Accounting standards

Accounting Standards Committee of Germany

Website
DRSC

Standard setting body and official source of German Accounting Standards (GAS).

Accounting Standards Updates by Jurisdiction: Germany

Website
Deloitte

Accounting standards updates and background information from Deloitte's IAS Plus service.

Commercial Code (Handelsgesetzbuch – HGB)

Website
Federal Ministry of Justice and the Federal Office of Justice

English translation of the German Commercial Code (HGB) — the primary source of accounting regulations in Germany.

IFAC profile: Germany

Website
IFAC

Profile of the legal and regulatory environment, including information on the statutory framework for accounting and auditing, regulation of the profession and adoption of international standards.

Use of IFRS standards by jurisdiction: Germany

Website
IFRS Foundation

Country profile prepared by the IFRS Foundation with notes on the extent of IFRS application, relevant jurisdictional authority, IFRS endorsement and translation of standards.

Terms of use

ICAEW accepts no responsibility for the content on any site to which a hypertext link from this site exists. The links are provided 'as is' with no warranty, express or implied, for the information provided within them. Please see the full copyright and disclaimer notice.

Model accounts

Exemplarischer IFRS-Konzernabschluss

Website
PwC

Example German-language IFRS consolidated financial statements, published by PwC in December 2024.

IFRS model consolidated financial statements 2024 (in German)

Website
KPMG

IFRS model financial statements (in German) published by KPMG in December 2024.

Models and checklists (Germany)

Website
Deloitte

Example accounts and checklists produced and regularly updated by Deloitte member firms to help users prepare reports in compliance with local GAAP.

Terms of use

eBooks

The ICAEW Library provides full text access to a selection of key business and reference eBooks from leading publishers. eBooks are available to logged-in ICAEW members, ACA students and other entitled users. If you are unable to access an eBook, please see our online help and support or contact library@icaew.com.

Exclusive Accounting rules and practices of individual companies in Europe: Germany

eBook chapter
2020
Christopher Nobes, Robert Parker
Pearson Education Limited

An overview of Germany's domestic accounting system for individual companies, and how it differs from IFRS. The authors demonstrate that important differences still exist between the German system and IFRS, both for financial statement formats and for accounting principles.

Exclusive Formats for German financial statements

eBook chapter
2020
Christopher Nobes, Robert Parker
Pearson Education Limited

An appendix setting out a standard system balance sheet format.

Exclusive Which business enterprises are subject to accounting rules? — Germany

eBook chapter
2020
Christopher Nobes, Robert Parker
Pearson Education Limited

A short section outlining the kinds of business enterprises to which the accounting laws and decrees of the German state apply.

Exclusive Who makes the accounting rules for unlisted business enterprises? — Germany

eBook chapter
2020
Christopher Nobes, Robert Parker
Pearson Education Limited

An overview of the sources of German rules on accounting for business enterprises not listed on a stock exchange.

Terms of use

You are permitted to access, download, copy, or print out content from eBooks for your own research or study only, subject to the terms of use set by our suppliers and any restrictions imposed by individual publishers. Please see individual supplier pages for full terms of use.

Comparisons

IFRS compared to German GAAP and Dutch GAAP: a detailed overview

Website
Aug 2024
KPMG

KPMG publication providing an in-depth analysis of significant differences between IFRS, German GAAP, and Dutch GAAP. Presents comparisons in table format for easy reference.

Terms of use

Accountancy profession

How is the European accountancy profession organised?

Website
Jul 2020
Accountancy Europe

Survey of the structure and organisation of the accountancy profession across Europe. The interactive map shows you how individual countries regulate or supervise the profession. An accompanying publication, 'How is access to the European accountancy profession regulated?' is also available - this focuses particularly on the audit profession.

Overview of the profession in Germany

Website
Jul 2020
Accountancy Europe

Profile of the structure of the accountancy profession in Germany. The profile compares the status of different professional titles, showing whether they are protected titles and if they are regulated or supervised. It also lists the necessary qualifications and requirements to work in Germany and gives basic statistics on the number of qualified professionals and trainees there.

Terms of use

Enforcement bodies

BaFin: Federal Financial Supervisory Authority

Website

Since January 2022, BaFin has been solely responsible for examining the financial statements of publicly traded companies in Germany. The formerly two-stage process – with the German Financial Reporting Enforcement Panel (FREP), a private-law entity, responsible for stage 1 and BaFin for stage 2 – has migrated to a single-stage process following the implementation of the German Financial Market Integrity Strengthening Act (FISG).

Terms of use

Accountancy associations and groups

Accountants Group in Germany (AGiG)
Deutscher Buchprüferverband (DBV) [German Certified Accountants Association]
Institut der Wirtschaftsprüfer (IDW) [Institute of Public Auditors]
Wirtschaftsprüferkammer (WPK) [Chamber of Public Accountants]

For regional organisations and networks, see our list of international accountancy bodies.

Firms

The market research and consultancy firm Lünendonk publishes rankings and surveys in Germany as well as other publications.

Leading Audit, Tax and Advisory Companies in Germany 2024

ICAEW Contact Members

Contact Member in Germany

ICAEW’s network of Contact Members around the world are a point of contact for enquiries and act as ambassadors in promoting ICAEW's strategy and brand in each region.

Databases

As well as providing direct access to a world-class collection of books, journals and electronic resources, the ICAEW Library can search various international databases on behalf of members, ACA students and other authorised users. Our specialist databases contain jurisdiction-specific information on accounting, tax and related topics.

International Corporate Procedures (Lexis+)

This regularly updated database includes country-by-country information on tax and accounting and features model company accounts. The model accounts are presented in the standard format for each country or territory with original language and English language versions presented together. Contact us to request documents from this database.

Joining ICAEW

IDW and WPK members
IDW members and WPK members can join ICAEW through the recognition offered under Professional Accountancy Education Europe (PAEE).

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Disclaimer

ICAEW accepts no responsibility for the content on any site to which a hypertext link from this site exists. The links are provided ‘as is’ with no warranty, express or implied, for the information provided within them. Please see the full copyright and disclaimer notice.

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Accounting by country or territory

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Resources on taxation across the world, including double tax treaties and local tax guides.

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Information

Some of the content on this web page was provided by the Chartered Accountants’ Trust for Education and Research, a registered charity, which owns the library and operates it for ICAEW.