Uruguay has significantly strengthened its accounting and  auditing environment in recent years and efforts are being made  to converge to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

Uruguay was one of the first Latin American countries to move  towards the adoption of international accounting standards. 

A first attempt to align the Uruguayan accounting practice  with international standards took place as early as 1991. In  the same year, the Permanent Commission of Accounting 
Standards (CPNCA) was established with the purpose of  advising the government on its issuance. The CPNCA has a broad  representation of issuers and users of financial information.

In October 2014 and December 2015 the latest decrees were  approved that established, in general, the international financial  reporting standards for SMEs as an accounting framework. 

These decrees have also established some local exceptions to  which IFRS for simplified SMEs may correspond, or at the other  extreme, the application of IFRS in its entirety or a specific 
accounting framework (financial entities regulated by the  monetary authority).

The Business Companies Act, enacted in 1989, requires business  entities to submit, within four months after each fiscal close,  financial statements prepared in accordance with the appropriate  regulatory framework.

Commercial, agricultural, service and trust entities not regulated  by the Central Bank of Uruguay must register their financial  statements with the Internal Audit of the Nation, accompanied by  a registered public report.