-sized entitiesclick here for more information.