The Comissão de Normalização Contabilística is Portugal's accounting standards authority. It develops and oversees the accounting frameworks used across the country: the Sistema de Normalização Contabilística for companies, and the SNC-AP for public administrations. Both are built to align with EU directives and international practice while reflecting Portuguese legal requirements. The CNC also engages with European developments through EFRAG.
What the CNC publishes
- The SNC and SNC-AP frameworks and their component standards
- Implementation manuals and technical guidance
- FAQs, addressing sector-specific accounting questions — often the fastest available answer on a technical point
- Clarifications on reporting and disclosure requirements
- Guidance on the accounting effects of sustainability reporting obligations
- Consultation material on proposed changes
Why it matters for compliance teams
Portuguese statutory accounts follow the SNC, and the CNC's FAQ material is where a great many practical treatment questions are actually resolved — the standards themselves leave more open than the FAQs do. For entities in the public sector or receiving public funds, the SNC-AP is a separate framework with its own requirements.
Seqlense DOC indexes CNC standards and guidance alongside EFRAG endorsement material and the other national standard-setters, so a group with Portuguese entities can compare local statutory treatment against the European position.