From the Professional Accountancy team The Minister for Finance has signed a statutory instrument commencing further provisions of the Credit Union (Amendment) Act 2023 (2023 Act) on 30 September 2024.On that date the following provisions have now been fully commenced: - the provisions in the 2023 Act whereby a credit union can agree to participate in a loan to a member of another credit union -the provisions regarding referral of members of one credit union to another credit union (where the rules permit) -the obligations which heretofore were annual, to approve, review, and update plans policies and procedures are now to be carried out every three years. Also, environmental social and governance policy is now included as a policy for the board to approve, review and update at least every 3 years Some provisions of the 2023 Act remain to be enacted such as the provisions regarding corporate credit unions introduced in the 2023 Act. Readers are reminded that there is a resource page on credit unions on the Institute’s Technical Hub where you will find further information on these new provisions and other useful information on credit unions including auditing and Central Bank information . This information is provided as resources and information only and nothing in these pages purports to provide professional advice or definitive legal interpretation(s) or opinion(s) on the applicable legislation or legal or other matters referred to in the pages. If the reader is in doubt on any matter in this complex area further legal or other advice must be obtained. While every reasonable care has been taken by the Institute in the preparation of these pages, we do not guarantee the accuracy or veracity of any resource, guidance, information or opinion, or the appropriateness, suitability or applicability of any practice or procedure contained therein. The Institute is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of the resources or information contained in these pages.            

In advance of the extended filing date of Thursday 14 November 2024 for filing income tax and CAT returns via ROS, Revenue has announced a range of supports. Read on for more information. The ROS technical helpdesk will help filers who experience technical difficulties accessing ROS and can be contacted via chatbot, My Enquiries, email (roshhelp@revenue.ie), or telephone (01 738 3699), The ROS payment support unit can be accessed via My Enquiries, or the Collector General’s Division (01 738 3663), and For help filing an Income tax Form 11, queries can be directed to My Enquiries, or the Businesses Taxes helpline can be reached on 01 738 3630. Full details of the above supports, in addition to the extended support opening hours, can be found in Revenue’s eBrief No. 248/24.

Part 11 of Revenue’s Capital Acquisitions Tax Manual has been revised and refreshed with the aim of providing clearer and more comprehensive guidance on agricultural relief. In addition to the manual being updated for Finance (No.2) Act 2023 amendments, the main changes include: The concessional treatment which allowed the active farming requirements to commence from the date of the inheritance has been removed, and The Q&As that were provided in Appendix 1 have been removed and the contents instead have been incorporated into the main body of the guidance. Further details can be found in Revenue eBrief No 246/24.

Revenue has updated its guidance in the rent tax credit manual to reflect the increase in the rent tax credit for the 2024 and 2025 tax years. In addition, the following changes introduced by Finance (No. 2) Act 2023 are also reflected: The change in respect of eligibility where a parent is paying rent for a child (Paragraph 5.3 and Appendix 1), Out of year and in year claims (Paragraph 7.3), The inclusion of more examples, and Income tax returns for 2022 and 2023 can be used where taxpayers are seeking to claim the rent tax credit in respect of payments made for digs or rent-a-room type arrangements to facilitate a child’s attendance at an approved course. This change applies retrospectively to 2022 and 2023.

The Institute’s Advocacy and Voice Department is hiring a new Tax Manager. The Department is responsible for the tax and public policy agenda of Chartered Accountants Ireland. We collaborate with expert colleagues drawn from practice and industry, developing, and advocating on policy matters relating to tax, financial reporting, audit and assurance, ethics and governance, and business law. The department numbers over twenty professionals. The successful candidate will report into the Institute's Tax Leader (Head of Tax). You can find more information at the above link. If you are interested in applying, send your CV and a cover letter to hr@charteredaccountants.ie.  

