Revenue has updated the Tax and Duty Manual regarding the confidentiality of taxpayer information. The updated guidance addresses the authorised disclosure of taxpayer information in the context of Joint Audits carried out by Revenue officials in conjunction with nominated officials from other EU Member States(paragraph 4.13). Section 891L TCA 1997, introduced by Finance (No. 2) Act 2023, implemented article 12a of DAC7. A joint audit is an administrative inquiry conducted by Revenue and the competent authority of another Member State when linked to a person of common or complimentary interest in both jurisdictions. At a recent meeting of the TALC Audit Sub-Committee, Revenue confirmed that the joint audit process is outside the scope of the Compliance Intervention Framework.

Revenue has updated the following guidance to reflect increases in the 2024 tax rate bands and tax credits in Finance (No.2) Act 2023: High Income Individuals' Restriction regarding income chargeable to tax at the standard rate in joint assessment cases; PAYE reviews where Week 53 applies; and Guidance on the income tax treatment of married persons and civil partners.

Revenue has updated the Tax and Duty Manual which provides guidance on tax relief for charitable donations to approved bodies. The amendments include: Examples of payments to "approved bodies" which are not considered a relevant donation for the purposes of the Charitable Donation Scheme (paragraph 3); Educational institutions defined in section 53(1)(a) of the Higher Education Authority Act 2022 and the Royal Irish Academy are added to the list of approved bodies (paragraph 6); and The increase to €250,000 in the minimum annual income limit for audited financial accounts (paragraph 8).

Revenue’s Economic Research Unit is running a survey of medium sized tax agents to further inform its understanding of the issues facing tax agents in order to improve the quality of the service it provides. Agents selected for the survey will receive an email inviting them to complete the online survey before Monday 8 July 2024. Revenue has confirmed that it will not ask for financial or personal information in this, or in any other survey, or email. The survey is not in any way connected with an agent’s individual tax affairs. Further information is available in Revenue’s press release.

The Institute, under the auspices of the CCAB-I, made representations on behalf of members at last week’s meeting of the TALC Collections Sub-Committee. At the meeting, Revenue provided an update on the Debt Warehousing Scheme and the local property tax (LPT) and vacant home tax (VHT) compliance projects which it has commenced. Revenue confirmed that it is preparing updated guidance on 2023 income tax filing requirements for non-resident landlords and it has updated its system to allow agents to pay Relevant Tax on Share Options for pre-2024 liabilities. Debt Warehousing Scheme Revenue confirmed that if taxpayers have phased payment arrangements (PPAs) for both warehoused debt at 0 percent interest and other debt at the standard rate, PPA payments are automatically allocated against the oldest debt. Taxpayers cannot elect to allocate payments against debt with a higher interest rate if this did not precede the warehoused debt. However, it may be possible to reduce the interest charge if the taxpayer makes a payment outside the PPA towards current taxes.   Revenue explained that PPA compliance monitoring is fully automated once commenced. If there is a failed payment, the taxpayer is notified that Revenue will retry in 21 days. If there is a further failure, the taxpayer will lose the 0 percent interest rate and standard enforcement will commence.   Local Property Tax Revenue noted that some taxpayers who pay their LPT by deduction at source from pay or pension have failed to file an LPT return. Revenue advises that they file an LPT return as soon as possible in order to avoid issues at a later date. Revenue will write to this cohort of taxpayers in September to remind them to file the outstanding return; agents will not be copied. Vacant Homes Tax Revenue intends writing to persons that own 2 to 19 properties, asking them to declare whether the property is occupied or is vacant. Where vacant, and not already returned, a return and payment will be required to regularise their affairs. In September Revenue will issue 2024 reminder letters to those that previously declared a VHT liability. Non-resident Landlords A consequence of the commencement of the non-resident landlord withholding tax (NLWT) portal on 1 July 2023 is the requirement, in some cases, for two income tax returns for 2023. This arises in instances where a collecting agent was responsible for the non-resident landlord’s rental affairs for the period to 30 June 2023 then opted to utilise the NLWT portal from 1 July 2023 onwards. Revenue is preparing guidance to outline how a single return can be filed in such circumstances for 2023. Single filing will require the chargeable person (responsible for period 1 January 2023 to 30 June 2023) to cease registration and the non-resident landlord will file all rental details for the 2023 year. Letters will issue in the coming weeks to chargeable persons. If they want to retain registration, they must contact Revenue to do so. Revenue has confirmed that non-resident landlords should not include details of Irish rental income that is being returned by a chargeable person. Payment of RTSO As readers will be aware, from 1 January 2024, the taxation of a gain realised on the exercise, assignment, or release of share options no longer falls under individual self-assessment. Instead, employers are responsible for collecting income tax, USC, and PRSI from employees on share option gains and for remitting those taxes to Revenue as part of the payroll process. Revenue has updated its website for these changes and additional text has been added to screens to alert anyone trying to submit RTSO for 2024. The self-assessment regime continues to apply to gains arising on or before 31 December 2023, as does the obligation to register for RTSO. Revenue has confirmed that is has updated its system to allow an agent to make an RTSO payment for pre 1 January 2024 liabilities.

