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Extent of IFRS applicationStatusAdditional Information
IFRS Accounting Standards are required for domestic public companies All domestic companies whose securities trade in a regulated market are required to use IFRS Standards as adopted by the EU in their consolidated financial statements.
IFRS Accounting Standards are permitted but not required for domestic public companies
IFRS Accounting Standards are required or permitted for listings by foreign companies IFRS Standards as adopted by the EU are required in their consolidated financial statements except that a foreign company whose home jurisdiction’s standards are deemed by the EU to be equivalent to IFRS Standards may use its home standards.
The IFRS for SMEs Accounting Standard is required or permitted No.
The IFRS for SMEs Accounting Standard is under consideration No.

Profile last updated: 18 July 2016

RELEVANT JURISDICTIONAL AUTHORITY

Organisation

Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Latvia.

Latvijas Zvērinātu revidentu asociācija (LZRA) [Latvian Association of Certified Auditors].

Role of the organisation

The Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Latvia is the managing state administrative institution that Is directly responsible for setting accounting policy in Latvia, including drafting legislation related to accounting and preparation of the financial statements both for private and public entities. As a result, the application of IFRS Standards for companies outside the scope of the EU IAS regulation is the direct responsibility of the Ministry.

LZRA is the national professional organisation of Certified Auditors in Latvia. It does not have responsibility for establishing accounting standards. LZRA normally provides comments on accounting legislation and regulations to the Ministry of Finance.

Website

Ministry of Finance: www.fm.gov.lv/en/

LZRA: www.lzra.lv/

Email contact

Ministry of Finance: pasts@fm.gov.lv

LZRA: lzra@lzra.lv

COMMITMENT TO GLOBAL FINANCIAL REPORTING STANDARDS

Has the jurisdiction made a public commitment in support of moving towards a single set of high quality global accounting standards?

Yes.

Refer to the IAS Regulation adopted by the European Union in 2002.

Has the jurisdiction made a public commitment towards IFRS Accounting Standards as that single set of high quality global accounting standards?

Yes.

Refer to the IAS Regulation adopted by the European Union in 2002.

What is the jurisdiction’s status of adoption?
Latvia has already adopted IFRS Standards for the consolidated financial statements of all companies whose securities trade in a regulated market.
Additional comments provided on the adoption status?

As a member state of the European Union, Latvia is subject to the IAS Regulation adopted by the European Union in 2002.

The EU IAS Regulation requires application of IFRS Standards as adopted by the EU for the consolidated financial statements of European companies whose securities trade in a regulated securities market starting in 2005. The EU IAS Regulation gives member states the option to require or permit IFRS Standards as adopted by the EU in separate company financial statements (statutory accounts) and/or in the financial statements of companies whose securities do not trade on a regulated securities market. See the Profile for the European Union for more detailed information about the EU IAS Regulation.

There is one regulated market in Latvia – the NASDAQ Riga Stock Exchange.

Latvia used the option under the IAS Regulation as follows:

Companies whose securities trade in a regulated market

  • Require IFRS Standards as adopted by the EU in the consolidated financial statements of companies whose securities trade on a regulated market.
  • Require IFRS Standards as adopted by the EU in the separate company financial statements of companies whose securities trade on a regulated market on the official list.
  • Permit IFRS Standards as adopted by the EU in the separate company financial statements of companies whose securities trade on a regulated market on the secondary and free lists.

Companies whose securities do not trade in a regulated market

  • Require IFRS Standards as adopted by the EU in both the consolidated and separate company financial statements of all banks, insurance commercial companies, and other supervised financial institutions including those whose securities do not trade in a regulated market.
  • Permit IFRS Standards as adopted by the EU in the consolidated financial statements of all other companies whose securities do not trade in a regulated market.
If the jurisdiction has NOT made a public statement supporting the move towards a single set of accounting standards and/or towards IFRS Accounting Standards as that set of standards, explain the jurisdiction's general position towards the adoption of IFRS Accounting Standards in the jurisdiction.
Not applicable.

EXTENT OF IFRS APPLICATION

For DOMESTIC companies whose debt or equity securities trade in a public market in the jurisdiction:

Are all or some domestic companies whose securities trade in a public market either required or permitted to use IFRS Accounting Standards in their consolidated financial statements?
Yes.
If YES, are IFRS Accounting Standards REQUIRED or PERMITTED?
In accordance with the EU Accounting Regulation, IFRS Standards as adopted by the EU are required for the consolidated financial statements of all European companies whose debt or equity securities trade in a regulated market in Latvia.
Does that apply to ALL domestic companies whose securities trade in a public market, or only SOME? If some, which ones?
All that are listed on the Official List of the stock exchange, but not those listed on the secondary or free lists.
Are IFRS Accounting Standards also required or permitted for more than the consolidated financial statements of companies whose securities trade in a public market?
Yes.
For instance, are IFRS Accounting Standards required or permitted in separate company financial statements of companies whose securities trade in a public market?
  • IFRS Standards as adopted by the EU are required in the separate company financial statements of companies whose securities trade on a regulated market on the official list.
  • IFRS Standards as adopted by the EU are permitted in the separate company financial statements of companies whose securities trade on a regulated market on the second and free lists.
For instance, are IFRS Accounting Standards required or permitted for companies whose securities do not trade in a public market?