At last week’s Labour Party conference, the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s speech (see from 11.47 on) unveiled a package of tax and other measures which aim to deliver on the agenda of the new government, one of which includes e-invoicing. A press release published after the Chancellor’s speech also provides some more details on the Government’s plans for tax administration and HMRC. The announcements essentially build on proposals set out by the Government before the election in their ‘Closing the Tax Gap’ document and in summary are as follows: HMRC will launch a consultation on electronic invoicing (e-invoicing) which will “gather input from businesses on how HMRC can support investment in and encourage e-invoicing uptake”. This suggests that there is no intention to make e-invoicing mandatory however the consultation will provide more information and is likely to be published on Budget Day on 30 October, By Spring 2025, a Digital Transformation Roadmap will be published which will set out “HMRC’s vision to be a digital first organisation underpinned by customer insight”. This “will include measures to ensure digital inclusion and support for customers who cannot yet interact digitally”, An additional two hundred offer letters have been sent out to new recruits to join HMRC’s training programme in November as part of plans to recruit an additional 5,000 compliance staff to help close the tax gap (with no mention made of recruitment to improve HMRC’s services), and The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (XST) has become the Chair of the HMRC Board. This aims to help the XST oversee the implementation of his three strategic priorities for HMRC: closing the tax gap, modernising, and reforming, and improving customer service. The Press Release also mentioned the planned development of an Industrial Strategy to be published in Spring 2025 following consultation with business. A green paper is expected beforehand “around Budget in October”. During his speech to the Labour Party Conference, the Prime Minister restated the Labour Party’s manifesto commitment to replace the apprenticeship levy with a new growth and skills levy. According to a press release accompanying the speech, in England this will include new ‘foundation apprenticeships’ and will allow funding for shorter apprenticeships than currently possible under the apprenticeship levy. Employers will also be asked to rebalance their funding towards younger workers. Further information on how the new levy will operate, and implications for funding training in Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales (where apprenticeship training is devolved) is likely to be announced at the Budget. The e-invoicing consultation announced last week is of particular interest. HMRC, under the auspices of the Joint Vat Consultative Committee which the Institute participates in, has already begun engaging with stakeholders for their views on this in order to “inform the planned consultation and ensure that we deliver a regime which supports businesses by reducing administrative burdens, speeding up payments and making tax compliance easier.” Chartered Accountants Ireland has already highlighted the significance of this change to HMRC. Ireland has recently been consulting on the modernisation of its VAT regime including e-invoicing which the Institute responded to in January this year highlighting the challenges that SME businesses in particular will face. In a broader context, should this proposal proceed in the UK, the timetable for its introduction will need to be very carefully considered as many SMEs are facing significant change in other areas of the UK tax system in the future; the payrolling of benefits in kind from April 2026 and the mandation of Making Tax Digital for income tax from the same date to name but two.

A few weeks ago we issued a request for support from companies who would like to see a lower rate of corporation tax in Northern Ireland as the Institute kicks off a revived campaign. There is still time to participate in this campaign. Does your Northern Ireland based company or client support a lower rate of corporation tax for the region? If so, read on for how you can participate in our campaign to reignite the path to a lower rate of corporation tax for the region.  The Corporation Tax (Northern Ireland) Act 2015 contains the legislation for how a lower rate of corporation tax would work practically in Northern Ireland. However, this is subject to rate-setting arrangements which mean that this rate-setting power may not be exercised unless Treasury regulations have been made. These Treasury regulations are subject to very specific conditions specifically the continued commitment of the NI executive to “take all the actions necessary to demonstrate that its finances are on a sustainable footing for the long term”. The support of the Institute’s members for a lower rate of corporation tax in Northern Ireland has not waned in recent years with a recent Ulster Society survey showing that approximately two thirds of our members continue to support this initiative. On foot of this ongoing support combined with the restoration of the Northern Ireland Assembly and a new government in Westminster, Chartered Accountants Ireland is embarking on a new campaign to engage with and equip policy makers with the information and tools necessary to pursue a lower rate of corporation tax for the region as one of a range of economic levers to drive growth and employment.  We are seeking companies in Northern Ireland who support this campaign and who are prepared to tell us why they support a lower rate and what it would mean for them and the region. These quotes will be included in a position paper which is expected to be launched before the end of 2024. Contact tax@charteredaccountants.ie to participate.    

