Financial reporting

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The main regulatory sources for financial reporting are:

The Civil Code: Part 9 of Book 2 of the Netherlands Civil Code, which is based on the 4th and 7th Eu Directives;
International Financial reporting standards (IFRs);
Guidelines for annual reporting as issued by the Council for Annual Reporting (CAR, Dutch Accounting standards Board).

Like in all the Eu countries since the financial year 2005, the preparation of consolidated financial statements in accordance with IFRs (international financing reporting standards) interpretations approved by the Eu (Eu IFRs) are mandatory for listed companies established in the Netherlands.

In Part 9 of Book 2 of the Netherlands Civil Code legal entities are classified into one of three categories based on (consolidated) size: small, medium and large. A legal entity falls into a particular category if it satisfies at least two of the following criteria in two consecutive years:

Amounts in EUR million or fte	Small entity	Medium sized	Large entity
Value of assets according to balance sheet	≤ 4,4	≤ 17,5	> 17,5
Net turnover	≤ 8,8	≤ 35	> 35
Average number of employees	< 50	< 250	≥ 250

The Civil Code defines the composition of financial statements. In this way the Dutch law requires that these financial statements together with the notes to the financial statements are prepared in such a way that they enable a reader to get a true and fair view about a company’s financial position and results and, within limits, its liquidity and solvency.

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