The government's response to the earlier consultation on what to implement (and how to implement it) from the EU micros directive was issued on 9 September 2013.

Before we go any further, what do we mean by micro entity? A micro entity (of which there are roughly 1.2m in the UK) is defined by the government, as meeting two of the three following criteria:

• Balance sheet total: £316,000

• Net turnover: £632,000

• Average number of employees during the financial year: 10 (or fewer).

Entities will have a choice as to whether to take advantage of the new micro regime, or whether to stick to fuller accounts as currently prepared, for example under the FRSSE.