Last week we reminded you that the 2023/24 self-assessment registration deadline is approaching. It is now just six days’ away on Saturday 5 October 2024 in order to avoid a failure to notify penalty. Those required to register for self-assessment include anyone who is: self-employed or a sole trader in a business which commenced in 2023/24, ·not self-employed but who had a new source of income or a gain in 2023/24, or became a partner in a partnership or any new partnership which commenced in business in 2023/24. 

Following public consultation IAASA has adopted ISAE (Ireland) 3000, Assurance Engagements Other Than Audits or Reviews of Historical Financial Information – Assurance of Sustainability Reporting in Ireland as the standard to be applied by auditors performing sustainability assurance engagements required by the European Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). The Irish standard is based on ISAE 3000 (Revised) issued by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) with limited amendments. Chartered Accountants Ireland responded to the consultation in April. Updates to ISQM (Ireland) 1 ISAE (Ireland) 3000 requires auditors to comply with ISQM (Ireland) 1, Quality Management for Firms that Perform Audits or Reviews of Financial Statements, or Other Assurance or Related Services Engagements. IAASA has updated ISQM (Ireland) 1 to reflect the requirements of the CSRD as transposed in Ireland. Additional minor amendments were made to ISQM (Ireland) 1 to make conforming amendments for ISA (Ireland) 600, which was revised in February 2023 and is effective for financial periods starting on or after 15 December 2023. The remaining ISA (Ireland) 600 conforming amendments will be published on IAASA’s website in October. Additional information IAASA’s Statement on Scope and Authority of Audit and Assurance Pronouncements has also been updated to reflect the adoption of ISAE (Ireland) 3000. An explanatory video is available here on IAASA’s YouTube Channel. IAASA published feedback on the Consultation in June. Effective date ISAE (Ireland) 3000 applies to assurance reports issued on or after 15 December 2024. Amendments to firms’ systems of quality management related to the assurance of sustainability reporting must be designed and implemented by 15 December 2024. An evaluation of the updated system of quality management must be performed within one year of this date. Engagement letters for CSRD engagements TA 02/2024 - Sample Engagement Letter Terms in respect to the provision of Limited Assurance under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (“CSRD’’) was issued in June 2024. These sample engagement letter terms were prepared to assist members in drafting engagement letters in respect of limited assurance engagements under the CSRD prior to its implementation. Therefore, they may be useful to implement a contract with the entity but following transposition of the CSRD they are currently being reviewed for any required amendments. Please monitor the Institute’s regular news channels for any updates to this TA. 

In this week’s miscellaneous updates, we bring you news of a new role for the Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) and the latest HMRC performance data has been published. HMRC’s bank details have changed in respect of paying several taxes and the letter sent to taxpayers when they authorise an agent to act on their behalf via the online agent authorisation service has been updated. And finally, the latest HMRC Stakeholder Digest has been published. New role for OBR The Budget Responsibility Act 2024 received Royal Assent earlier this month on 10 September 2024. The aim of this legislation is to ensure that “future fiscal announcements making significant, permanent tax and spend changes” will be “subject to an independent assessment by the OBR”. More information on what this means is set out in the Press Release published in July when the original Bill was introduced to Parliament. HMRC bank details changed Agent Update 123 highlights that HMRC has changed its bank accounts for payment of the following taxes: the customs declaration service, plastic packaging tax, fuel duty, economic crime levy, soft drinks industry levy, and the trust registration service penalty. Taxpayers who make payments via Faster Payments, BACS or CHAPS should use the new details. Anyone paying by direct debit is not required to take any action. Updated agent authorisation letters In another story from Agent Update 123, HMRC has updated the letter which is sent to taxpayers when an agent is authorised to act on their behalf via the online agent authorisation service. According to HMRC, the changes are intended to clarify the role of the agent and in particular, reinforces that the taxpayer retains responsibility for their own tax affairs.

