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A widening of the thresholds

The question to be asked is what impact this trend will have in light of the new articles of the PACTE law. Until now, the law allowed micro and small companies to adopt total or partial confidentiality of their annual accounts.

The "PACTE" law extends the confidentiality of annual accounts of small companies by modifying the thresholds. The thresholds are now 6,000,000 euros for the balance sheet total (compared to 4,000,000 euros previously) and 12,000,000 euros for the net turnover (compared to 8,000,000 euros previously).

A new classification of companies concerned

Article 47 of the PACTE Act introduces a new category of companies into the Commercial Code, namely medium-sized companies. This category of companies will be able to request, when filing their annual accounts, that only a simplified presentation of their balance sheet and annexes be made public.

Opting for the confidentiality of accounts generates a scarcity of balance sheet data and has a lasting impact on the way customer risk is managed. The question to be asked is what will be the impact of the evolution of this trend with regard to the new articles of the PACTE law. It has

Expanded the confidentiality of annual accounts for small businesses by changing the thresholds.
Introduces a new category of companies into the Commercial Code, the medium-sized companies. This category of companies may request, when filing their annual accounts, that only a simplified presentation of their balance sheet and annexes be made public.

The PACTE Act also specifies that when a company opts for the confidentiality of its accounts (for microenterprises) or its income statement (for small and medium-sized enterprises), the statutory auditor's report (CAC) is not made public. These provisions apply to accounts relating to financial years ending on or after May 23, 2019.

Confidentiality of annual accounts as of May 23, 2019 according to the Loi Pacte article 47 and Decree 2019-539 of May 29, 2019
Criteria and thresholds not to be exceeded	Company classification
	Microenterprises		Small businesses		Medium-sized companies
	Balance sheet total	350 k€	Balance sheet total	6 M€	Balance sheet total	20 M€
	Sales figures	700 k€	Sales figures	12 M€	Sales figures	40 M€
	Number of employees	10	Number of employees	50	Number of employees	250
Obligation to publish annual accounts	Confidentiality of annual accounts (Balance sheet + income statement + appendix)		Confidentiality of the income statement		Publication of a simplified presentation of the balance sheet and its annex