At the most recent meeting of the TALC Direct & Capital Taxes Sub-committee, Revenue announced that it is finally updating its practice surrounding the review of its Tax and Duty Manuals (TDMs), including a commitment to make historic TDMs available on its website. The plan over the summer months is to commence a two-stage process to enhance the availability of Revenue guidance in future. Stage one will see up to four previous versions of a manual made available on Revenue’s website. The TDM will bear a watermark conveying that the particular manual is “out of date” and so may not be relied upon. Revenue has committed to refreshing its website so that the four most recent previous versions of guidance are available (excluding the current version). Stage two will see a change to the annual TDM review process whereby the manual under review will remain available during the review process. The manual will bear a watermark conveying that the guidance is “out of date/under review” and so may not be relied upon. The Institute, under the auspices of the CCAB-I, raised this issue in April 2022 via the TALC Direct & Capital Taxes Sub-committee (see Item 3). In October of that year, a delegation of stakeholders met with Revenue to progress the matter further (see Item 3(c)). Although it has taken time to implement the recommendations arising from this earlier engagement, this change in practice will make a significant difference to practitioners and taxpayers in future. As such, we are grateful for the continued engagement of both Revenue and those representing CCAB-I through the TALC process as a key forum to raise pressure points arising on both sides of the tax administration divide.

Readers are aware of an ongoing issue where Revenue-initiated emails in MyEnquiries can be overlooked if the email has been sent to an unattended or inappropriate email address. In response to the Institute’s representations at the Tax Administration Liaison Committee (TALC), Revenue is now providing a facility in MyEnquiries for users to mark a designated email address as the priority email address for sending Revenue-initiated queries. This enables practice staff with permissions to access that email address to ensure correspondence is not overlooked. Revenue has provided instructions to assist practitioners in assigning a priority email address for MyEnquiries if they choose to do so. Revenue will issue a revised Tax and Duty Manual (37-00-36A) in due course.

As recommended by the NI Tax Committee in a letter last August to the Financial Secretary to the Treasury and subsequently in the Institute’s evidence submission to the House of Lords Finance Bill Sub-Committee, the draft Finance Bill clause which would have retrospectively applied the change to the geographical scope of agricultural property relief (“APR”) for Inheritance Tax (“IHT”) has been removed from the most recent Finance Act. From 6 April 2024, APR, and woodlands relief (“WR”) is only available in respect of UK assets.  In accordance with draft Clause 1(7)(b), this change would have applied “in relation to transfers of value made before 6 April 2024, for the purposes of any charge to tax, or to extra tax, which arises on or after that date”.   This would have meant that lifetime gifts in the seven years prior to 6 April 2024 would have been impacted by the removal of APR and WR for non-UK assets had the settlor died within seven years of the original lifetime gift or made a further lifetime gift into trust within seven years of one made in the seven-year window prior to 6 April 2024. The original APR and WR would longer be available resulting in a decrease in the available nil rate band and potentially a 40 per charge to IHT.  The Institute recommended that the draft Finance Bill clauses be rewritten in a way that removed any damaging retrospective impact, as this would have otherwise threatened the principle of legitimate expectation.   HMRC confirmed the change when it published an updated policy paper on the amended Finance Bill clauses. The change is now reflected in Section 11 of the Finance (No. 2) Act 2024 which received Royal Assent last month. 

