Work on a revised strategy for the International Financial Services Sector will begin shortly Minister of State Simon Harris announced ahead of today’s Enterprise Ireland Financial Services & Technology CEO Forum. The Strategy is scheduled for completion early next year.

Writing in Accountancy Ireland’s special Practice Management edition of Accountancy Ireland which is exclusively available to Accountancy Ireland App users, Feargal McCormack, the managing partner of one of Northern Ireland’s most successful accounting firms, offered the following tips for anyone considering starting their own practice: Be yourself, dare to be different; Have a strong work ethic and desire; Focus on positive thinking, have the courage to tell your colleagues to disengage from negativity; Leave your ego behind you; Build a good team around you, focus on creating a culture of shared responsibility and encourage your team to be champions of evolutionary change; Don’t confuse high IQ with good interpersonal skills: emotional intelligence is important; Know your subject -- practice enhances performance; Learn to delegate -- if you cannot delegate, you are a nuisance; Search for opportunities, and when given an opportunity, don’t mess it up; Support your team colleagues, inside and outside of work, and they will give you super commitment; and Promote corporate social responsibility. Read the full article in Accountancy Ireland Select Series No 2 Practice Management. This App-only edition of Accountancy Ireland is FREE to Chartered Accountants Ireland members and available for in-App purchase by other interested readers. For details see www.accountancyireland.ie/ss2

The Council of the European Union has adopted a directive for the disclosure of non-financial and diversity information by certain large companies. The decision was taken at a meeting of the General Affairs Council on 29 September 2014 and Member states will have two years to incorporate the new provisions into domestic law (they will be applicable in 2017).  The new measures will require certain large EU companies to draw up, on a yearly basis, a statement relating to environmental, social and employee-related matters, respect for human rights, anti-corruption and bribery matters. The statement will have to include a description of the policies, outcomes and risks related to these matters.  The Regulations (47/14 and 13265/14 ADD 1 REV 1) which include 'comply or explain' provisionis, contain the following main features: Scope The new provisions will be applicable to public interest entities over 500 employees. Public interest entities are companies, such as listed undertakings, banks, insurance companies or undertakings which are of significant public relevance because of the nature of their business, their size or their corporate status. Therefore small and medium-sized companies will be exempted from the new reporting obligation. Some 6.000 public interest entities in the EU would fall under the scope of the directive.  Diversity policy A description of the diversity policy applied for the undertaking’s administrative, management and supervisory bodies with regard to aspects such as age, gender, educational and professional background, will be added in the corporate governance statement (provided for in article 20 of directive 2013/34/EU).  Country by country reporting on taxes On a report to be delivered by 21 July 2018 by the Commission, it will have to be considered the possibility of introducing an obligation requiring large undertakings to produce, on an annual basis, a country-by-country report for each member state and third country in which they operate, containing information on profits made, taxes paid on profits and public subsidies received. The report will take into account developments to increase transparency in financial reporting carried out at international level. Country-by-country reporting in the extractives sector has already been legislated by the EU under directive 2013/34/EU.  Transposition period Member states will have two years to incorporate the new provisions into domestic law, which will be applicable in 2017. 

A new online educational quiz has been launched by the IFRS Foundation to serve as a free resource for students, educators and other interested parties wishing to assess their knowledge of international financial reporting standards (IFRS). The online quiz was developed by former IASB Member Paul Pacter. Quiz participants are presented with ten 'True or False' statements and the quiz is instantly graded with explanations provided for the answers shown. Quiz participants will be presented with 10 true or false statements drawn randomly from 220 possible questions.   The quiz is instantly graded with answers and explanations provided for the answers shown.

Today is International Accounting Day and to mark the occasion Accountancy Ireland has published a special app-only edition. Select Series No 3 is free to all users of the Accountancy Ireland Magazine App. Accountancy Ireland Select Series No 3 features a profile of an Irish Chartered Accountant working in Denmark who is a singer/songwriter in his spare time and an article about the Kansas City Irish Festwritten by an Irish Chartered Accountant who works on the festival's finance committee. The Accountancy Ireland App is free to download from your App Store and selected issues -- including Select Series No 3 -- are free of charge.  Note: All App editions of Accountancy Ireland are free to Chartered Accountants Ireland members. Click here for information on how to log in and for troubleshooting tips.

The International Federation of Accountants has today issued a call for nominations for four independent standard-setting boards in 2016. The boards are: the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board® (IAASB®), International Accounting Education Standards Board™ (IAESB™), International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants® (IESBA®), and International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board® (IPSASB®). The call is for highly-qualified individuals to serve as volunteer members for three-year terms commencing in January next year. There are 25 vacancies, all of which are open for nominations by professional accountancy and international organizations, government agencies, regulators, firms, and the public. Nominations of non-accountants for the public member vacancies are strongly encouraged. The most suitable candidates are those who are most likely to enhance the quality of the boards’ output. Factors taken into consideration include experience, a robust understanding of the international issues that affect the work of the specific board, technical skills, and knowledge of the board’s strategic objectives and current work plan. Candidates also must be proficient in English and able to commit the required time. Financial support for travel is available for those who qualify, as well as for public members. Applications should be submitted before March 15, 2015. Further information is available in the Nominations area on the IFAC website.