Accounting Directive

This Directive coordinates Member States' laws, regulations and administrative provisions on the annual financial statements, consolidated financial statements and related reports of certain types of undertakings, in order to protect the interests of shareholders, members and third parties while reducing the burden on businesses. It applies to limited liability companies and certain types of partnerships, classifies undertakings as micro, small, medium-sized or large, and sets differentiated disclosure requirements for each category. In particular, it requires large undertakings and public-interest entities active in the extractive industry or the logging of primary forests to disclose payments made to governments, in order to increase transparency.