Recital 4

(4)In the past, a number of changes have been made in order to enable companies falling within the scope of Directives 78/660/EEC and 83/349/EEC to use accounting methods in accordance with international financial reporting standards (IFRS). Pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1606/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 July 2002 on the application of international accounting standards ⁵ , companies the securities of which are admitted to trading on a regulated market of any Member State have to prepare their consolidated accounts in accordance with IFRS, and are consequently relieved from most of the requirements set out in Directives 78/660/EEC and 83/349/EEC. Those Directives, however, still form the basis for small and medium-sized companies’ accounting in the Community.