Company Law amended

The House of Representatives unanimously approved amendments to the Company Law with regards to the way the International Accounting Standards are applied while in the case of companies not applying the standards, the law now states they need to follow the 78/660/EU and 83/349/EU Directives.

The House vote brings Cyprus in line with EU directive 2003/51/EU regarding the submission of the annual returns. The main affect following the amendment to the law refers to Article 57D, whereby when a company proceeds with a share buyback, the details to be noted in the Directors report, instead of the Annual return, as was the norm until now.

In the event that when the full set of accounts are not published, then at least there should be a comprehensive report placed, including the auditor’s opinion.

Article 151 is also amended, by which the directors report should divulge additional and more detailed information with regards the operations of the company, risks and uncertainties that may occur.

The Association of Chartered Accountants and other Auditor and independent accountants meanwhile have expressed their reservations about the rampant application of the new amendments, fearing that this will add to the costs of small companies.