Technical resource centre

Welcome to this week’s Technical Roundup.  In developments this week, the UKEB secretariat has published for comment, a draft UK Endorsement Criteria Assessment on the IASB’s amendment ‘Covid-19-Related Rent Concessions beyond 30 June 2021 (Amendment to IFRS 16)’; the FRC proposes extending the application period for accounting requirements covering COVID-19-related rent concessions; an independent review of Charity Regulation in Northern Ireland has been commissioned. Read more on these and other developments that may be of interest to members below. Financial Reporting The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has issued an Exposure Draft that proposes to extend the application period of requirements that cover the accounting treatment of temporary rent concessions occurring as a direct consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic by one year. The FRC note that FRED 78, ‘Draft amendments to FRS 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland and FRS 105 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable to the Micro-entities Regime - COVID-19-related rent concessions beyond 30 June 2021’, proposes that requirements originally introduced into FRS 102 and FRS 105 in October 2020 apply to rent concessions that reduce only lease payments originally due on or before 30 June 2022, provided the other conditions for applying the requirements are met. The UK Endorsement Board (UKEB) secretariat has published a draft UK Endorsement Criteria Assessment on the IASB’s amendment Covid-19-Related Rent Concessions beyond 30 June 2021 (Amendment to IFRS 16). The UKEB secretariat welcomes stakeholders’ views to inform its recommendation to the BEIS Secretary of State to adopt the Amendment in the UK. The Invitation to Comment and draft UK Endorsement Criteria Assessment can be found here. Views are also invited on the UKEB secretariat’s draft response to the IASB’s Request for Information on its Post-implementation Review of IFRS 10, IFRS 11 and IFRS 12. In other news from the UKEB, the agenda and papers for the Board meeting on 22 April 2021 were made available ahead of the meeting and a recording will also be available on their website in due course for those unable to register to listen to this meeting. The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has published for public consultation proposed amendments to IAS 21 The Effects of Changes in Foreign Exchange Rates. They note that the proposed amendments aim to help companies determine whether a currency can be exchanged into another currency, and what accounting to apply if the currency cannot be exchanged. The Exposure Draft is accompanied by a webcast to provide an overview of the Exposure Draft and answer some commonly asked questions. The IASB has also published for comment, a proposed update to the IFRS Taxonomy 2021 for certain amendments to IFRS Standards - ‘Proposed IFRS Taxonomy Update: IFRS Taxonomy 2021 - Disclosure of Accounting Policies and Definition of Accounting Estimates’. Also from the IASB, the agenda and papers for the April meeting (to be held on 27 and 28 April) have been made available, and Issue 23 of the IASB Investor Update has been published. The IFRS Foundation Trustees are seeking candidates to fill vacancies on the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the IFRS Advisory Council. They are also seeking a Chair for the Advisory Council. Further details are available on the IFRS Foundation website. The IFRS for SMEs Update, a staff summary of news, events and other information about the IFRS for SMEs® Standard and related SME activities, has been published and is available on the IFRS Foundation website. EFRAG, the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group, issued the agendas and public documents ahead of its joint EFRAG TEG-User Panel webcast meeting on Wednesday 21 April 2021 and its EFRAG TEG webcast meeting on Thursday 22 April 2021. These, along with on-demand recordings of the meetings, are available here. On 26 March 2021, the IASB, in conjunction with the European Accounting Association (EAA) and EFRAG, held a virtual research workshop that provided an overview of the Board’s Request for Information: Post-implementation Review of IFRS 10, IFRS 11, and IFRS 12, and a recording of the workshop is now available. The workshop was moderated by the EAA President and included an overview of the Request for Information by the IASB technical staff; an academic reflection; EFRAG’s summary of the initial input gathered by European constituents; and a Q&A session with the presenters and an IASB Board Member. Sustainability / Non-Financial reporting In its efforts to revise the EU Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD), the European Commission (EC) has published a proposal for a Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). The objective of the proposed CSRD is to improve sustainability reporting to better exploit the potential of the European single market and to contribute to the transition to a fully