Do you complete expenses and benefits returns? Or do you complete online filing for employment related securities? If so, you have a key role to play in ensuring returns are submitted by the 2023/24 filing deadline of 6 July 2024 and payments are made on time. By way of reminder, from 6 April 2023, forms P11D and P11D(b) can only be submitted online by employers (except for the digitally excluded). Also, since 6 April 2023, an online service is available for employers and their agents to apply for a PAYE Settlement Agreement (“PSA”). The 2023/24 deadline to apply for a PAYE settlement agreement is 5 July 2024, with payments due by 22 October 2024 (19 October 2024 if not paying electronically).  HMRC is running a webinar later this week on 27 June on how to use the PAYE online service to submit forms P11D and P11D(b). The webinar will provide an overview of these forms, examine the benefits of submitting them online, and consider payrolling of expenses and benefits. However, it will not cover how to calculate the value of benefits. You can book onto the webinar here.  It should also be noted that where Enterprise Management Incentive (“EMI”) options are granted on or after 6 April 2024, although the statutory reporting deadline is 6 July following the end of the tax year, some plan rules require the employer to notify HMRC within 92 days of grant. If this is the case, failure to report within the deadline can lead to the option lapsing or becoming non-tax advantaged. We recommend that employers check any EMI plans urgently to ensure this deadline is not missed.   Here’s a reminder of the key deadlines next month:  6 July 2024 - deadline for submitting all 2023/24 P11D(b) and P11D forms - and the employee must receive their copy of the P11D;  6 July 2024 – deadline for online reporting of the 2023/24 annual return in respect of employment related securities;  19 July 2024 - deadline for non-electronic payment of Class 1A National Insurance Contributions (NIC) for 2023/24; and  22 July 2024 - deadline for electronic payment of Class 1A NIC for 2023/24. 

Our last update on HMRC services covered the announcement by the Financial Secretary to the Treasury before the dissolution of Parliament of an additional £51 million in funding for HMRC to help deal with the pressures on its phonelines and address declining service levels. Earlier this month, the Institute attended a bespoke meeting with HMRC during which HMRC advised that it is working to source additional resources using this £51 million.   This will take some time and we therefore remind you that HMRC previously advised that even if additional funding was received, quarters one and two of 2024/25 are likely to see a further decline in services. HMRC’s longer term strategy is still to move most taxpayers to digital services.   At the above bespoke meeting, the Institute and the other Professional Bodies discussed and highlighted a number of pain points in the UK tax system and in particular pointed out the lack of agent service for areas such as changes to tax codes.   The Institute will continue to monitor this issue and engage with HMRC and the new Government as it considers the way forward. We welcome your feedback at any time on HMRC services by email.  

Ahead of next month’s election, the Institute for Fiscal Studies recently published an article on reform of Inheritance Tax and an assessment of the previous government’s record on tax between 2010 and 2024. HMRC is currently conducting taxpayer education research and its latest schedule of live and recorded webinars for tax agents is available for booking. Spaces are limited, so take a look now and save your place. And finally, Belarus has unilaterally suspended its Double Tax Agreement with the UK, although the UK considers it to still be in force.  Institute for Fiscal Studies publications  The Institute for Fiscal Studies (“IFS”) has published an article on options to make inheritance tax (“IHT”) fairer which it says would also raise more revenue. In the article, the IFS notes that despite the highest rate being 40 percent, the availability of reliefs and exemptions means that the effective rate of IHT peaks at 25 percent for estates worth between £3 million and £7.5 million and declines to just 17 percent on estates worth £10 million or more.   The article also considers the potential impact of removing the special treatment of AIM shares, imposing a cap on agricultural and business property relief, and ending the tax-free passing-on of pension pots.  The IFS has also published an assessment of the government’s record on tax between 2010 and 2024. Not surprisingly, it notes that a common theme has been a move towards greater complexity. Since 2010, more than a dozen new taxes have been introduced and many existing taxes have been made more complicated. The IFS notes that, taken together, the changes have ‘made the tax system harder to understand and harder for taxpayers to navigate’.   HMRC taxpayer education research  HMRC has recently updated its guidance on genuine HMRC contact to flag that it is currently conducting a new research initiative. As a result, taxpayers may be contacted by HMRC or by People for Research with an invitation for them to take voluntarily participate in a focus group to understand how HMRC can improve education for taxpayers.   Belarus unilaterally suspends Double Taxation Agreement with the UK  Last month, HMRC confirmed in an update on GOV.UK that Belarus Council of Ministers has unilaterally suspended provisions of many of its Double Tax Agreements, including the 2017 UK-Belarus Double Taxation Convention. 27 countries have been impacted with provisions affected from 1 June 2024.   The Council Resolution has suspended provisions relating to dividends, interest, and capital gains. The same Resolution also introduces discriminatory taxes on dividends and other income in respect of businesses located in one of the 27 countries with effect from 1 April 2024. This means that Belarus is not honouring agreed limits on what it may tax at source and has placed other restrictions on the conduct of business by non-Belarusians in Belarus.  The UK-Belarus Convention does not permit this unilateral action. The UK Government views this action with utmost seriousness and has asked Belarus to reverse its action. It considers the treaty to remain in force and is continuing to comply with its terms. Next steps are being considered and more information will be provided in due course. 

