Technical Hub

Core Funding is a grant scheme provided directly to Early Learning and Childcare service providers administered by the Department of Children, Disability and Equality (the Department). Under the Core Funding Partner Service Agreement, all service providers that had an active core funding contract during the 1 September 2024 - 31 August 2025 programme year (Year 3) must engage a qualified professional accountant to submit a financial return.  The returns must be submitted by 31 March 2026. The Department requires that these financial returns must be submitted by a qualified professional accountant. The accountant can be an employee of the provider (if certain conditions are met) or an independent qualified accountant who holds a Practising Certificate (PC) and professional indemnity insurance.  Accountants linked to childcare service providers will have received a letter (attached)  from the Department this week outlining the steps to complete and submit the financial returns.  For the 2024/2025 programme year (Year 3), accountants will need to submit a trial balance prepared at site level using accruals-based accounting. Submission of the trial balance prepared using accruals-based accounting is a change for Year 3 given that returns submitted in Years 1 and 2 used cash-based accounting. The Department’s portal website  www.cfcrrs.ie  is now open for submission of the financial returns and guidance documents for Year 3 have been added to Department's Early Years Hive website. Members can read further information and links to some further guidance on our dedicated webpage.

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has issued amendments to FRS 102 which update the framework a company uses when adapting the format of their balance sheet and profit and loss account. Following a consultation period last year, the FRC has introduced changes to FRS 102 to reflect the replacement of IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements with IFRS 18 Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements. IFRS 18 is effective for periods commencing on or after 1 January 2027. Company law gives certain entities the option to adapt the format used for its balance sheet and/or profit and loss account. FRS 102 sets out the specific formats to be used when an entity chooses this option. Where an entity does not choose to adapt their balance sheet or profit and loss format, these changes will have no impact to the reporting entity. In addition to this change, the FRC has also made amendments to FRS 102 and FRS 105 which are intended to make limited clarifications to the 2024 Periodic Review amendments. Amendments have been made to the following sections of FRS 102 and FRS 105. Section 9 Consolidated and Separate Financial Statements of FRS 102. The wording of paragraph 9.3 has been amended to provide clarification. Section 13 Inventories of FRS 102. Paragraph 13.14 (Cost of inventories of a service provider) has been deleted, and Section 10 Inventories of FRS 105. Paragraph 10.13 (Cost of inventories of a service provider) has been deleted.

The Corporate Enforcement Authority (CEA) has recently highlighted its Information Note on circumstances leading to disqualification under the Companies Act 2014 and the associated consequences.  The Information Note outlines the two primary reasons in which the disqualification of a company director arises: in the context of a liquidator's report on the conduct of the directors of the insolvency companies under section 682 of the Act;  in the context of the CEA, or others, making applications to the High Court under section 842 of the Act.  The Information Note is available to read in full here.