Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Taskeen Ahmed today spoke at "Implementation of IFRS for SMEs" at DCCI in the capital. Photo : BSS

DHAKA, March 22, 2025 (BSS) - The International Financial Reporting Standards
(IFRS) will strengthen access to finance and investment, boost global
competitiveness and reduce the risks of financial misreporting.
 
Taskeen Ahmed, president of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI),
said this at a focus group discussion on "Implementation of IFRS for SMEs"
held at DCCI in the capital today.

He said SMEs are the lifeline of Bangladesh's economy contributing over 25
percent to the GDP. He also said the adoption of "International Financial
Reporting Standard" (IFRS) for SMEs provides a structured framework that
enhances financial transparency, said a press release.
 
The DCCI President said IFRS would significantly impact tax revenue
collection by improving compliance, minimizing tax evasion and bringing more
businesses into the tax net.

He also termed that limited financial capacity, shortages of skilled manpower
and compliance cost creates barriers in adopting IFRS for SMEs. Taskeen
stressed on the need for more investment in training and regulatory
alignments.

Dr. Mohammad Abu Yusuf, chairman (Acting) of Financial Reporting Council,
said IFRS is very important for SMEs to comply with the international
standards, but its implementation is still challenging for the SMEs due to
lack of knowledge, skilled workforce, easy procedures and awareness.
 
There is no alternative to enhancing the capacity of SMEs to make them
interested in implementing IFRS, he opined. "SMEs need to be more focused on
IFRS implementation to increase tax compliance, access to capital from the
capital market, and signing international trade agreements," Yusuf added.

Md. Amir Uddin, executive director of Bangladesh Bank (BB), said the
implementation of IFRS should be focused on improving the image of local SME
entrepreneurs in the global arena, but it is necessary to provide training to
improve their skills. They should be well aware of the benefits of
implementing IFRS as well, he added.

Nawshad Mustafa, director of SME & Special Programmes Department of
Bangladesh Bank, said they have a lack of trained and skilled accounting
professionals in the country especially for SMEs.
 
"To implement IFRS in a practical manner, an enabling environment is
necessary for this," he said adding that IFRS is implemented in 80 countries
in the world and it is also required to implement but that should be without
affecting the business activities of the SME sector.
 
Nawshad again stressed for a friendly environment for its implementation.

Mohammad Jahangir Hossain, general manager of SME Foundation, said from SME
Foundation accounting software were provided to few SME entrepreneurs, but it
was not implemented in many cases due to lack of skills and interest.
 
He then proposed sector-based customized accounting software for the SME
sector to make it easy. Later, he emphasized on providing facilitation and
training for further implementation of IFRS.

Sk. Md. Tarikul Islam, FCA Partner of Hoda Vasi Chowdhury & Co. Chartered
Accountants, presented the keynote paper. "Capacity building, training for
accountants and auditors and initial transition costs are some of the
challenges for implementation of IFRS," he said.

Regulatory bodies, professional organisations, and financial institutions can
play a vital role in facilitating a smooth transition, he added.
 
He also highlighted key benefits of IFRS for SMEs such as simplified
reporting, cost-effective compliance, enhanced credibility and facilitating
growth.
 
Tarikul, however, urged for easy access to finance, lower tax and vat rate,
reduced tax rate for green business, tax incentive for SME startups and
simplification of tax payment process for the SME sector.

Speaking at the open discussion, DCCI Convener Lutful Hadee said there are
about 2,200 chartered accountants in the country, out of them about 600 are
in practice.
 
Moreover, about 40,000 part-qualified accounting professionals are also in
the market after completing various pertinent courses.

DCCI's Joint Convenor Md. Shafiqul Alam urged for uniformity in the
definition of SME in different policies and regulations of different
institutions.

DCCI's Senior Vice-president Razeev H Chowdhury and Vice-president Md. Salem
Sulaiman were also present at the meeting.