sustainable and inclusive economic and financial system in line with the European Green Deal and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Anti-Money Laundering and Financial Crime The UK Office for Professional Body AML Supervision recently issued the OPBAS Update to deal with the obligations on the Professional Body Supervisors (PBSs) to produce an annual report in accordance with UK money laundering law. OPBAS supervises the PBSs. The update is intended to aid the PBSs in drafting their annual reports. Annual reports are to be published no later than 1 November 2021. The Irish Department of Justice has recently published its Dept of Justice Implementation Plan to combat economic crime and corruption across legislative, policy and regulatory fields. It contains plans for example to establish an Advisory Council against economic crime and corruption and to publish and enact the Criminal Procedure Bill as well as to make changes to the 2010 money laundering legislation. The report of joint Oireachtas Committee re Companies (Corporate Enforcement Authority) Bill 2018 was launched recently. It made seven recommendations and called on the Government to give the proposed Corporate Enforcement Authority the structures, power and resources to tackle ‘white collar crime’. The Central Bank’s Director General, Financial Conduct spoke at a recent international fraud prevention conference. Her remarks were focused on fraud prevention vis a vis national and international Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism frameworks and the role of the Central Bank in these frameworks. Other areas of interest The Central Bank of Ireland is developing its new strategic plan to shape its strategic direction and guide its work for the next three to five years. It is seeking public engagement as part of the development of the plan .You can down load and comment here on the form public engagement on central bank strategic plan . For example, what do you consider to be the key current and emerging risks and issues that the Central Bank should consider in the development of its next strategic plan? Responses should be returned by 6 May 2021. Read the Closing remarks of Central Bank’s Deputy Governor at the recent conference which she participated in on Enterprise financing and investment in Ireland – tackling the challenges of COVID-19, digitalisation and climate change. The themes of the conference she said tie in closely with one of the most important policy goals of the Central Bank: economic and financial resilience. The FRC is continuing its series of webinars following publication of the UK Government’s Restoring trust in audit and corporate governance consultation. The FRC is holding the webinars and other outreach events to provide stakeholders with further insight into key aspects of the consultation and to hear views on the government’s proposals. You can find out more about the FRC’s extensive outreach programme, the consultation, and how to get involved here. An independent Review of Charity Regulation in Northern Ireland has been commissioned by the Minister for Communities. The review will consider the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 and the roles of the Charity Commission and the Department thereunder. It will examine whether the legislation and the operation of the Commission within the existing legal framework strikes the right balance. It will make recommendations on changes to improve the operation of the regulatory framework going forward. You can find out more and how to register for one of their webinars here. For further technical information and updates please visit the Technical Hub and the Covid-19 Hub on the Institute website.   

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has issued an Exposure Draft that proposes to extend the application period of requirements that cover the accounting treatment of temporary rent concessions occurring as a direct consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic by one year. The FRC note that FRED 78, ‘Draft amendments to FRS 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland and FRS 105 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable to the Micro-entities Regime - COVID-19-related rent concessions beyond 30 June 2021’, proposes that requirements originally introduced into FRS 102 and FRS 105 in October 2020 apply to rent concessions that reduce only lease payments originally due on or before 30 June 2022, provided the other conditions for applying the requirements are met. Issuing the proposed amendments, the FRC says that ‘As pandemic restrictions continue, extending the existing time condition is considered necessary to ensure these concessions are accounted for consistently and in a way that best reflects their substance.’ The amendments are proposed to be effective for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2021, with early application permitted. Comments on FRED 78 are invited by 11 May 2021. The FRC expects to finalise these amendments in the first half of the year.

