The president of the European Commission, Mr Jean-Claude Juncker has made the Capital Markets Union (CMU) one of his key priorities for the new legislative term. One of the cornerstones in the CMU is better access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises. Today, however, divergent accounting standards across Europe hamper the access to cross-border finance for SMEs. Nonetheless, introducing IFRS for small and medium-sized enterprises would be too burdensome. Could simplified, common, and high-quality accounting standard tailored to SMEs be a way forward?
| 09.00 – 09.30 | Registration and welcome coffee |
| 09.30 – 09.40 | Introduction by Moderator: Carlos Martin Tornero Editor, The Accountant |
| 09.40 – 09.50 | Nicolas Bernier Abad Policy Officer, Accounting and Financial Reporting, DG FISMA, European Commission |
| 09.50 – 10.00 | Olivier Boutellis-Taft Chief Executive, FEE – Federation of European Accountants |
| 10:00 – 10.10 | Leo van der Tas Global Leader, IFRS Services, Ernst & Young Global Limited |
| 10:10 – 10.20 | Peter Faross Secretary General, UEAPME |
| 10:20 – 11.20 | Discussion |
| 11:20 – 11.35 | Conclusion |
