Paper title: Simplified reporting for micro-entities – ‘game-changer’ for annual report submission behaviour or not? 
Laivi Laidroo

Abstract:

Although European Directive 2013/34/EU was intended to reduce the administrative costs of mandated annual reporting for micro-entities, its real-life impact has remained unexplored. We investigate the annual report submission behaviour of Estonian micro-entities before and after the introduction of a simplified reporting regime in 2016. Employed difference-in-differences (DID) methodology shows that the impact of the introduction of simplified reporting on annual report submission timing depends on how quickly the companies adopt the abridged reporting. While we observe no immediate treatment effect on annual report submission lag (period from the end of the accounting year till the submission of the report) amongst Estonian micro-entities adopting abridged reporting format in 2016, it reduces their annual report submission lag by 5 days in 2017. Contrary to expectations, the companies adopting the abridged reporting in 2017 and 2018, increase their annual report submission lag by 7 to 40 days in the first year of adoption. The clearer impact of the introduction of simplified reporting appeared for annual report submission levels which increased amongst companies adopting the abridged reporting format in 2016. Although no drastic change in micro-entities’ annual report submission behaviour was detected, it led to some positive outcomes in Estonia. 

The public research seminars of the Department of Economics and Finance (DEF) at Tallinn University of Technology  usually take place on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month in online format, unless announced otherwise. The seminar will last one hour, presentation will last approximately 45 minutes followed by 15 minutes of discussion. The seminars are held in English. The DEF seminar series is organised in collaboration with the project ’’Individual Behaviour and Economic  Performance: Methodological  Challenges and Institutional Context’’ (IBEP), which has received funding from the European Union Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme under Grant Agreement No 952574. Questions about the seminar can be sent to the IBEP seminar coordinator Kadri Männasoo, kadri.mannasoo@taltech.ee .