Welcome to this week’s Technical Roundup.  In developments this week, the Institute has published an article ‘Accounting and disclosure considerations for Covid-19-related Government Supports under FRS 102’; and IAASA has published its Transparency Reporting – Thematic Review.  The Charity Commission in England and Wales has published guidance to help with running a charity during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. This includes information on government financial support for charities, fundraising and SORP guidance.   Read more on these and other developments that may be of interest to members below. Financial Reporting The Institute has published an article ‘Accounting and disclosure considerations for Covid-19-related Government Supports under FRS 102’. In view of the supports being made available to business by Governments in both the UK and Ireland to help them cope with the pandemic, the purpose of this article is to remind members of the requirements of FRS 102 on accounting for and disclosing government grants and disclosing government assistance. The IFRS Interpretations Committee has posted the agenda and papers for its next meeting, which will be held on 20 April 2021. The IFRS Foundation has introduced a substantial update to its website. They note that the update includes an improved search function and advanced options for customising how to search and receive information, including a new IFRS Standards Navigator. They have also refreshed their ‘Follows’ tool, which enables users to decide what type of alerts they will receive and how often. The recording of the inaugural UK Endorsement Board (UKEB) meeting, which was held on 26 March 2021, the agenda, and the papers are now available. The topics discussed included adoption of the Terms of Reference and approval of Delegation of Authority to UKEB Chair. A recording of the 30 March 2021 webinar the UKEB secretariat held on the UK endorsement of IFRS 17 is also available. They note that the webinar, aimed primarily at users of accounts, featured a presentation by IASB Board member Nick Anderson on how IFRS 17 works and some key improvements it introduces, and also included initial views from equity analyst and ratings agency perspectives on how the standard could impact their analysis of insurance business. EFRAG has published its draft comment letter on the IASB Exposure Draft ED/2021/1 Regulatory Assets and Regulatory Liabilities and seeks constituents' views on the proposals by 28 July 2021. Also from EFRAG, is a podcast series in which EFRAG Secretariat and experts discuss the issues addressed in the Discussion Paper on Accounting for Crypto-Assets (Liabilities) published by EFRAG in July 2020, and related topics. Auditing IAASA has published its Transparency Reporting – Thematic Review. The objective of this thematic review was to assess the effectiveness of transparency reporting by PIE audit firms in Ireland, to share areas of good practice and other reporting innovations, and to highlight areas where firms need to make improvements. Insolvency At their video conference on 16 April 2021 Eurogroup, an informal body where the ministers of the euro area member states discuss matters relating to their shared responsibilities, will hold a thematic discussion on insolvency frameworks based on a technical note prepared by the European Commission. Other areas of interest Two  new statutory instruments ,entitled Rules of the Superior Courts (Affidavits) 2021 and the District Court (Affidavits)  Rules 2021 came into force recently allowing for the remote swearing of affidavits in circumstances where it is not practicable for the deponent to physically attend for the purposes of the swearing .The statutory instruments set out the rules around such a swearing. The Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment has published its monthly newsletter for April which includes  information about recent developments on the right to disconnect, the Small Business Assistance Scheme for COVID (SBASC) (closing date for receipt of applications is Wednesday, 21 April 2021) and the Government’s agreement to  extend the €2bn Credit Guarantee Scheme. It will remain open for applications until the end of 2021. Following publication of  the BEIS Consultation Document Restoring trust in audit and corporate governance  the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) will be holding a series of webinars and roundtables to provide stakeholders with further insight into key aspects of the consultation and to hear your views on the government’s proposals. You can find out more about the FRC’s extensive outreach programme and register to attend any of the webinars here.   The Charity Commission in England and Wales has published guidance to help with running a charity during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. This includes information on government financial support for charities,  fundraising and SORP guidance.  https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-the-charity-sector Trinity College Law school is hosting a series of webinars some of which may be of interest to members. See  Trinity Law School Spring Series .The  webinars are on the topics of 100 Day of Brexit. (Tuesday 20 April, 6pm) and Time to Get SEARious – the proposed Senior Executive Accountability Regime (Tuesday 11 May, 6pm).There are also webinars on  the topics of The Gig Economy ( Tuesday 4 May, 6pm) and  Assessing the Future of Irish Defamation Law (Tuesday 27 April, 6pm)  .The webinars are free but registration is required .Click the above link for registration details. For further technical information and updates please visit the Technical Hub and the Covid-19 Hub on the Institute website.   

