Adoption of IFRS for Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Entities Starting from FY2027-2028

On 16^th March 2026, the Myanmar Accountancy Council (“MAC”) issued Notification 19/2026 regarding the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) for Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Entities (“MSMEs”) exercising its authority under Section 17(d) of the Myanmar Accountancy Council Law (“MAC Law”) starting from the financial year 2027-2028.

This Notification officially revokes the previous Notification 19/2018 and the Myanmar Financial Reporting Standards for Small and Medium-Sized Entities (“SMEs”) issued under Notification 2/2009. With this Notification, any revocations, amendments and new issuances issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IASB”) must be complied by the businesses. In addition, profit-oriented MSMEs, as well as businesses with no public accountability, must apply IFRS for SMEs accounting standard when preparing general-purpose financial statements intended for external users.

The Audit Monitoring Committee, formed under Section 20(a)(5) of MAC Law, and the Accounting Monitoring Committee, formed under Section 20(a)(6) of MAC Law, are to assist in providing the necessary assistance to ensure the compliance requirements as per this Notification. They are required to submit reports to MAC Executive Committee through the Accounting Standards Committee. Early adoption of this Notification is also encouraged and businesses are also allowed to apply full IFRS standard instead of IFRS for SMEs.

Therefore, it is crucial for SMEs to consider building staff capacity, reviewing existing accounting policies, setting the financial reporting formats to align with compliance requirements and to have governance and compliance awareness.

While this transition may pose challenges for SMEs, it marks as a significant step toward in encouraging the transparency and consistency of financial reporting in Myanmar.