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The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the most significant piece of data protection legislation to be passed in the history of the European Union, according to the team at Ronan Daly Jermyn. "What’s really catching the headlines is the new top-end fine, to give an example, the higher-tier provision will result in a maximum fine of up to 4% of a company’s preceding year’s global, worldwide turnover or €20 million, whichever is greater. Compare that to the existing law where the maximum penalty applicable to most companies is €100,000," said Bryan McCarthy, Head of Ronan Daly Jermyn's Cyber and Data Protection Group. GDPR will come into force on 25 May 2018 and will result in a significant overhaul of the existing European Data Protection regime. It will repeal and replace the current Data Protection Directive (94/46/EC), which forms the basis for the current Irish legislative framework, being the Data Protection Acts, 1988 and 2003. The changes contemplated by GDPR will place significantly more obligations on organisations and give more rights in favour of individuals. Ronan Daly Jermyn has compiled a list of the 10 key changes to the current Data Protection framework all organisations need to be aware of. To read more, click here.

IAASA has published its annual Profile of the Profession, which contains statistical data regarding the nine Prescribed Accountancy Bodies (PABs) within IAASA’s supervisory remit in Ireland for the year 2016. The Profile, which was compiled with the assistance of the PABs, presents an overview of the PABs’ memberships, student numbers and profiles, as well as the nature and scale of their regulatory and monitoring activities.

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has issued a request for stakeholders to tell the Board about their experience with the accounting standard that explains how to measure the ‘fair value’ of assets and liabilities, IFRS 13. The aim is to check whether the Standard meets its objectives. This request is part of the Board’s post-implementation review (PIR) of IFRS 13 Fair Value Measurement. This assessment involves analysing how the requirements in the standard affect investors, companies and auditors. The PIR also helps detect areas of a standard that may present challenges that could result in inconsistent application of the requirements. The PIR of IFRS 13 consists of two phases. In the first phase, the Board identified topics for further analysis in the second phase. The second phase starts with a request for information, which focuses on: Disclosures about fair value measurements; Further information about measuring quoted investments in subsidiaries, joint ventures and associates at fair value; Application of the concept of the ‘highest and best use’ when measuring the fair value of non-financial assets; and Application of judgement. In addition, this request for information explores whether there is a need for further guidance on measuring the fair value of biological assets and unquoted equity instruments. IFRS 13 defines fair value and sets out, in a single IFRS Standard, how fair value should be measured and which disclosures are required about fair value measurements. The Standard was issued in May 2011 and became effective from 1 January 2013. The Request for Information: Post-implementation Review—IFRS 13 Fair Value Measurement document can be found here. The deadline for submitting responses is 22 September 2017.

The key themes for discussion at a seminar hosted by ByrneWallace last week centred on understanding how prepared Ireland and Irish businesses are for Brexit. Over 100 CEOs, directors and business professionals representing some of Ireland's leading indigenous and international companies attended the event, and heard from a panel of business leaders and senior representatives from semi-state and government bodies in discussion about the potential effect of Brexit on Ireland’s economy and the measures and supports being put in place to assist Ireland’s entrepreneurs and business community to prepare for Brexit. The seminar was opened by guest of honour, Micheál Martin TD, Leader of Fianna Fáil, who also joined a panel discussion moderated by Brendan Keenan (Economic Columnist and former Group Business Editor at Independent Newspapers). The panellists included Julie Sinnamon, CEO Enterprise Ireland; Eoin O’Neill, President of the British Irish Chamber of Commerce; Ronan Gargan, Director, EU-UK Unit, EU Division, Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade; and Michael Cullen, CEO Investec. “The impact of Brexit is particularly profound for Irish business,” said Julie Sinnamon, CEO Enterprise Ireland. “35% of the exports of Enterprise Ireland backed companies in 2016 were to the UK, but the exposure is as high as 90% in some traditional sectors such as construction and timber. The impact is already evident; we saw a 10% drop in the growth rate of exports to the UK from 12% in 2015 to 2% in 2016. So Brexit is already impacting.” Focusing on financial services, Michael Cullen, CEO Investec, said, “Brexit will have a significant impact as to how financial services are delivered across the EU. In Ireland the implementation of any Brexit strategy, hard or soft, is likely to reduce competition as costs will rise for UK based Irish financial institutions who wish to compete in the Irish market.” Commenting on the event, Managing Partner Catherine Guy said, “In the wake of the Brexit vote last June, we have experienced far greater engagement with Irish and international clients who currently trade with or have operations in the UK and who are seeking assistance in assessing the potential legal and regulatory impact of Brexit on their business, and assistance with their contingency planning. “It is clear that the Irish business community are highly aware of the issues and are adopting an extremely proactive approach in planning and taking the necessary steps now to future proof their businesses post-Brexit."

