Chartered Accountants Ireland, Ireland’s largest accountancy body, has renewed its Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) with AICPA, the largest professional association representing the US Certified Public Accountant (CPA) qualification and NASBA, the organization representing US Boards of Accountancy. Chartered Accountants Ireland is currently the only professional accountancy body in the UK or Ireland to achieve these prestigious mutual recognition rights with the US CPA professional bodies.  The agreement provides Irish Chartered Accountants with an accelerated pathway to use of the ‘CPA’ credential in the United States, to set up in practice as CPAs in the US and to perform statutory audits there, once agreed qualifying conditions are met.  In return, US CPAs may practice in Ireland and are entitled to use the designation Chartered Accountant once agreed qualifying conditions are met. Representatives from the US bodies formally signed the agreement with the Chartered Accountants Ireland delegation in the historic Constitution Room in Dublin’s Shelbourne Hotel on Thursday 10 August.  With 418,000 members worldwide, the prestigious American Institute of Certified Public Accountants is the equivalent of Chartered Accountant Ireland, and this agreement is a renewal of long-standing links between both professional bodies.   The right to use the CPA credential in the United States is governed by the State Boards of Accountancy, which the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy represented at the August signing.  It is up to each of the State Boards to enact this agreement and several State Boards have done so, as the agreement was originally signed in 2004.  The State Boards of Accountancy collectively license to practice over 660,000 Certified Public Accountants in the United States and unlike the Irish system, only those who are licensed to practice public accountancy can use the credential. Mutual Recognition Agreements facilitate cross-border reciprocity by streamlining the process for qualified professionals with accounting credentials to become certified and licensed in each other’s countries.  This is only the sixth agreement that the US CPA bodies have completed with non-U.S. professional bodies. Irish Chartered Accountants are among the select group of accountants in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Hong Kong and Mexico. Chartered Accountants Ireland President, Shauna Greely who signed the MRA on Thursday, said: “On behalf of my fellow members across the globe, I welcome the successful completion of this important MRA.  The agreement confers significant and unique benefits to our members and will similarly facilitate American CPAs to enjoy the Chartered designation here in Ireland.  This further strengthens the professional relationship with our fellow American bodies and we hope to welcome many American CPAs to Ireland in the years to come.  “This agreement yet again marks Chartered Accountancy out as the premier business qualification available in Ireland today, offering a truly global brand.  Irish Chartered Accountants can be justly proud of the exclusive recognition in this agreement.  We are currently the only professional accountants in Ireland or the UK to enjoy this special recognition with our equivalent Institutes in the United States.  This MRA recognises the increasingly global nature of the profession and the career mobility of both our respected qualifications. It underlines the high esteem in which the Chartered designation is held internationally, and is a tribute to the quality of the Chartered Accountants Ireland qualification. “This agreement is good news for our existing students, many of whom work with international organisations and consultancies and who may have ambitions to progress their career in the US. It is equally an important development for future graduates who are considering their career options – for them, the recognition and opportunities now available for Irish Chartered Accountants are extremely impressive.” Signing in Dublin, NASBA Chair Telford Lodden noted: “Our initial agreement with Chartered Accountants Ireland was signed in 2004.  However, we felt that the previous MRA was not as transparent and intuitive as we wanted.  We have worked hard at developing a new agreement that addresses those issues. We believe this renewal agreement clearly maps out what is expected from each applicant. It also specifically identifies the gaps and the process to mitigate those gaps during the MRA period.  Our intent is to eliminate the gaps when this MRA is renewed.  The State Boards of Accountancy were established to protect the public and we believe an agreement that recognizes a reasonable pathway for qualified professionals who can well serve our public falls under the Boards’ charge.  Similarly, we believe that US CPAs, who are licensed by the State Boards, can add to the public’s protection in other countries. We live in a global economy and this agreement will be an integral part of that.  We have always had a close relationship with the Chartered Accountants Ireland and have a high degree of respect for their professional accountants.  We are thrilled to sign this agreement.” NASBA President Ken L. Bishop observed: “NASBA/AICPA IQAB has been working toward international professional recognition for more than 20 years.  