External links
Please find below a brief list of Belgian, foreign and international institutions relevant for the preparation, submission and dissemination of annual accounts.
Belgian institutions
ITAA
Institute for Tax Advisors and Accountants (ITAA)
The professions of accountant and tax advisor are regulated by the Act of 17 March 2019. This legislation ratified the merger of the the Institute of Accountants and Tax Consultants (IAB-IEC) and the Institute of Accounting Professionals and Tax Experts (BIBF-IPCF), thereby creating the Institute of Tax Advisors and Accountants (ITAA). The law was implemented by royal decree on 11 September 2020. In view of the internationalisation of the profession, the institute uses an English-language name (ITAA).
The ITAA has various tasks:
- It promotes the interests of its members.
- It manages a public register and provides registration for those wishing to exercise the profession of accountant or tax advisor.
- It oversees access to the profession by organising regular entrance exams, traineeships and aptitude tests.
- It monitors correct observance of the rules of professional ethics by its members as well as continuing education.
- It issues - and monitors compliance with - standards and recommendations with a view to ensuring correct professional practice.
CNC-CBN
Accounting Standards Board (CNC-CBN)
The Accounting Standards Board was set up by the Royal Decree of 21 October 1975 establishing an Accounting Standards Board (implementing Article 13 of the Act of 17 July 1975 on business accounting). Its head office is in the Brussels-Capital Region.
The tasks of the CBN-CNC are to:
- advise the government and Parliament at their request or on its own initiative on matters relating to accountancy and annual accounts;
- establish accounting literature and, by way of opinions and recommendations, formulate consistent accounting principles.
FPS Economy
Federal Public Service (FPS) Economy
The Federal Public Service Economy is responsible for certain parts of the financial and accounting legislation:
- corporate governance;
- accounting law and the annual accounts of companies (including requests for a refund of the surcharge for the late filing of annual accounts and for a derogation from Belgian accounting obligations);
- the statutory audit of annual accounts.
IBR-IRE
Institute of Auditors (IBR-IRE)
All auditors, i.e. both individual auditors and audit firms, must be registered with the Institute of Auditors, a public institution established by the Act of 22 July 1953.
The purpose of the IBR-IRE is to:
- oversee the training and ensure the organisation of a body of specialists qualified to perform the function of company auditor, with all relevant guarantees in terms of competence, independence and professional integrity;
- ensure that the tasks entrusted to its members are properly performed.
XBRL Belgium
XBRL Belgium
On 22 November 2004, a platform was created at the National Bank of Belgium to encourage the use in Belgium of the “eXtensible Business Reporting Language” (XBRL), to standardise and optimise the exchange of financial information. The platform takes the form of a non-profit association and was set up at the initiative of eight bodies closely concerned with financial reporting.
The primary aims of XBRL Belgium are to:
- encourage and support the use in Belgium of XBRL, an open technical standard for simpler and more efficient compilation, exchange and processing of financial and business data;
- develop, make available and maintain the modified taxonomies necessary for that purpose.
Foreign institutions
DE
ES
Colegio de Registradores de la Propriedad y Mercantiles de España
FR
GB
IE
IT
LU
Registre de Commerce et des Sociétés du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg
STATEC: l'Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques du Grand-Duché du Luxembourg
NL
SE
International institutions
ECCBSO
European Committee of Central Balance-Sheet Data Offices
The European Committee of Central Balance-Sheet Data Offices is an informal organisation comprising representatives of the central balance sheet offices or similar institutions in the various European countries.
The object of the ECCBSO is to improve the analysis of the data of non-financial corporations through the:
- exchange of information;
- coordination of processing methods; and
- execution of joint projects.
European Commission
European Commission - IAS/IFRS- standards and interpretations
This website contains information on the approval status of the IFRS in the European Union as well as documents relating to the application and interpretation of the standards.
Eurostat
Eurostat (home page)
IFRS
The IFRS Foundation is an independent body whose main objectives are:
- to develop a single set of globally accepted financial reporting standards;
- to promote the use and rigorous application of those standards;
- to take account of the financial reporting needs of emerging economies and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); and
- to work towards the convergence of national accounting standards with the IFRS.
XBRL Europe
XBRL Europe XBRL Europe was set up in June 2008 by XBRL International and a number of European jurisdictions as an international non-profit organisation based in Brussels and governed by Belgian law.
XBRL Europe aims to:
- foster cooperation between XBRL projects in Europe and between European countries, in order to identify and harmonise best practices;
- establish contacts and engage in consultation with European organisations and authorities (European Commission, European Parliament, European Central Bank, etc.) in order to promote knowledge of XBRL; and
- attract new members and support the establishment of new chapters in Europe, in collaboration with the XBRL International Membership Development Committee.
XBRL International
XBRL International is a not-for-profit consortium of more than 600 businesses and institutions which work jointly to develop the XBRL language and which actively promote and support its use.
XBRL International:
- owns the intellectual property consisting of the XBRL specifications and the organisation’s other operational products;
- develops and maintains the XBRL specifications;
- promotes acceptance of the XBRL standard.