History of the European Accounting Directives Review: Analysis of the Public Consultation Results

Approval of the new European Accounting Directive followed a long standard-setting process, characterized by a public consultation held in 2009 through a Questionnaire submitted by the European Commission as part of the project to simplify EU accounting rules. This paper analyses the comment letters received by the European Commission with a twofold aim: first, to evaluate whether there are significant differences among Country groups and respondent categories, and second to verify the acceptance level of the constituents’ opinions in the subsequent European Commission’s review proposal and in the European Parliament and Council’s final decisions. Confirming our hypotheses, results show a significant diversity among respondents. In particular, only German-speaking Countries favor eliminating significant disclosure and publication requirements. Anglo-Nordic Countries agree on increasing simplification options and information freedom, whilst Latin Countries are more oriented towards a rule-based approach. Concerning respondent categories, preparers show more appreciation for a significant reduction of mandatory disclosure with respect to users and public authorities. In any case, the proposal for a new Accounting Directive presented by the European Commission, as well as the final Directive, though apparently supporting the ‘user primacy’ principle, seems not to consider adequately all the needs emerging from the public consultation.