In this week’s EU exit corner, we bring you the latest guidance updates and publications relevant to EU exit. The most recent Trader Support Service bulletin is also available as is the latest Brexit and Beyond newsletter from the Northern Ireland Assembly EU Affairs Team. We also bring news of changes to excise goods legislation for Northern Ireland which take effect from 1 October 2024 and remind you that the next changes in the Windsor Framework do not commence from 30 September 2024 and have been delayed to 31 March 2025. Changes to excise goods legislation for Northern Ireland Legislation takes effect from 1 October 2024 which makes several changes to the holding and movement of excise goods in Northern Ireland. The purpose of this legislation is to make “technical fixes to the statute book to better implement the EU excise provisions applicable in Northern Ireland under the Windsor Framework of the EU Withdrawal Agreement”. More information is available at the following links: Excise Duties (Northern Ireland Miscellaneous Modifications and Amendments) (EU Exit) (Amendment) Regulations 2024, SI 2024/941, and Policy paper. Miscellaneous updates to guidance and publications CDS Declaration Completion Instructions for Exports, Appendix 1: DE 1/10: Requested and Previous Procedure Codes of the Customs Declaration Service (CDS), Additional Information (AI) Statement Codes for Data Element 2/2 of the Customs Declaration Service (CDS), CDS Declaration Completion Instructions for Imports, 4-digit to 3-digit procedure to additional procedure code correlation matrix for imports, Tax types for Data Element 4/3 of the Customs Declaration Service, Data Element 2/3: Documents and Other Reference Codes (Union) of the Customs Declaration Service, CDS Customs Clearance Request Completion Instructions for Inventory Exports, Appendix 2: DE 1/11: Additional Procedure Codes of the Customs Declaration Service (CDS), CDS BIRDS Declarations and Customs Clearance Request completion instructions, National additional codes to declare with Data Element 6/17 of the Customs Declaration Service, Appendix 23 Imports: Declaration Category Data Sets, Upload documents and get messages for the Customs Declaration Service, Moving goods between Great Britain and the UK Continental Shelf, Trade Specialised Committee on Administrative Co-operation in VAT and Recovery of Taxes and Duties, Report a problem using the Customs Declaration Service.

We have compiled the latest updates to various VAT legislation, publications, briefs, and guidance. HMRC has also contacted us to advise that several Revenue and Customs Briefs have been removed from gov.uk and guidance has been updated where applicable. Register for VAT by post, VAT Personal exports - tax-free sales of new motor vehicles for use before export, Charity funded equipment certificates (VAT Notice 701/6 supplement), VAT Assessments and Error Correction, Who should register for VAT (VAT Notice 700/1), VAT domestic reverse charge technical guide, Help with VAT compliance controls — Guidelines for Compliance GfC8, and Value Added Tax (Caravans) Order 2024, SI 2024/910 and policy paper.

The OECD has issued its Interim report for September 2024 which shows that global growth remains resilient, and headline inflation has further declined in most G20 countries.  Projected global GDP growth for 2025 is 3.2 percent, while inflation is expected to be in the region of 3.3 percent. Other key findings globally include the easing of pressures on labour markets, the pace of regulatory reform has declined, and global growth is expected to stabilise amidst robust growth in the USA, UK, Canada, and Spain.

On 19 September 2024, nine jurisdictions signed and a further 10 expressed their intent to sign the Multilateral Convention to Facilitate the Implementation of the Pillar Two Subject to Tax Rule (STTR MLI). Jurisdictions can implement the Subject to Tax Rule (STTR) by either joining the STTR MLI or by bilateral amendments to tax agreements. The STTR ensures a minimum level of tax on certain cross-border payments and is designed to prevent circumstances where income is either taxed at very low rates or not taxed at all due to differences in tax regimes between countries.

