EN
The principles of accounting and fi nancial reporting are subject to legislative regulations. In the EU area, these are expressed in the form of fi nancial reporting directives. Their purpose is to ensure harmonization and comparability of fi nancial reports gathered from financial organizations across the EU area. The paper presents the origins and evolution of the EU directives on accounting and fi nancial reporting standards, with particular emphasis on the impact of the new European Parliament and Council directive on Polish accounting legislation.