Required for some and permitted for others. Specifically:

  • IFRS Standards as adopted by the EU are required in both the consolidated and separate company financial statements of all banks, insurance commercial companies, and other supervised financial institutions whose securities do not trade in a regulated market.
  • IFRS Standards as adopted by the EU are permitted in the consolidated financial statements of all other companies whose securities do not trade in a regulated market. However, these companies are not permitted to use IFRS as adopted by the EU in their separate company financial statements.
If the jurisdiction currently does NOT require or permit the use of IFRS Accounting Standards for domestic companies whose securities trade in a public market, are there any plans to permit or require IFRS Accounting Standards for such companies in the future?
Not applicable.

For FOREIGN companies whose debt or equity securities trade in a public market in the jurisdiction:

Are all or some foreign companies whose securities trade in a public market either REQUIRED or PERMITTED to use IFRS Accounting Standards in their consolidated financial statements?
Yes.
If YES, are IFRS Accounting Standards REQUIRED or PERMITTED in such cases?

Required for some and permitted for others. Foreign companies whose securities trade in a regulated market in Latvia (and generally in the EU) are required to report under IFRS Standards as adopted by the EU for their consolidated financial statements unless the European Commission has deemed their local accounting standards to be equivalent to IFRS Standards, in which case they may use their local standards. Further details may be found on the 'Financial Reporting' page of the European Commission's website.

Does that apply to ALL foreign companies whose securities trade in a public market, or only SOME? If some, which ones?
All.

IFRS ENDORSEMENT

Which IFRS Accounting Standards are required or permitted for domestic companies?
IFRS Standards as adopted by the European Union, which are IFRS Standards as issued by the Board with some limited modifications such as the temporary ‘carve-out’ from IAS 39. However, the resulting financial statements of the majority of companies can still be in full compliance with IFRS Standards.
The auditor’s report and/or the basis of presentation footnote states that financial statements have been prepared in conformity with:
IFRS Standards as adopted by the European Union.
Does the auditor's report and/or the basis of preparation footnote allow for ‘dual reporting’ (conformity with both IFRS Accounting Standards and the jurisdiction’s GAAP)?
No.
Are IFRS Accounting Standards incorporated into law or regulations?
Yes. Reference to IFRS Standards as adopted by the EU is made in the respective national laws and regulations.
If yes, how does that process work?
The process is described in the Profile of the European Union.
If no, how do IFRS Accounting Standards become a requirement in the jurisdiction?
Not applicable.
Does the jurisdiction have a formal process for the 'endorsement' or 'adoption' of new or amended IFRS Accounting Standards (including Interpretations) in place?
Endorsement is done at the EU level. There is no national process for endorsement of IFRS Standards.
If yes, what is the process?
The process is described in the Profile of the European Union.
If no, how do new or amended IFRS Accounting Standards become a requirement in the jurisdiction?
Not applicable.
Has the jurisdiction eliminated any accounting policy options permitted by IFRS Accounting Standards and/or made any modifications to any IFRS Accounting Standards?
Yes.
If yes, what are the changes?
Details are in the Profile of the European Union.
Other comments regarding the use of IFRS Accounting Standards in the jurisdiction?
None.

TRANSLATION OF IFRS ACCOUNTING STANDARDS

Are IFRS Accounting Standards translated into the local language?

Yes.

The European Union has 24 official and working languages. They are: Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish and Swedish. Before they are published in the Official Journal of the European Union, and therefore become binding under EU law, individual IFRS Standards must be translated into all of those languages (other than English and Irish).

If they are translated, what is the translation process? In particular, does this process ensure an ongoing translation of the latest updates to IFRS Accounting Standards?

Pursuant to a copyright waiver agreement with the Directorate-General for Translation of the European Commission, the Commission takes care of the translation into the official languages according to their own translation process. The translation only covers the standards and mandatory guidance, which is what is then published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

In addition, some countries (usually the standard setter or institute) have a translation contract with the IFRS Foundation to produce an ‘official translation’ for publication of a bound volume of IFRS (usually the ‘Red Book’) and publication, in some cases, of individual standards and exposure drafts.

APPLICATION OF THE IFRS FOR SMEs ACCOUNTING STANDARD

Has the jurisdiction adopted the IFRS for SMEs Accounting Standard for at least some SMEs?
No.
If no, is the adoption of the IFRS for SMEs Accounting Standard under consideration?
No.
Did the jurisdiction make any modifications to the IFRS for SMEs Accounting Standard?
Not applicable.
If the jurisdiction has made any modifications, what are those modifications?
Not applicable.
Which SMEs use the IFRS for SMEs Accounting Standard in the jurisdiction, and are they required or permitted to do so?
Not applicable.
For those SMEs that are not required to use the IFRS for SMEs Accounting Standard, what other accounting framework do they use?
SMEs and other corporate entities that are not required to use IFRS Standards as adopted by the EU (as explained above) prepare their financial statements in accordance with the Latvian Law on Annual Reports (Latvian). Until 2012, accounting standards were issued by the Latvian Accounting Standards Board, but in 2012 that Board ceased operations and its standards (which tended to be older versions of IAS/IFRS Standards) were withdrawn.
Other comments regarding use of the IFRS for SMEs Accounting Standard?
None.