Accounting and Audit Requirements
INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL REPORTING STANDARDS
Armenian accounting standards were developed in the mid 1990s, essentially as an adaptation of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in place at the time, although subsequent IFRS developments and updates were generally not incorporated into the Armenian standards on an ongoing basis.
In 2009, the government initiated a full transition to IFRS. For banks, IFRS reporting became mandatory as of January 2009. From January 2010, IFRS reporting became mandatory for credit institutions, payment and settlement organizations, securities market issuers, investment companies, regulated market operators, the Central Depositary, insurance companies, reinsurance companies, and insurance brokers.Other entities may prepare and present IFRS-based fnancial statements if they make the necessary disclosures. IFRS has become mandatory for these entities from January 2011.
Entities with receivable revenue for the previous calendar year not exceeding AMD 100 million will be allowed to apply special regulatory provisions for tax accounting defned by the Government, rather than applying IFRS. The government published an up- to-date Armenian translation of IFRS in March 2010.
AUDIT REQUIREMENTS
Auditing is regulated by the law “On Auditing”, which regulates audit methodology and outlines requirements for audit frms and for auditors engaged in individual practice. Audit frms are licensed by the Ministry of Finance.
AUDITS REQUIRED BY LAW
Audits are mandatory for a range of enterprises. In particular, they are required for open joint stock companies, banks and other fnancial institutions, stock exchange participants, and large companies.
PUBLICATION OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Open joint stock companies, banks and branches of foreign banks are required to publish their annual fnancial statements. The deadline of publishing annual fnancial statements is generally July 1st of the year following the reporting year. Banks and insurance companies must publish annual fnancial statements within four months of the end of the reporting year.Since 2009, entities whose revenues for the previous year or the book value of whose assets at the end of the year exceeded AMD 1 billion, must also publish their annual fnancial statements. Only qualifed chief accountants or qualifed auditors are authorized to sign the published fnancial statements of commercial entities. Annual fnancial statements must be published together with the auditor’s offcial opinion.