2.2 Differential Reporting
The reasons given for maintaining an alternative reporting or “differential reporting” framework (DIFFREP) for SMEs are usually taken from broad assumptions about the costs
and benefits of compliance with full accounting standards. It is assumed that the costs of full compliance for SMEs outweigh the benefits.
Evans et al., (2005) discuss prior research on DIFFREP and explain that there are arguments for and against DIFFREP. Those that argue for a DIFFREP regime consider that there are undue burdens and costs of full reporting, which outweigh its benefits. The argument against a DIFFREP system is that there is a need for universality of reporting.
New Zealand adopted DIFFREP in 1994. It was created to deal with the cost-benefit issue of reporting for smaller private entities (Dale et al., 1992). NZ DIFFREP was created based on cost-benefit considerations and the limited applicability of financial reporting standards to SMEs (Dale et al., 1992). When NZ adopted New Zealand equivalents to International Financial Reporting Standards (NZ IFRS) in 2007 it was decided to retain the current DIFFREP framework. No review of the framework was undertaken at that time (NZICA, 2007).
Australia, the United Kingdom (UK) and Canada also have forms of DIFFREP for SMEs. South Africa did not have a DIFFREP regime until recently, but SMEs may now use IFRS-SME as an alternative to full IFRS reporting (Cohn, 2009). From their UK research Collis et al., (2001) concluded that a DIFFREP regime should be created not simply to reduce the cost of producing financial reports, but should be created with the aim of creating reports that are more useful to the users of those reports.