GenAI is evolving rapidly and has the potential to enable CFOs to deliver valuable new strategic insights and predictive analysis to their organisations, writes Vickie Wall Almost every aspect of the finance function has benefited from technological advances in recent years. Those advances include artificial intelligence (AI), natural language generation (NLG), and optical character recognition (OCR). Automation has freed up time to move beyond financial reporting and engage in the provision of strategic business insights and forecasting for the entire business. Many large organisations have been using machine learning and related technologies to assist in areas like fraud and anomaly detection, transaction processing, business forecasting and customer management. However, we are now on the cusp of a potentially transformative leap forward due to the advent of generative AI (GenAI). This technology can democratise data science and analytics and put coding skills in the hands of just about everyone with the ability to interact with it. It will no longer be necessary for a CFO or finance team member to be skilled in specific programming languages or database query skills. Once they can explain in plain language what they want GenAI to do, the technology should do the rest. AI will be able to take structured and unstructured data from within the organisation and external sources to provide various outputs like trend analyses and forecasts, with numerous variations based on factors like seasonality or user-defined future events. Having done so, it can offer best, mid and worst-case scenarios to aid C-suite decision-making. This capability, which was formerly the sole preserve of skilled data analysts and programmers, is now in the hands of everyone with access to GenAI and who has received basic training on how to interact with it and is willing to experiment. Understanding data science Certain skills are required no doubt, not least of them the ability to understand accounts and financial reporting standards. Beyond that, CFOs and finance teams will need to become familiar with data science, at least to a small extent. This will not necessarily present a major challenge as finance professionals have been using business intelligence systems for many years. However, they will have to develop a much deeper understanding of the topic if they are going to uncover the next layer of value which lies within the data at their disposal. Having the tools to carry out the analysis on your behalf is just one-half of the equation. Knowing what you want to achieve through the analysis is the other. The importance of “prompting” and the ability to do this well will become a key skill in extracting the most from these tools. Currently, GenAI is viewed as a separate tool that operates independently of other software systems. That will remain so for certain general applications, but increasingly it will become an integral part of the software systems used every day in organisations. In future, CFOs and finance professionals will use AI to interact with those systems in different ways. They will use natural conversational language to create reports, run analyses, and produce forecasts. The skill will lie in knowing what questions to ask and recognising where the data’s potential value might lie. The need for knowledge beyond AI A new approach to data gathering will be required when it comes to GenAI. CFOs will need to look beyond finance to other functions and departments to source data for use in forecasts and strategic guidance, as well as to understand those departments’ key needs. That will require knowing where data gets sourced from, how it flows from one system to another, where the bottlenecks lie, where data is leaking or getting lost, and what issues need to be addressed to improve data availability. Having access to that data from across and outside the business in the form of external market reports will be paramount to realising the benefits of GenAI in the finance function. GenAI is far from faultless, however, and trust is a major issue. For example, no CFO will be willing to sign off on financial statements if the finance team does not know how to check the GenAI outputs they are based on. Explainability is another challenge. If a certain system is being used to produce statements or reports, the CFO must be able to explain how it works and how it comes to its conclusions. And therein lies another issue: inconsistency. At present, you can ask GenAI the same question 50 times and get a different answer on each occasion. That may be acceptable for marketing content, but it certainly will not work for financial statements and forecasts, where trust and data integrity are of utmost importance. Fortunately, GenAI developers and organisations integrating the technology into other software systems are addressing these issues and the technology is improving at a rapid pace, but it is still not at a stage where it can be fully relied on. Humans will need to be always kept in the loop to verify the outputs and ensure that the systems are not hallucinating or being creative when they should not be. The use of GenAI by CFOs and finance functions to support strategic decision-making in their organisations will soon be a competitive differentiator. This means that even if they are not currently using GenAI in their organisations, CFOs need to experiment with it and understand how it works, what it can do, and the value it can bring to the business. More importantly, they need to help instil an experimental culture within the organisation where employees at all levels are encouraged to bring forward ideas for use cases without fearing repercussions for aborted pilots or lack of investment. CFOs who fully embrace this early-stage trial and error will ensure that they are not left behind when the technology evolves to a point where it can be trusted, is consistent in its outputs and is fully explainable. Transforming finance functions GenAI has the potential to transform the way finance functions operate and the strategic insights and guidance that CFOs can bring to their organisations. To realise that potential CFOs will need to understand the business needs across different departments, gain access to data from across the organisation, develop basic data science skills, and perhaps experiment with the technology to understand how it works, how to interact with it and how it can deliver value to the business. Vickie Wall is Financial Accounting Advisory Services Leader at EY

