The central council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) yesterday (17 September) approved the modifications to the existing accounting standards so as to grant certain relaxations in the applicability of accounting standards to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The modifications would be effective in respect of accounting periods commencing on or after 1 April 2004.
"ICAI is the first body to have carved out special treatment for SMEs even though worldwide there is a move to address the concerns of SMEs on compliance with accounting standards," said the president of ICAI, Mr R. Bupathy.
For the purpose of relevance of Accounting Standards, enterprises would now be classified into three categories, namely Level I, Level II and Level III. For determination of size and involvement of public money, certain criteria have been specified.