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 and Cabinet Officer Borders bulletins are also available. The Windsor Framework Democratic Scrutiny Committee has published another report, this time on Regulation (EU) 2024/1252 which aims to establish a framework for ensuring a secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials.  Windsor Framework Democratic Scrutiny Committee report  The most recent Brexit and Beyond Bulletin from the NI Assembly’s EU Affairs team features the Windsor Framework Democratic Scrutiny Committee's report on Regulation (EU) 2024/1252 that aims to establish a framework for ensuring a secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials.  According to the Committee, most of the regulation does not fall within the scope of the Windsor Framework, although some articles of it do make technical amendments to a number of EU Regulations that do apply under it.   However, the Committee concluded that having considered its commissioned legal advice, the replacement EU act does not significantly differ, in whole or in part, from the content or scope of the regulations which it amends.  Miscellaneous updated guidance etc.   Recently updated guidance, and publications relevant to EU exit are set out below:  Submit a claim using the second-hand motor vehicle payment scheme if you do not have a UK business establishment;  Reference Document for The Customs (Northern Ireland: Repayment and Remission) (EU Exit) (Amendment) Regulations 2023;  Check if you can pay less duty if your goods are imported into authorised use;  Data Element 2/3: Documents and Other Reference Codes (Union) of the Customs ;Declaration Service;  Software developers providing entry summary declaration support;  Search the register of customs agents and fast parcel operators;  CDS Declaration Completion Instructions for Exports;  List of customs training providers;  Attending an inland border facility; and  External temporary storage facilities codes for Data Element 5/23 of the Customs Declaration Service. 

We have compiled the latest updates to various HMRC VAT publications, briefs, and guidance. Pay the VAT due on your One Stop Shop VAT Return;  Updates on VAT appeals;  Help with VAT apportionment of consideration — GfC2 Guidelines for Compliance;  Food products (VAT Notice 701/14);  VAT on movements of goods between Northern Ireland and the EU;  VAT Assessments and Error Correction;  Revenue and Customs Brief 7 (2024): VAT Treatment of Voluntary Carbon Credits;  VAT Assessments and Error Correction;  Appoint a tax representative if you are a non-established taxable person registering for VAT in the UK;  Cancelling your VAT registration (VAT Notice 700/11);  Group and divisional registration (VAT Notice 700/2);  Draft regulations: amendments to the VAT (Refund of Tax to Museums and Galleries) Order 2001;  VAT Flat Rate Scheme;  VAT Registration;  Forms for claiming a VAT refund if your business is registered in a country outside the UK;  Get your postponed import VAT statement; and  VAT Assessments and Error Correction. 

Charities can reclaim a portion of their VAT costs based on non-public funding ahead of the 30 June deadline. Liam Farrell explains how to do it Charities are entitled to claim a refund of a proportion of their VAT costs based on the level of non-public funding they receive, but the deadline to submit the application – 30 June – is fast approaching. Making a claim Where the total amount of eligible claims from all charities in each year exceeds the capped amount, claims will be paid on a pro-rata basis. The cap on this has increased to €10 million from 1 January 2024. To qualify for this scheme, a charity must, at the date of claim and at the time the qualifying expenditure was incurred: be registered with Revenue and hold a charitable tax exemption (CHY) under section 207 Taxes Consolidation Act (TCA) 1997; and be registered with the Charities Regulatory Authority (CRA). For a charity to submit a claim, they must have: a tax registration number issued by Revenue; bank account details; and a registered Charity Number (issued by the Charities Regulatory Authority). A claimant must also hold a current tax clearance certificate when making a claim. Claims for VAT compensation must be submitted through e-Repayments on Revenue’s Online System (ROS). These claims, along with any supporting documentation, must adhere to the required format and meet the deadlines specified by Revenue. Claims can be submitted annually between 1 January and 30 June for eligible VAT paid in the previous calendar year. Claimants may amend their claims until 30 June of the submission year, but not thereafter. The maximum claim amount is €1,000,000, the minimum claim amount is €500, and the minimum repayment is €5. Additionally, claimants must declare and certify that all information provided is correct. To support a claim, detailed documentation is required, including a breakdown of total income, qualifying income and qualifying expenditure. VAT records, such as invoices and receipts, must be retained by charities for six years. There must be evidence that the goods and services claimed were used for charitable purposes, that the VAT was paid in the relevant year, and that the income used for calculations was received in that year. The most recent set of audited accounts, corresponding to the financial year of the claim or the claim submission year, is also necessary. Furthermore, claimants must provide evidence that the charity was not entitled to a VAT deduction or refund under other legislation and must show compliance with the VAT Consolidation Act 2010, the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, the Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999, and related secondary legislation. Qualifying income The proportion of a charity’s income that is privately funded is known as ‘qualifying income’. This excludes publicly funded income and income already excluded from the total income calculation. To calculate qualifying income, a charity should deduct from its total income for the year to which the claim relates all non-qualifying income. Some examples of non-qualifying income are Charitable Donations Scheme repayments, Charities VAT Compensation Schemes refunds, county council grants and charity shop income, among others. Qualifying expenditure Expenditure in respect of which a VAT refund may be sought under this scheme is described as “qualifying expenditure”. Conditions apply to the calculation of qualifying expenditure are as follows: compensation may be sought in respect of VAT which was paid in the State on certain expenditures and in the year to which the claim relates; that expenditure must have been for goods or services used by the charity only for its charitable purpose; and if a charity is entitled to receive any relief, refund, repayment or deductibility under any other scheme or legislation administered by Revenue, it may not include that amount in the calculation of a claim. What next? Applications under the scheme should be submitted by 30 June 2024 in respect of calendar year 2023. It is important to note that claims submitted after the 30 June deadline will not be accepted under any circumstances. Liam Farrell is Director of Accounts & Business Advisory Services at Azets