Feeling uninspired after the summer? Ed Heffernan explores internal moves, smarter job transitions, and fresh opportunities without sacrificing long-term growth Turning off your out-of-office message after the holidays is simply depressing! The first day back is always difficult, but if the first week and the first month aren’t much better, then maybe a salary increase, a new job, or a new career might help. Most industries have their intensely busy times, and it’s unsurprising to learn that post-holidays – namely the New Year and Back-to-School September – are the hot spots for recruitment firms. It could be the downtime we have to think about our career choices, or the difficulty getting back into a work routine. Either way, the desire to do something different, more rewarding or better paid, is certainly an itch worth scratching. So, where to start? A complete career change is absolutely a possibility. There are some things you need to think about first, however. Career status The earlier you are in your career, the easier it is to change. An undergrad in science working in a lab, who wants to get into marketing, or a sales manager who likes the look of logistics – those career moves are relatively easy to make. Further up the chain, however, a complete change of direction will likely mean sacrificing some salary. If you are changing careers, there's an element of starting again, so you are probably going to get paid less. If you are 20 years into a role as a Chief Financial Officer, for example, and want to move into a creative area, you will need to make a financial sacrifice, certainly in the short term. You must be realistic, but it is also important to remember that the more value you create, the more you get compensated for the value of your time. No big bang Good advice is that a career change doesn't have to be a ‘big bang.’ Internal moves within organisations, or different functions, are more doable than external moves. And, if a business has multiple sites, a transfer to a new location will test whether the grass is actually greener on the other side! Take someone working as head of a supply chain in a big business or multinational who wants to transfer to the sales and marketing side of the business. This represents a more feasible move for both employer and employee. To start, take on some responsibilities linked to the side of the business you are interested in, or work on cross-functional projects that put you in closer proximity to those teams. Look for an internal secondment to a new team so your career change can be subtle. This will also help preserve income. Plus, if opportunities or experience within the new function are not all that great, there is scope for a return to your original department, bringing an even broader understanding back with you. Most employers these days don’t want to lose talent, so will generally work with employees on training or evolving their role. Job hunt homework Something as important as a career change demands homework. Don’t just take job descriptions as read. Job titles mean nothing without context and, at times, company recruitment ads are a list of duties and some company details. The context of the markets the business is in, the degree of activity around each duty demanded by the role, and the supports in place, are crucial to an accurate job representation. Do your own job interview. Ask yourself exactly what it is you think will be better and more rewarding about a new or different role, or even a new sector. If it does come to interviewing for a new job, this type of preparation will stand to you. For a hiring organisation, someone advanced in a long-term career who suddenly wants to shift gears must have some good reasons, and they must be able to demonstrate a real commitment and reasonable preparation. Ed Heffernan is Managing Partner at Barden