What inspired you to start your own practice? Seven years in my training firm (Garland McDonald) cultivated my love for practice. After a brief spell in the motor trade and another year in lending with the state bank ICC, I decided to make a move. With no clients things could only improve. I relished being master of my own destiny and wanted to offer clients top class service. What are your goals for the next five years, professionally? I have committed to working as a consultant with McInerney Saunders providing business advisory services to their clients. Typically I'll be dealing with growth and profit, business succession and devising appropriate management structures for business going through change. I also act as an external influence at board meetings of family-owned businesses and hold non-executive directorships for foreign businesses with subsidiary operations in Ireland. My goal is to develop a portfolio of business advisory engagements and non-executive directorships that allows me to add value to these clients within my reduced work time.   What are your goals for the next five years, personally? I plan to spend more time with my wife Susan who has, unselfishly, given me the time to devote to my career to date. And, after my busy year as captain at the Sutton Golf Club, I plan to spend more time travelling in Ireland with Susan to see more of this wonderful country and its magnificent golf courses. What has been the defining moment of your career? I believe that there are events that propel one into action. The single market propelled me into action to establish professional relationships with accounting firms within Europe. We became an international associate for the UK200 Group of Chartered Accountants and this in turn led us to membership in IAPA International. This was an important part of our firm's development. Our response to the financial crash saw us as one of sixteen firms on the NAMA insolvency panel. Insolvency work gained on the back of that helped us cope with the loss of other advisory work that dried up in the wake of the crisis. Responding to challenges helped us to grow and develop. What do you do to relax? I play golf but I'm not sure that this is relaxing! It is a different challenge, one that I enjoy but I feel I'm always 'working' at my game. I really enjoy taking time out for coffee and a chat, meeting Susan for lunch and tipping about without having to do anything. Mostly, however, I enjoy being busy! What do you think makes a great managing partner? With the benefit of hindsight I would say someone who: Loves whet they do and leads by example; Inspires others by their work commitment  and standards; Listens to others; Is committed to making continuous improvement in what the firm does; Will tackle difficult situations; Does what they say they will do;  Accepts responsibility when something goes wrong; Challenges others to achieve higher levels of personal and professional performance; and Delegates effectively and grows their team's capabilities.   

During his recent visit to Ireland, EU Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier took the opportunity to ask the Irish for ideas as to how to manage the Irish border, for customs purposes, after Brexit.  It has been accepted, according to the statements of the relevant political authorities, that there will be no “borders of the past” (Theresa May) or no “visible hard border” (Irish Government’s position paper) and that the negotiations will have the “aim of avoiding a hard border” (EU’s negotiating position). 80% of customs duties currently collected by Irish Revenue are sent to Brussels. This is a major differentiating point from, say, income tax or corporation tax where all the tax collected by Revenue remains with the Irish Exchequer. However, if it is the case that a national revenue authority leaves customs duties uncollected, the national exchequer can be, according to EU law, placed on the hook to pay Brussels the value of the uncollected customs tax. It’s rather like the PAYE system where an employer collects income tax/social insurance payments on behalf of Revenue and, if the employer makes a mistake, they can be made liable.  As can be seen from the foregoing, there is a yawning gap between political aspirations and legal obligations. The EU’s negotiating position envisages that gap being filled with “flexible and imaginative solutions”. So here goes… In Princeton University, in Princeton, New Jersey, exams are not supervised. Instead, each student writes the following on his/her exam paper: “I pledge my honor that I have not violated the honor code during this examination.” The Irish border is c. 500km in length and there are c. 300 crossing points. While Princeton University has voluntarily chosen to do away with invigilators in each exam hall, it is the case that customs posts cannot be stationed at each crossing point on the Irish border. Therefore, there seems little option but to insist that each trader, instead, complies with the tax equivalent of a honour code, backed up with the making of returns, record keeping requirements, cross checking, intelligence, audits and appropriate sanctions for breaking the rules. This is the usual system for most taxes.  In the modern era, the concept of Stazi-like, static customs posts along the Irish border would be – compared to the cost of same – a waste of resources in circumstances where the committed smuggler would be in a position to utilise any one of several hundred other, unmanned, Checkpoint Cathals to get their goods from A to B. Every Irish person who has ever gotten off a plane at Dublin airport which originated outside the EU is familiar with the customs equivalent of the Princeton honor code. Each time a person walks through the ‘Nothing to Declare’ channel at the airport, he/she makes (legally) a declaration that, having regard to the thousands of pages of EU customs law, they are not a smuggler. Indeed, when a person gets off any international flight at the airport, the person is also, legally, making a declaration in respect of excisable goods (e.g. cigarettes and alcohol). The Irish and UK Revenue authorities work together to combat cross-border VAT and excise duty evasion. There is no reason (with appropriate and minor changes to EU Customs law together with information sharing protocols, as already takes place on the Sweden/Norway Border) why such co-operation cannot continue in the field of customs and so that Ireland’s legal obligations to Brussels to detect customs evasion can be married with the widespread political will for a soft border.  It’s not for this author to suggest likely candidates for Revenue customs scrutiny. However, it might be the case that a particular eye might need to be kept on the newly incorporated (and, hopefully, not aptly named) “The Brexit Smuggling Company Ltd” (CRO No. 601040, created on 27th March 2017) whose registered office is situated in Cork city. Up the Rebels.  Eoin O’Shea FCA is a practising barrister, specialising in commercial and tax law.