An Overview of Accounting and Auditing in Greece

As Greece is a member of the European Union (EU), it has to comply with the accounting, audit and financial reporting requirements set out by the EU in its decrees and directives into national laws and decrees. The requirement to prepare a financial statement is set out in Law 4308/2014, which was issued for the transposition of Directive 2013/34/EU. The annual return prepared must contain a reliable representation of the evolution of the business and the financial position of the company. The financial statements of Greece include balance sheets, annual returns, profit and loss statements, and notes to accounts. A compulsory audit must be conducted if the audit criteria are exceeded. It must be sent to the registry of public limited companies and should be published in an official government magazine.

All Accounting records should be stored for five years after the end of the reporting period. The copies of financial statements, director’s reports and auditor’s reports should be filed in the local chamber of commerce and industry.  The balance sheet, profit and loss statement and auditor’s report must be published in the Government Gazette daily financial newspaper and daily political newspaper at least 20 days prior to the general meeting of shareholders.

What are the types of legal entities that must file financial statements?

The types of legal entities that must file the financial statements are:

• Eteria Periorismen is Efthynics (EPE) or a private limited company;
• Anonymous Eteria (AE) or a limited liability company;
• Omorithmos Eteria (OE) or a general partnership;
• Eterorithmos Eteria (EE) or a limited partnership.
• Reporting Period in Greece

Reporting period in Greece consists of 12 months which ends on either 31^st December or 30^th June; however, subsidiaries of foreign groups can use other dates as the end of the year.

Accounting Standard

International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) applies to corporations whose shares or securities are listed on an exchange and to corporations that are united with the company for accounting purposes and use IFRS if the company represents a minimum of 5% of the consolidated turnover, consolidates assets, or consolidated results. However, IFRS is not compulsory for limited liability companies or other corporations. Small and medium-sized companies are allowed to use the full IFRS adopted in the EU however, it is subject to the condition that the accounts are certified by an independent certified auditor. The remaining small and medium-sized companies must use Greek Accounting Standards (Greek GAAP). The preparation of financial statements and the corporate tax return should be filed within six months from the end of the reporting period. In case of delayed filing or failure to file returns, the following fines are levied:

100. When the taxpayer is not required to keep books of account and/or has no payable tax – EUR 100.
101. When the taxpayer must keep books of accounts and accounting records as per the simplified accounting standards – EUR 250.
102. When the taxpayer must keep books of account and accounting records as per full accounting standards – EUR 500.

Audit requirement

As per Law 4336/2016, an audit is compulsory for all public companies, and all companies that meet two of the following conditions in two consecutive years must be audited:

1. Total of the balance sheet is 4,000,000 EUR.
2. Turnover is 8,000,000 EUR.
3. Average number of employees per year is 50.

Greek tax law requires all limited liability corporations and Greek branches of foreign banks to conduct tax audits by a certified Greek auditor. The company’s tax matters are considered final if a certificate of annual tax audit is issued without any reservations. Unless the taxpayer is chosen for a selective inspection, the tax authorities do not conduct their own inspection.

Consolidated Financial Statements

Other than when some enterprises of the group are public companies, small and medium-sized enterprises are not obligated to prepare consolidated financial statements. A parent enterprise is exempt from filing obligation to file consolidated financial statements if it is a subsidiary of another enterprise that is subject to the legislation of a member state of the European Union.

Small groups are groups consisting of parent enterprises and subsidiaries are subject to consolidation if the parent company does not exceed at least two of the following criteria:

1. Total assets are EUR 4,000,000;
2. Net turnover is EUR 8,000,000;
3. Average number of employees per period is 50.

Medium-sized groups are not small groups. They consist of the parent company and subsidiaries and are subject to consolidation if, on the reporting date, the parent company does not exceed at least two of the following three criteria:

1. Total assets are EUR 20,000,000
2. Net turnover is EUR 40,000,000
3. Average number of employees per period is 250.

Large groups must mandatorily prepare consolidated financial statements. Large groups consist of a parent company and subsidiaries that are subject to consolidation and that on the reporting date the parent company exceeds at least two of the following criteria:

1. Total assets are EUR 20,000,000
2. Net turnover is EUR 40,000,000
3. Average number of employees per period is 250.

As per the EU directives, all companies listed on a stock exchange must prepare their consolidated annual returns based on the IFRS.