We don’t need more purpose statements, we need more purposeful leadership, writes Fiona English In a world awash with purpose statements, how can you ensure you or your organisation have the impact you desire? Many leaders and organisations begin with the wrong question when it comes to purpose. They focus on "what" they will do rather than "who" they will become. Purpose is an expression of identity, derived from who we are rather than simply what we do. It is not a thing you find. It is about the person you choose to become. A purposeful leader asks themselves how they will use their position, power and the resources available to have a greater impact on others and society. Purpose is uniquely human When it comes to purpose, we are often cynical. We believe ‘purpose’ is esoteric or a nice statement to have. But what makes purpose real is you. It cannot be outsourced to the organisation you lead or work for by simply crafting a ‘purpose statement.’ While any business can have a purpose statement, it is only leaders and employees who can breathe life into that statement through their choices. Purpose is real clarity on what the team members, team and organisation has committed to and the choices made as a result. Purpose is a choice Purpose, at its core, is about choice. It asks us what matters to us – as people, as citizens of our world, as leaders and employees of organisations. Being a purposeful leader asks you to clarify what drives your choices and how they reflect who you are, your belief system, what matters to you. It is those choices that have the power to amplify the impact you or your organisation can have in the world. Purpose is disruptive One of the least glorified aspects of purpose is that it is challenging. To have greater purpose in your life and work or to lead in a purposeful way in your business, you must first be willing to disrupt yourself and change how you are currently showing up in the world. To have purpose, leadership and organisations must stop talking about it and start embodying it. Take the statement you have crafted around the purpose of your organisation and ground it into reality through your choices. Purpose requires courage Purpose cannot exist without courage. Often, when we struggle with our purpose in life or work, it is not because we don’t know how to be more purposeful. We just don’t always like the consequences that come with being so. We say we want more authenticity, greater equality in the world or solutions to the climate crisis. However, what we really want is all these things without sacrifice. When it comes to many of the changes we need to see in the world today, our problem is not an absence of ideas or intellect but an absence of courage. We make purpose real It takes real leadership to define and execute purpose in life, work or business with integrity. We have to invest the time to get clear on who we are, who we wish to become, the impact we wish to have and the choices we are willing to make as a result. Only then can any purpose statement become reality. Purpose is not real until we choose it to be. Fiona English is a keynote speaker, thought leader and coach. www.fiona-english.com

In Irish news, Revenue has issued a fresh warning about an email and text scam, and changes to the Standard Fund Threshold have been announced. In UK news, the UK Government has confirmed that the Trader Support Service is being extended by a further year, an ongoing recommendation of this Institute, and the 2023/24 self-assessment registration deadline is approaching. In International news, the OECD is advancing it’s work on the Pillar Two Subject to Tax Rule. Ireland Revenue has issued a fresh warning about an email and text scam. Changes to the Standard Fund Threshold have been announced. UK The UK Government has announced that the Trader Support Service is being extended a further year to December 2025. The 2023/24 self-assessment registration deadline is approaching.   International The OECD is advancing it’s work on the Pillar Two Subject to Tax Rule. Keep up to date with all the latest Irish, UK, and international tax developments through Chartered Accountants Ireland’s Tax Newsletter. Subscribe to the Tax News by updating your preferences in MyAccount. You can also read this week’s EU exit corner here.  

