Introducing Ias-Ifrs in small and medium size enterprises: the case for Italian manufacturing firms

The introduction of Ias-Ifrs for italian small and medium size enterprises (SME’s) is very significant and quite complex. In fact, the small and medium size enterprises, in particular the not-listed companies, may choose between the Ias-based accounting rules and the civil code-based ones in making annual accounts. In case of voluntary adoption of Ias-Ifrs by SME’s some critical matters emerge: the transition to Ias-Ifrs seems to point out various advantages, but also some risks and problems; so, annual accounts will be certainly more comparables in the UE context; otherwise, due to double regulation in Italy – one Ias-based (for listed companies and for companies which can choose this approach), and the other, civil code-based – we’ll probably meet some difficulties in comprehension and comparison of annual accounts. The aim of the paper is to make evident, both by a theoretical and empirical point of view, the main differences, for small and medium size enterprises, between the annual accounts Ias-based and the annual accounts civil code-based; moreover, it aims to explain if these differences will really cause changes not only in accounting rules and policies, but also in cultural approach for companies, financial community and the whole accounting profession.