The Institute has published an article ‘Accounting and disclosure considerations for Covid-19-related Government Supports under FRS 102’ (14 April 2021). In view of the supports being made available to business by Governments in both the UK and Ireland to help them cope with the pandemic, the purpose of this article is to remind members of the requirements of FRS 102 on accounting for and disclosing government grants and disclosing government assistance.

Welcome to this week’s Technical Roundup.  In developments this week, EFRAG has submitted its endorsement advice regarding Covid-19-Related Rent Concessions beyond 30 June 2021 (Amendment to IFRS 16) and on IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts to the European Commission; , the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) published Non-Authoritative Guidance on Applying ISAE 3000 (Revised) to Extended External Reporting (EER) Assurance Engagements; and the Central Bank has issued its quarterly bulletin for Q2-2021 dealing with matters such as the Irish economy and the international economic outlook, the year of the pandemic , trade flows in the early aftermath of Brexit and fiscal outlook 2020-2022. Read more on these and other developments that may be of interest to members below. Financial Reporting The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) has completed its due process regarding Covid-19-Related Rent Concessions beyond 30 June 2021 (Amendment to IFRS 16) (‘the Amendment’) and has submitted its Endorsement Advice Letter to the European Commission. EFRAG assesses that the Amendment meets the technical endorsement criteria of the IAS Regulation and is conducive to the European public good. It therefore recommends its endorsement. EFRAG has also finalised its due process around IFRS 17 and has submitted its Final Endorsement Advice on IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts including the June 2020 Amendments to the European Commission. The Final Endorsement Advice includes the assessment of IFRS 17 against the ‘True and Fair View’-criteria and the assessment of whether IFRS 17 is conducive to the European public good. The final endorsement advice provides conclusions on a number of specific issues that the European Commission and/or the European Parliament considered in their request for endorsement of IFRS 17. It is available here. In other news from EFRAG, the March 2021 edition of the EFRAG Update, summarising public technical discussions held and decisions taken during that month, has been published, and a reminder that EFRAG is seeking members for its financial instruments working group. The Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority (IAASA) has noted the issuing of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) Public Statement “Brexit: Clarifications on the application of the TD requirements by UK issuers with securities admitted to trading on regulated markets in the EU” concerning the application of transparency requirements by UK issuers with securities admitted to trading on regulated markets in the EU under Article 4 of the Transparency Directive (Directive 2004/109/EC) (TD). ESMA notes that the aim of the statement is to ensure a common supervisory approach by all National Competent Authorities concerning the application of the accounting frameworks used by UK issuers, in relation to consolidated and individual financial statements of single and group entities. IAASA has also noted the publishing by ESMA of its report “Enforcement and regulatory activities of European enforcers in 2020”. The Report provides an overview of the 2020 activities of ESMA and of European accounting enforcers when examining compliance of financial and non-financial statements of European issuers. It presents further activities contributing to supervisory convergence and to development of a single rulebook in the area of corporate reporting. The UK Endorsement Board (UKEB) secretariat has launched its survey on IASB Discussion Paper DP/2020/2 Business Combinations Under Common Control (BCUCC). The UKEB is seeking views on the proposals in the Discussion Paper, as well as information about past experiences with BCUCC.To partake in the survey, contact the UKEB. The March 2021 monthly news summary, a brief summary of news and events from the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the IFRS Foundation over the past month is available. The IASB’s user advisory groups, the Capital Markets Advisory Committee, and the Global Preparers Forum met recently and the summary recordings of the meeting discussions, agendas and other related papers are available. The April 2021 IFRS Advisory Council agenda and agenda papers are also available. Sustainability / Non-Financial Reporting Marking a significant step forward in supporting assurance for non-financial reporting, the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) published Non-Authoritative Guidance on Applying ISAE 3000 (Revised) to Extended External Reporting (EER) Assurance Engagements. The Guidance responds to ten key stakeholder-identified challenges commonly encountered in applying International Standard on Assurance Engagements 3000 (Revised), Assurance Engagements Other than Audits or Reviews of Historical Financial Information. Anti-Money Laundering The Egmont Centre of FIU Excellence and Leadership (ECOFEL) is a body of Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) andprovides a platform for the secure exchange of expertise and financial intelligence to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. It recently published its Egmontgroup ecofel-covid-19-best-practices-public-summary .The paper makes observations from FATF, Europol, Interpol and others about emerging risks in the pandemic, why COVID 19 is producing emerging risks, what are the emerging risks seen by FIUs: fraud, cybercrime and corruption and what FIUs are doing about those risks .The paper includes some recommendations for FIUs. The Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight in the UK Financial Conduct Authority recently gave a speech on anti-money laundering controls –“The importance of purposeful anti-money laundering controls”. In it he refers among other things to two very large sanctions imposed for failure to address financial crime and anti-money laundering risks . Both cases highlighted inadequate systems and controls and failure to assess relevant risk factors. He also referred to emerging risks including risks from cryptocurrency firms. Other areas of interest The Central Bank has issued its quarterly bulletin for Q2-2021 dealing with matters such as the Irish economy and the international economic outlook ,the year of the pandemic, trade flows in the early aftermath of Brexit and fiscal outlook 2020-2022. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has produced short podcasts on the key corporate governance proposals, enforcement proposals, and quality and competition proposals included in the UK Government’s Restoring trust in audit and corporate governance consultation. Further, the FRC will be holding a series of webinars and roundtables to provide stakeholders with further insight into key aspects of the consultation and to hear your views on the government’s proposals. Find out more about the FRC’s outreach programme and opportunities to hear more about the consultation and to get involved and share your views on the proposals here. The FRC has also published its Strategy for 2021/22 after a period of consultation. Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment has in the last weekbrought in a new code of practice which was developed by the Workplace Relations Commission entitled the WRC code of practice on the right to disconnect .The right to disconnect gives employees the right to switch off from work outside of normal working hours, including the right to not respond immediately to emails, telephone calls or other messages. He is also inviting views on his plans to put the right to ask for remote working into law. You will find more information here on how to make a submission .Closing date for submissions is 7 May 2021. The Independent Review Panel of Charity Regulation seeks views on how well the charities regulatory framework, which is administered by the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, is working and what could work better. A series of seminars are being held for more details see: https://www.nicva.org/article/independent-review-of-charity-regulation-engagement-meetings The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), has updated its Questions and Answers regarding market structures issues under the Market in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) and Regulation (MiFIR). The purpose of ESMA’s Q&As on market structures issues is to promote common supervisory approaches and practices in the application of MiFID II and MiFIR. Read more here. For further technical information and updates please visit the Technical Hub and the Covid-19 Hub on the Institute website.   

Updated guidance has been released this month in the form of a new Technical Alert. The alert offers guidance to insolvency practitioners on meeting of creditors during Covid-19 pandemic in compliance with the Companies (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Covid-19) Act 2020. This Technical Alert replaces TA 01-2020, which has been withdrawn. The new Technical Alert can be found here.

Under Irish money laundering legislation, a “designated person” (which includes an auditor, external accountant or tax adviser and a trust or company service provider) who knows or suspects or has reasonable grounds to suspect that another person has been or is engaged in an offence of money laundering or terrorist financing, is obliged to make a suspicious transaction report (STR) of that knowledge or suspicion or those reasonable grounds. There is a dual reporting obligation of STRs to both An Garda Síochána and the Irish Revenue Commissioners. What is goAML? Ireland’s Financial Intelligence Unit, FIU Ireland, is responsible for receiving and analysing suspicious transaction reports and other information relevant to money laundering or terrorist financing. FIU Ireland is a division of an Garda Síochána, the Irish police. goAML is an online software solution used by an Garda Síochána since June 2017 for designated persons to submit money laundering suspicion reports to the FIU Ireland. Previously accepted paper reporting is no longer possible. Members are encouraged to get set up and registered on the on goAML system. Below is some guidance as to how you can do this. Who must and how do you register for goAML? Prior to being able to submit an STR for the first time to the FIU the designated person must be registered for go AML. FIU Ireland has published guidance as to how to register which should be consulted. This includes  the  Reporting Entity registration guide and a useful FAQ Document. to consult. Entities registered on  go AML will in addition to receipt of acknowledgment of an STR, receive alerts and dissemination of trends and typologies from the FIU and it is  recommended that the message board is checked regularly. Additional Mandatory reporting of STRs to the Irish Revenue Commissioners STRs must also be reported to the Irish Revenue Commissioners. Since September 2020 reporting to the Revenue Commissioners must be online - see  Revenue reporting guidelines . The designated person must be registered for Revenue Online Service (ROS) to submit an STR to Revenue. ROS login in details and a valid ROS digital certificate is required. More Detailed information is available as to how to register and complete STR reporting to the Revenue Commissioners. The Revenue Commissioners also have a ‘Quick Guide to Submitting STRs Online’ available on the Revenue website. The FIU and Revenue have also jointly produced GoAML - Guide to Generating XML Reports which users will find useful.  

