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Expanding Financial Statement Review for SMEs: A Parliamentary Proposal Under Scrutiny

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

November 13, 2025

In a significant development, the Hellenic Parliament is considering a proposal that would extend the option of financial statement review – instead of a full audit – to a larger cohort of businesses. Currently, from 2023 onward, companies with an annual turnover of up to €200,000 are subject to a review of their financial statements by a certified auditor or audit firm rather than undergoing a full audit, which requires audited financial accounts.

Proposal Details And Expansion Of Thresholds

The proposal, introduced by DISI, seeks to extend this regime to companies with an annual turnover of up to €900,000. The rationale behind the measure is to ease the administrative burden on smaller enterprises and multi-company groups that often struggle to comply with the rigorous demands of international financial reporting standards.

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Tax Authority Concerns And Revenue Implications

However, the proposal has met with resistance from the Tax Department. During a recent debate in the Parliamentary Commerce Committee, the Tax Commissioner, Sotiris Markidis, warned that raising the threshold to €900,000 would result in approximately 66% of companies being subject only to a financial statement review. He argued that as the ceiling increases, the state stands to lose significant revenue – citing a potential revenue risk of €0.5 billion.

Industry Reactions And Comparative Analysis

Markidis further cautioned that the streamlined review process lacks the detail of a full audit, potentially facilitating tax evasion among small enterprises – a concern that has precedent in the market. Representatives from the Small and Medium Enterprises Association (SELK) and the Banks Association have argued that the measure should target only very small companies. Additionally, a spokesperson for the Central Bank has recommended against the proposal in its current form, suggesting instead a hybrid review system for businesses with turnovers up to €900,000.

Establishment Of A Financial Reporting Standards Council

In a related legislative effort, the Commerce Committee also reviewed a second proposal by DISI, which would establish a Council for the Determination of Financial Reporting Standards. This council would be responsible for setting, monitoring, and evaluating the financial reporting standards applied by small companies, aiming to reduce administrative burdens while ensuring compliance with international practices.

Future Directions And Administrative Considerations

Industry insiders, including SELK and banking representatives, maintain that the measure should only encompass the very smallest enterprises. Meanwhile, the Tax Department and other stakeholders continue to emphasize the potential fiscal risks associated with broadening the turnover threshold. Furthermore, a representative from the Central Bank noted that the new financial standards council should ideally operate independently of the Ministry of Energy and the Department of Company Registrations, suggesting a reassignment of its oversight to either the Ministry of Finance or SEM’s regulatory framework. The final decision now rests with the council of the respective associations.

The Future Forbes Realty Global Properties

by News Editor

August 24, 2026

Courts Are Still Applying Old Copyright Rules To AI

AI companies train models on enormous amounts of published material, including books, articles and academic research. Whether using that content without authors’ permission violates copyright law remains unresolved.

Much of the debate centres on fair use, which allows copyrighted material to be used without permission in certain circumstances. Courts consider factors such as the purpose of the use, how much material was involved and its impact on the original market.

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Anthropic Case Sets An Important Precedent

A major case involving Anthropic and a group of authors provided one of the clearest rulings so far. Judge William Alsup found that using copyrighted books to train AI models was lawful, comparing the process to people reading and studying literature before creating something new.

Anthropic was nevertheless ordered to pay $1.5 billion in a settlement. The penalty concerned books the company had obtained from illegal online libraries rather than the AI training itself.

For AI companies, that distinction could prove significant because it separates studying copyrighted material from directly copying it.

Competition Could Be The Key Issue

A case involving Thomson Reuters and Ross Intelligence offers a different perspective. A court ruled that Ross could not claim fair use after using Reuters’ copyrighted material to develop a competing AI-powered legal research platform.

The decision suggests courts may be less willing to consider AI training fair use when copyrighted content is used to build a product that directly competes with the original.

For authors, an unresolved question is whether AI-generated content should be considered competition for the works used to train these models.

The Law Has Yet To Catch Up

US copyright law predates generative AI by decades, leaving courts to apply old principles to new technology. Questions also remain over copyright protection for AI-generated works. In Thaler v. Perlmutter, a court ruled that material created entirely by AI cannot receive copyright protection.

Major AI companies remain involved in copyright litigation, and different courts could reach different conclusions. For now, there is no universal rule: the legality of AI training will depend on the circumstances of each case and how courts ultimately interpret copyright and fair use.