LThe bosses dreamed of it. The government announced this Wednesday the establishment of an “SME test” as part of its plan aimed at simplifying life for businesses. If this measure comes into force, the consequences of the new standards on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will have to be assessed before they are put into practice.
Employer organizations have been calling for this measure for a long time. “We’re pretty happy. I believe in the minister’s desire to bring his simplification plan to fruition,” reacted Michel Picon, president of the representative organization of independents and traders, U2P. A “common sense measure” also welcomed by François Asselin, president of the Confederation of Small and Medium Enterprises (CPME).
It must be said that companies spend up to eight hours a week dealing with paperwork. This represents 3% of GDP, estimated the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire. And administrative burdens often weigh more heavily on small structures. “In an SME, the business manager does not have the means to subcontract and often has to take care of it, while the obligations are often the same for all companies,” explains François Asselin, of the CPME.
An advisory opinion
This “SME test” will serve as a “dam” to prevent “the hydra of complexity from taking back its rights”, illustrated Bruno Le Maire. Concretely, the new standards would first be evaluated by a commission or a high commission attached to the Prime Minister and composed of business leaders and parliamentarians, explains François Asselin. The president of the CPME participated in discussions on the development of this measure with Bercy.
This group should rule on the potential impact of the project on SMEs. If there is any doubt, “whether the light is orange or red”, this standard would be tested by a panel of SMEs. These companies will then give their opinion but it will only be advisory. “We are in a democracy, it is not up to an ad hoc commission to decide in place of elected officials but in the event of a negative opinion, if the legislator decides to go further, he will do so with full knowledge of the facts and this opinion will be made public,” specifies the president of the CPME. Michel Picon, too, wants to be “optimistic”: “I find it hard to imagine that if a test shows that it is unmanageable in companies, there is someone to say “we do it anyway”. »
An experiment on the CSRD directive
This “SME test” has already been tested on the CSRD directive. This European regulation requires companies listed on the stock exchange to communicate information on ESG (environmental, social and governance) criteria. “We are here, typically, on a standard which is intended to be analyzed, scrutinized to perhaps correct it and simplify it,” explained Olivia Grégoire, Minister Delegate in charge of Trade and SMEs. A panel of fifteen SMEs tested the measure. The results will be communicated Monday April 29.
Beyond the “SME test”, employers’ organizations are generally satisfied with the measures presented by Bercy. “It’s a lot of things that we’ve been asking for years. I have confidence in their desire to implement it but I think it is a fight that they will have to wage internally against their administration. We will judge on the evidence,” said Michel Picon, president of the U2P. “Now, it is in the parliamentary process that everything will be decided,” concludes François Asselin. The Senate will examine the legislative aspect of the text on June 3.