Welcome to this week’s Technical Roundup.  In developments this week, the FRC has published summaries of its corporate reporting reviews and  has published a new report on supervision; IAASA has published an Information Note: IAS 36 Impairment of Assets – information requests from IAASA; EFRAG and the European Commission have met with leading international sustainability reporting standard setters; the Central Bank of Ireland has issued a consultation paper on stakeholder engagement. Read more on these and other developments that may be of interest to members below. Financial Reporting The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) is seeking public comments on a new approach to developing disclosure requirements in IFRS Standards and new disclosure requirements for the Standards on fair value measurement and employee benefits. The Exposure Draft Disclosure Requirements in IFRS Standards—A Pilot Approach (Proposed amendments to IFRS 13 and IAS 19), along with a Snapshot which provides an overview of the proposals, and a short video introducing the proposals, are available here. The Board is asking for stakeholder comments by 21 October 2021. The IASB has also published a consultation document to seek views on what the Board’s priorities should be over the next five years. In the March episode of the monthly IASB podcast, the Chair and Vice-Chair of the IASB talk about the Board’s discussions at the supplementary meeting on 10 March to discuss IFRS 16 Leases and covid-19-related rent concessions, as well as at the regular monthly meeting held virtually on 23 and 24 March 2021. The March 2021 IASB Update has also been published and the work plan updated. The IASB has decided to extend by 30 days the comment period for the Exposure Draft Regulatory Assets and Regulatory Liabilities to give stakeholders more time to respond. The comment period will now end on 30 July 2021. The IASB has extended by one year the application period of the practical expedient in IFRS 16 Leases to help lessees accounting for covid-19-related rent concessions. The Board has extended the relief by one year to cover rent concessions that reduce only lease payments due on or before 30 June 2022. Further information is available here. Each year, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) conducts over 200 corporate reporting reviews to assess whether company reports and accounts comply with relevant accounting and reporting requirements. Announcing a new approach to publishing corporate reporting reviews, the FRC has, for the first time, and aligned with a recommendation of Sir John Kingman’s Independent Review of the FRC that reviews should be made publicly available, published summaries of its corporate reporting reviews. IAASA has published an Information Note: IAS 36 Impairment of Assets – information requests from IAASA. IAASA notes that the primary purpose of this Information Note is to provide preparers, auditors and users of financial statements with information to encourage discussion and stimulate debate as to whether or not issuers have adequately considered the requirements of IAS 36, and that, with the aim of achieving this primary purpose, IAASA is publishing a selection of the IAS 36 information requests that it has made to issuers during recent financial statement examinations. Find out more here. Reaching out to stakeholders, EFRAG has released the final podcast of its four-episode series dedicated to the post-implementation review of IFRS 10, IFRS 11 and IFRS 12, along with a survey to collect stakeholders’ views. Noting the issuing of the IASB consultation Request for Information - Third Agenda Consultation (mentioned above), the UK Endorsement Board (UKEB) has invited those interested in being involved in their outreach on this project to email them at agendaconsultation@endorsement-board.uk. Separately, the UKEB has launched a video guide on IASB DP/2020/2 Business Combinations Under Common Control. The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has issued a Statement on Going Concern Assessments and Disclosures during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Auditing The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has published a new report Our Approach to Audit Supervision, which sets out what firms can expect from the FRC in the course of supervision with a focus on audit quality and firm resilience. A link to the report is available here. Sustainability / Non-Financial Reporting EFRAG and the European Commission have met with leading international sustainability reporting standard setters and other related initiatives to present recommendations for the development of EU sustainability reporting standards and explore possible cooperation in a co-constructive spirit, promoting