As entities prepare for the introduction of the Digital Operational Resilience Act, IT security and compliance will be front of mind for many, writes Jackie Hennessy With the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) on the way, entities must move from preparation to implementation and take steps towards demonstrating how their practices comply. Financial entities will need to demonstrate appropriate security and resilience of critical information and communication technology (ICT) systems and applications to comply with DORA. The level of compliance efforts will vary depending on the size and complexity of your entity. A risk-based approach, appropriate security and resilience testing are necessary to address potential vulnerabilities and to prove compliance in meeting the evidence requirements of the European Supervisory Authorities. By focusing on long-term resilience, entities can establish a resilient foundation, which will aid them in their steps towards DORA compliance. Resilience means learning from the past, to improve the present, and to prepare for the future.  To make entities ready for DORA, there are five key actions to assist those in the preparation phase. These actions will enable entities to effectively manage their digital operational resilience. 1. Determine strategic priorities To enhance business practices, organisations must aim to achieve a transformation towards a resilient end-to-end IT and operations environment. To ensure strong risk management, a focus should be placed on achieving a broad agile transformation that takes into account risks associated with ICT suppliers and continuity measures. Additionally, it is necessary to aim to increase your organisation's agility in serving digital channels by implementing strong business continuity management (BCM) measures. 2. Implement resilience and incident management measures To ensure effective implementation of your DORA program, it is crucial to ensure leadership support, as well as translation of strategic and regulatory requirements into operational measures. It is essential to enable control owners and line management to manage compliance requirements in a risk-based way, including the automation of controls related to digital resilience, to manage the complexity of (compliance) requirements effectively. Think big and start small – for example, by organising a workshop with relevant middle-management players to align and agree on the implementation strategy of your DORA program. 3. Manage third-party risks To ensure effective management of ICT risk related to third-party providers, it is essential to conduct complete monitoring of all ICT-related third-party risks throughout all relationship phases. This involves the classification and analysis of providers and their management bodies, record-keeping of relevant information, managing proportionality, managing compliance and creating a third-party risk assessment process risk strategy. By undertaking these steps, comprehensive management of ICT risk in relation to third-party providers can be ensured. 4. Test digital operational resilience To ensure operational resilience, it is crucial to test critical functions more frequently than non-critical, at least once per year. The program for testing digital operational resilience must be based on relevant threat scenarios. Best practice is to implement an appropriate test set-up for each threat, to test the resilience effectively. Moreover, every three years, entities are required to perform threat-lead penetration testing that simulates a realistic and advanced cyber-attack. This simulation helps organisations to prepare and train for real cyber-attacks. 5. Implement measures for resilience and ICT incidents To establish strong operational resilience measures and incident management, it is essential to accomplish resilience testing from a wider perspective, which – beyond technical security testing – includes regular crisis simulations. It is important to improve business continuity plans and ICT crisis scenarios to ensure that uncontrolled disruptions are avoided due to slow and ineffective incident management. Moreover, accomplishing mature threat intelligence and assessing top continuity risk scenarios is crucial to enhancing resilience and preparedness in critical situations. By understanding these measures, strong operational resilience can be established, ensuring smooth and uninterrupted operations. Jackie Hennessy is a Partner at KPMG 