The Institute has revised the Audit Regulations UK which set out the requirements for Institute firms and responsible individuals registered for audit in the UK, with effective date 1 October 2024.  The most important revision for UK audit firms relates to audit firm eligibility.  Audit firm eligibility – majority and voting rights The Audit Regulations, UK are updated to improve alignment with the UK Companies Act 2006 and the FRC Eligibility Criteria. The definitions of ‘majority’ and ‘voting rights’ for the purposes of determining the control of an audit firm have been clarified, and the guidance has been expanded.  Firms may be affected where a ‘super-majority’ (more than 50%) is required for certain decisions of the firm to take effect – in those cases firms will need to ensure that the relevant ‘super-majority’ of voting rights is held by appropriately qualified persons where those decisions direct the overall policy of the firm or alter its constitution.  The FRC issued a position paper in this regard in August 2024.     As some firms may need a period of time to effect necessary governance changes a transition period of 6 months has been incorporated so that these particular rules take effect from 1 April 2025.  Firms are reminded of the requirement to inform the Institute promptly in relation to changes to the firm’s structure, ownership or constitution in accordance with Audit Regulation 2.11.   The Audit Regulations UK are issued jointly by Chartered Accountants Ireland, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS).  ICAEW has published some useful FAQs in relation to the Audit Regulations UK and clarified eligibility criteria. Firms with any questions about the application of these revised definitions to their firm should contact the Institute at authorisations@charteredaccountants.ie Other changes to the Audit Regulations UK (all effective from 1 October 2024) include: Recognition of overseas audit qualifications Revisions have been made to reflect the provisions of the Professional Qualifications Act 2022 for the steps which professional bodies, including the Institute, have to take to recognise third country qualifications where there was agreement between the UK and the relevant third country.  These steps include requiring an adaptation period and/or aptitude test.  To date, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein are specified states under the Professional Qualifications Act.  The Professional Qualifications Act provisions are in addition to the role of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) under section 1221 of the Companies Act 2006 to recognise certain third country qualifications.  The countries where the qualification has been approved in that regard by the FRC are set out on the FRC website on this link. Changes to the Audit Regulations UK in this regard include: ·new definition ‘adaptation period’, ·new definition ‘Professional Qualifications Act’, updated definition of ‘appropriate qualification’, and, updated guidance in chapter 4 regarding applications for responsible individual (RI) status. Changes to the Institute’s affiliate requirements: The Institute has made changes to its approach to affiliates such that there is a single affiliate status across all Institute regulations replacing multiple categories of affiliate.  Therefore, distinct categories such as ‘audit affiliate’ are replaced by ‘affiliate’ and this is reflected in the revised Audit Regulations, UK.  The requirements for Institute affiliates are set out in chapter 7 of the Institute’s Public Practice Regulations.    There is no longer any exemption from affiliate status for members of particular bodies – the overall requirement is that a principal at an Institute firm who is not a member of the Institute should be an affiliate of the Institute.  From the perspective of the Audit Regulations UK this means that the current exemption from affiliate requirements for ICAEW, ICAS and ACCA members who are principals at an Institute registered audit firm is removed. CPD obligations Additional material has been added at regulations 3.17 and 3.17A to clarify the obligations of UK audit firms and responsible individuals (RIs) in relation to CPD requirements – now more closely aligned with the Audit Regulations, Ireland. Guidance ISQM 1   At chapter 3 of the Audit Regulations UK, guidance in relation to quality management standards has been updated to reflect ISQM 1 instead of the previous standard, ISQC 1.  Also, the somewhat out of date guidance (Part 2, chapter 2) in relation to ‘Audit compliance reviews’ (ACR) has been removed.  It is considered that the relevant content is sufficiently contained within the ISQM 1 standard.   Amalgamation with CPA Ireland   A new paragraph has been added to guidance at regulations 2.03, 4.01 and 4.04 to draw attention to the amalgamation between the Institute and CPA Ireland on 1 September 2024 and the status of CPA qualifications in the UK (which is unchanged by the amalgamation). Future proposed changes to the Audit Regulations UK. In recent months, the attention of members was drawn to further proposed changes to the Audit Regulations UK as set out in a public consultation hosted by ICAEW.   That consultation (closed on 6 September) proposes to make changes to the UK Audit Regulations which would require UK audit registered firms to notify their registering body when they are appointed as auditors to certain entities. The consultation is available to read here.   Feedback received during the consultation period will be taken into consideration in the finalisation of next amendments to the Audit Regulations UK which are expected during 2025. Any queries in relation to the current or proposed revisions to the Audit Regulations UK can be directed to professionalstandards@charteredaccountants.ie

The international community has taken another step in ensuring fairer international tax arrangements (particularly for developing countries) with the implementation of the Pillar Two Subject to Tax Rule (STR).   The STR ensures a minimum level of taxation on relevant cross-border payments and aims to prevent circumstances where income is either taxed at rates below 9 percent or not taxed at all due to differences in tax regimes across jurisdictions. The STR particularly benefits developing countries as such jurisdictions are often the source of significant outbound payments.