convergence and maintaining momentum. Find out more here. In the latest In Conversation podcast the FRC's Deputy Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs speaks to the Head of Clean Growth at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) on the UK Government's consultation to require mandatory TCFD reporting. Anti-Money Laundering Listen to the Association of Compliance officers  podcast series. This week the Deputy Money Laundering Reporting Officer of a financial institution discusses the importance of firm-wide AML frameworks, the role of the compliance professional and the role of the first line of defence in managing AML risk. Previous podcasts in the series includes a conversation with the Director of Enforcement and Anti Money laundering at the Central Bank of Ireland about the CBI priorities 2021; she discusses diversity and inclusion, the CBI fitness and probity regime, PCFs and what’s new on the anti-money laundering front. Other areas of interest UK extension of dates of coronavirus temporary measures The UK government’s  Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (Coronavirus) (Extension of the Relevant Period) Regulations 2021 came into force on 26th March 2021. It extends the restrictions on the use of statutory demands and winding up petitions to 30 June 2021 (from 31 March), extends  the modifications to moratorium provisions and temporary moratorium rules to 30 September 2021 (from 30th March ) and extends the small supplier exemption from termination clause provisions to 30 June 2021( from 30 March 2021 ). It also extends provisions suspending liability for wrongful trading to 30 June 2021 (from 30 April 2021). Central Bank of Ireland Consultation with Stakeholders The Central Bank of Ireland has issued a consultation paper on stakeholder engagement. Consultation Paper 136 Enhancing our Engagement with Stakeholders. As a body representing accountants, we welcome this engagement. Details are in the attached and the consultation runs until 11 May. For further technical information and updates please visit the Technical Hub and the Covid-19 Hub on the Institute website.   

IAASA has published an Information Note: IAS 36 Impairment of Assets – information requests from IAASA. IAASA notes that the primary purpose of this Information Note is to provide preparers, auditors and users of financial statements with information to encourage discussion and stimulate debate as to whether or not issuers have adequately considered the requirements of IAS 36, and that, with the aim of achieving this primary purpose, IAASA is publishing a selection of the IAS 36 information requests that it has made to issuers during recent financial statement examinations. In setting out the ‘Key Message,’ the Information Note says: ‘The objective of IAS 36 is to prescribe the procedures that an entity applies to ensure that its assets are carried at no more than their recoverable amount. An asset is carried at more than its recoverable amount if its carrying amount exceeds the amount to be recovered through use or sale of the asset. If this is the case, the asset is described as impaired and IAS 36 requires the entity to recognise an impairment loss. Given the economic uncertainty caused by COVID-19, IAASA expects that issuers will incorporate higher levels of uncertainty in their impairment testing assumptions. In these circumstances, issuers should recognise the importance to users of financial reports of high quality disclosures regarding impairment reviews. To assist issuers in providing useful impairment disclosures, IAASA is publishing this Information Note. This Information Note lists the impairment review information requests that IAASA has made to issuers during previous financial statement examinations. Consideration by issuers as to how they might respond to such questioning may assist issuers in providing high quality information to users of their financial reports.’ The Information sheet refers to IAS 36 requirements, summarises the outcome of IAASA’s engagement with some issuers regarding their IAS 36 disclosures, and sets out a non-exhaustive list of information requests that IAASA asked of issuers to understand issuers’ rationale for their impairment disclosures. In ‘Conclusion’ the Information Note says: ‘IAASA continues to focus on and engage with issuers in relation to the application of IAS 36 Impairment of Assets. It is IAASA’s expectation that management, boards and audit committees will carefully assess and consider the information requests outlined in this document when determining the financial reporting treatment of impairments – including recognition, measurement, presentation and disclosures – in future financial reports.’ The Information Note is available here.’