Scammers are targeting victims with new tactics, causing financial loss and mental distress. Ola Opoosun explains how organisations can protect themselves with the SCAM checklist From convincing phone calls and text messages requesting financial information to elaborate online scams, scammers are always looking for new ways to catch people off guard.   In 2023 alone, UK Finance reported that scammers stole £1.17 billion through unauthorised and authorised fraud. In fact, scammers target those who they perceive as more vulnerable, including the elderly, with data showing that an older person falls victim to fraud every 40 seconds.   While the financial impact of scams can be costly, they can also leave people feeling embarrassed and unsettled and can have a lasting impact on our confidence, especially in a workplace situation.  Three in ten (29%) say that being a victim of fraud has harmed their mental health, leading them to seek help with anxiety and depression.   How can organisations stay alert to scams and prevent them from happening to themselves and their clients? The golden rule of avoiding scams is to be vigilant.   Knowing what to look out for and feeling confident enough to check or challenge what you're being asked to do, especially where something doesn't feel quite right, is very important.    If you ever find yourself in a situation where you’re unsure what to do, our handy acronym “SCAM” can help you put together a quick checklist to help you work out if a request for financial and personal information is genuine or not.  S – Sender  If you receive a message out of the blue, ask yourself: is it a complicated email address, or one that's familiar yet not quite right? An unknown phone number?  Don’t assume that an email address, postal address, website or phone number is always authentic.   Always stop and check the sender’s address or number to make sure it’s legit. C – Chasing  If you get a call out from someone requesting sensitive or urgent information relating to their account, it could be a scam. Time pressure can be an obvious red flag as scammers might use tactics to convince you to make a hasty decision without thinking things through. However, a trusted organisation would never rush you into make an important decision such as transferring money or sharing credit card numbers.   Remember to stop and take the time to think through your decision and question if it seems like suspicious activity.   A – Action  An online, phone or email scammer will likely try one of a number of ways to get you to send money or personal information but it’s important to remember that a genuine organisation would never ask you for security details, especially out of the blue.   M – Mistakes  Scammers impersonate trusted companies, organisations and even people. If you receive an email or text with spelling errors or strange wording, these are tell-tale signs that can be a big giveaway that it’s a scam.  Scammers are hoping that people will overlook typos. You should carry out an online search of the number or email address to see if it's legitimate before replying to the message.   Falling victim to a scam  It’s important to remember that anyone can fall victim to a scam. Falling victim to a scam is nothing to be embarrassed about.   If you’re worried that you have been scammed online or through another method, your organisation’s financial security has been compromised, or you spot any fraudulent activity on accounts, involve your leadership team as soon as possible so they can contact the proper authorities and minimise risk to the company. With scams becoming increasingly sophisticated, it’s important to be more vigilant and feel confident to check or challenge what you're being asked to do.   Trust your instincts and remember “SCAM” to protect yourself and your organisation.   Ola Opoosun is Head of Support Services at caba