However, we realize that there are differences in the education, examination and experience requirements and laws that hold those differences in place.  It is a slow process of seeing how those laws can be interpreted to fit different environments, but we are trying to do that with willing partners.  We were fortunate in having had Pat Costello, newly retired chief executive of the Irish Institute, working with us and we look forward to working with Barry Dempsey, your new chief executive, to close up the remaining gaps in this agreement that will enable CPAs to attain all the rights Chartered Accountants can exercise in Ireland.” AICPA President Barry Melancon added: “The American Institute of CPAs is pleased to join the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) in renewing our Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) with Chartered Accountants Ireland. We believe that our members, and Irish CAs, will find the renewed agreement to be more transparent and user-friendly than the previous one. The MRA clearly sets out who is eligible for the accelerated pathway to the reciprocal credential and the steps necessary to obtain practice rights. I want to thank our member volunteers who serve on the International Qualifications Appraisal Board (IQAB) and NASBA’s Ken Bishop for his leadership of IQAB throughout the renewal process.” The agreement follows on previous work done to provide Irish Chartered Accountants with access to the biggest international networks of professional accountants.  Chartered Accountants Ireland is a founding member of both the Global Accounting Alliance and Chartered Accountants Worldwide. CAW brings together the members of leading institutes to create a community of hundreds of thousands of Chartered Accountants in more than 200 countries. Chartered Accountants Ireland is a leading voice in all the international accountancy forums and is a leading member of the ‘Common Content’ project in the EU to give common practice rights to members of the various accountancy bodies across the EU. ENDS Reference:  Bryan Rankin, Marketing Manager, Chartered Accountants Ireland: T: +353 1 637 7268

Chartered Accountants Ireland published the CAP1 September 2017 re-sit exam results this morning. Overall the results are good and follow the good results in May 2017. In reviewing the results Ian Browne (Head of Assessment & Syllabus) noted: 63% of students achieved a pass in all papers sat with a further 18% achieving a credit (i.e. passing one or more of papers sat). This compares to 66% and 14% in 2016.  The number of students failing all subjects sat remained fell to 19% in 2017 from 20% in 2016; Paper pass rates: The pass rates on individual papers are broadly in line with the performances of September 2016. The individual results by paper ranged from 40% to 97% for first attempt candidates. The weighted average pass rate across all papers (1st attempts only) was up this year at 82% which was 77% in 2016. On an annualised basis the weighted average pass rate for all papers was up from 82% in 2016 to 83% this year. On an annualised pass rate per paper basis, only Financial Accounting and Tax NI, showed a drop year on year with a -3% and -1% fall in annualised pass rates respectively; The flexible route candidates have continued to perform well; Mr Browne congratulated all students on their achievement and he thanked all the training firms, lecturers, examiners and staff for their contribution towards this excellent result. More highlights available.

Today’s decision by the EU Commission to refer Ireland to the EU Court of Justice for delays in collecting the €13bn under dispute in the Apple State Aid Case must prompt renewed debate on the role of the EU institutions in a Member State’s legal and administrative decisions, according to Chartered Accountants Ireland. The Commission decision comes within days of Ireland’s rejection of the latest European initiative to look to tax companies in the digital economy by charging a domestic levy on their customers.  This, along with recent important EU policy statements by the President of the European Commission Mr Juncker and French President M Macron suggest a direction of travel within the EU which would restrict EU Member States ability to take their own decisions in the future. “Ireland’s decision to appeal the decision of the EU Competition Commissioner that insufficient taxes were collected from Apple over the years was not taken lightly, and also created a huge logistical challenge for the country.  €13bn has to be collected and held in a way whereby the money was secure and would not lose value over the course of the appeal process” according to Dr Brian Keegan, Institute Director of Public Policy and Taxation.  “It is not reasonable for the Commission to challenge the way Ireland is working on this unprecedented task in the EU Court, especially as the Commission’s own approach to this State Aid case is itself the subject of judicial proceedings”. The Institute suggests that Ireland, as one of the longest standing EU member states, has an important role to play in any debate on the future role of the EU institutions.  “Ireland’s EU membership is important and valued both here and abroad.  We should not have to be reacting to EU decisions in a consistently negative way” said Dr Keegan. ENDS 4 October 2017 Reference: Dr Brian Keegan, Director of Public Policy and Taxation, Chartered Accountants Ireland, T: +353 1 637 7347.