Welcome to the latest edition of Technical Roundup. In developments since the last edition, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has issued amendments to IFRS 9 Financial Instruments which seek to address diversity in accounting practice by making the requirements more understandable and consistent.  Accountancy Europe has issued a series of publications summarising the ESRS’ provisions and their views on ESRS aspects that merit further guidance and clarification. Read more on these and other developments that may be of interest to members below. Financial Reporting The IFRS Foundation’s hybrid annual conference will be held in London on 24–25 June 2024.  Delegates will hear from a range of experts in financial reporting, accounting and sustainability. The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has issued amendments to IFRS 9 Financial Instruments which seek to address diversity in accounting practice by making the requirements more understandable and consistent. The UK Endorsement Board has issued its draft comment letter in response to the IASB’s Exposure Draft on Business Combinations – Disclosures, Goodwill and Impairment. Comments from stakeholders are welcome until 1 July 2024. The UK Endorsement Board has also issued its draft comment letter in response to the IASB’s Exposure Draft on Contracts for Renewable Electricity. Comments are welcome until 19 July 2024. The IASB has issued a call for papers for the 2025 IASB Research Forum. The deadline for submissions is 31 March 2025. The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) has issued its draft comment letter in response to the IASB’s Exposure Draft on Contracts for Renewable Electricity. Comments are welcome until 15 July 2024. The IASB has agreed to finalise revisions to IFRS Practice Statement 1 Management Commentary by making targeted refinements to its proposals set out in the Exposure Draft Management Commentary. The IASB expect to issue the revised statement in the first half of 2025. IFRIC (the IFRS Interpretations Committee) has issued its June 2024 update, which summarises the decisions reached at its recent public meeting. Auditing and Assurance Following public consultation to obtain stakeholders’ views earlier this year IAASA has published its Feedback Paper on its Consultation on the Adoption of a Sustainability Assurance Standard in Ireland.  IAASA intends to adopt the International Standard on Assurance Engagements 3000 Revised (ISAE 3000), Assurance Engagements Other Than Audits or Reviews of Historical Financial Information. Adoption will take place when the European Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) is transposed into Irish law giving IAASA the statutory power to adopt sustainability assurance standards in Ireland.  It is not intended to insert any additions Irish-specific requirements in IASAE 300 beyond any required to ensure that it applies to sustainability assurance engagements in Ireland and that sustainability assurance providers are subject to appropriate ethical and quality management requirements.    IAASA invites potential members and advisors to enquiry/investigation committees IAASA undertakes statutory enquiries and investigations under the Companies Act 2014 and its own regulations. The preliminary stages are undertaken by the executive. From time to time, IAASA may need to establish committees to carry out full enquiries/investigations, where the matter cannot be settled by mutual agreement before that stage. Membership of these committees, including chairpersons, is selected from a panel of eligible appointees. IAASA is seeking to update this panel, and expressions are particularly welcome from members of prescribed accountancy bodies. In addition, these committees will retain their own legal advisor to act on the committees’ behalf. IAASA is also seeking to establish a panel of suitably qualified individuals for this role. The closing date for receipt of expressions of interest is 15 July 2024. Please see IAASA’s website for more information. Sustainability IAASA have published a Feedback Paper on its Consultation on the Adoption of a Sustainability Assurance Standard in Ireland Accountancy Europe has issued a series of publications summarising the ESRS’ provisions and their views on ESRS aspects that merit further guidance and clarification. They have summarised the existing ESRS’ provisions on these concepts and where applicable, incorporated EFRAG’s guidelines. So far published in this series are Materiality Assessment and Value Chain with more to follow in due course. Accountancy Europe has also published its June 2024 Sustainability update and its June 2024 Newsletter. The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) has issued its June 2024 Update. This includes a summary of their recent meeting on 12 June in Frankfurt. The ISSB has also issued its June 2024 Podcast. The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) have finalised the first three Implementation Guidance documents to assist preparers and other relevant stakeholders in applying the European Sustainability Reporting Standards. The Implementation Guidance documents cover the following topics; Materiality Assessment Value Chain Detailed ERS Datapoints The three European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA and ESMA – ESAs) have published a joint Opinion on the assessment of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). The ESAs call for a coherent sustainable finance framework that caters for both the green transition and enhanced consumer protection, taking into account the lessons learned from the functioning of the SFDR. EFRAG and the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) have jointly published a mapping of the correspondence between the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) and the TNFD's recommended disclosures and metrics. This was prepared to assist companies in understanding the commonalities between the ESRS and the TNFD and the mapping details the disclosures and core metrics recommended by the TNFD and required under the ESRS.  This assessment highlights that all 14 TNFD recommended disclosures are reflected in the ESRS.  Click here for an article from IDA Ireland on Sustainability and Finance: How Ireland meets the industry’s emerging skills need. Sanctions and anti-money laundering Click here to read some information on the ending of an exemption contained in the EU ban on provision of accounting services to Russia. The exemption was intended for the exclusive use of Russian entities which are subsidiaries of EU companies and companies established in certain other allied jurisdictions. The exemption expires on 20 June 2024. The AML Regulation (the single rule book), the AML Directive and the regulation establishing AMLA were published in the official journal on 19 June 2024. The texts will enter into force 20 days from publication and will fully start applying after 3 years. New and forthcoming legislation Further to our item in the last edition of round up, click for an information guide on company law changes to be effected upon commencement of the Employment (Collective Redundancies and Miscellaneous Provisions) and Companies (Amendment) Act 2024. Dept. of Enterprise Trade & Employment (DETE) news The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment is hosting the second annual Trade Horizons Conference in Dublin Castle on Thursday, 4 July. The theme for Trade Horizons 2024 is 'Trade for a Sustainable Future', exploring how policymakers and businesses can work together to advance action on the drive for net zero carbon emissions.  The Minister for Finance and DETE recently published a series of Artificial Intelligence: Friend or Foe’ reports. The three reports are entitled “Artificial Intelligence: Friend or Foe? Summary and Public Policy Considerations’, ‘Artificial Intelligence: Friend or Foe? A Review of How AI Could Impact Ireland’s Economy’ and ‘Artificial Intelligence: Friend or Foe? An Analysis of How AI Could Impact Ireland’s Labour Market’. Readers can read the press release here and get details of the reports here. DETE has also published a pages on Sustainability is good for business which provides lots of useful links including those to training and grants available. Other The Corporate Enforcement Authority (CEA) has published its first annual report covering a period from July 2022 to December 2023. Click here for the CEA press statement. The annual report provides a comprehensive account of the steps taken to establish the CEA's presence amongst its stakeholders, and of the work undertaken to establish the organisation's operational capability. The Report includes 17 case studies that illustrate the breadth of the CEA's impact and demonstrate a considered and graduated approach towards the deployment of the CEA’s enforcement powers. Case studies range from use of incorrect registered office address to incorrectly claiming audit and group exemptions and breach of director’s loan provisions. There is also a case study on supervision of the implementation of the terms of a SCARP rescue plan. On SCARP generally the annual report writes that a process advisor must submit their final report, that is, after developing a rescue plan, to the CEA. Unlike auditors’ indictable offence reports, which by their nature identify potential offences, process advisors’ reports are submitted to the CEA for information on the rescue process and plan. If a report indicates potential wrongdoing or other issues, the CEA can investigate as considered necessary or appropriate. The CEA wrote that it received 51 reports in the period and each report is examined. In Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) news, CBI recently published its second Quarterly Bulletin of 2024. You can access details here. CBI Director of Consumer Protection, Colm Kincaid, spoke on the Future of Customer Engagement and Banking Channels at the June BPFI National Banking Conference. In June 2024 CBI issued its latest Insurance newsletter which includes three articles which may be of interest. One is on the Individual Accountability Framework, one on Double Materiality - Climate Risk Guidance and the CSRD, and one on getting ready for DORA. Accountancy Europe has issued its June 2024 SME update. Technical Roundup is taking a break for the summer and the next Roundup will be issued on Friday 6 September. Any updates during this period will be published on the technical hub on the Institute's website.               This information is provided as resources and information only and nothing in the information 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 information. 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 the information 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 herein.

The Corporate Enforcement Authority (CEA) has published its first annual report covering a period from July 2022 to December 2023. Click here for the CEA press statement .The annual report provides a comprehensive account of the steps taken to establish the CEA's presence amongst its stakeholders, and of the work undertaken to establish the organisation's operational capability. The report includes 17 case studies that illustrate the breadth of the CEA's impact and demonstrate a considered and graduated approach towards the deployment of the CEA’s enforcement powers. Case studies range from use of incorrect registered office address to incorrectly claiming audit and group exemptions and breach of director’s loan provisions. There is also a case study on supervision of the implementation of the terms of a SCARP rescue plan. On SCARP generally the annual report writes that a process advisor must submit their final report, that is, after developing a rescue plan, to the CEA. Unlike auditors’ indictable offence reports, which by their nature identify potential offences, process advisors’ reports are submitted to the CEA for information on the rescue process and plan. If a report indicates potential wrongdoing or other issues, the CEA can investigate as considered necessary or appropriate. The CEA wrote that it received 51 reports in the period and each report is examined.

Following public consultation to obtain stakeholders’ views earlier this year IAASA has published a Feedback Paper and the responses received on its Consultation on the Adoption of a Sustainability Assurance Standard in Ireland.  IAASA intends to adopt the International Standard on Assurance Engagements 3000 Revised (ISAE 3000), Assurance Engagements Other Than Audits or Reviews of Historical Financial Information. Adoption will take place when the European Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) is transposed into Irish law giving IAASA the statutory power to adopt sustainability assurance standards in Ireland.  The effective date of the standard will be for the assurance of sustainability reporting for years starting on or after 1 January 2024, as required by the CSRD.  The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment is currently working on the transposition of the CSRD into Irish law.  It is not intended to insert any additions Irish-specific requirements in IASAE 300 beyond any required to ensure that it applies to sustainability assurance engagements in Ireland and that sustainability assurance providers are subject to appropriate ethical and quality management requirements.    The Feedback Paper is available on this link. The Responses Received are available on this link.

This item has been updated since its original publication on 20 June 2024 following coming into force of 14th EU package of sanctions. Readers will be aware that since June 2022 there has been an EU ban on the provision of accounting services to the Russian government and legal entities and persons established in Russia. The banned services include accounting, auditing, including statutory audit, bookkeeping or tax consulting services. Click for more information on the ban on provision of accounting services on  the Institute’s website. Within the regulation imposing the ban there is an exemption for the provision of services intended for the exclusive use of Russian entities which are subsidiaries of EU companies and companies established in certain other allied jurisdictions (The list of jurisdictions has been updated in the 14th package). However, with the 12th package of sanctions, introduced in December 2023 came a wind down of the exemption permitting the provision of restricted business services to those subsidiaries. This wind down had originally been set for 20 June 2024 after which a licence from EU Member States will be required to continue providing services to Russian affiliates. However, the 14th package of sanctions extended this wind down date to 30 September 2024. The 14th package also introduces an exemption from the ban whereby EU nationals that are residents of Russia (and were so before 24 February 2022) are permitted to provide the prohibited professional services, excluding software, to EU/Western-owned subsidiaries who are their employers. 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.