Technical Roundup 11 June

Welcome to this week’s Technical Roundup. 

In developments this week, The Task Force on Cli­mate-re­lated Financial Dis­clo­sures (TCFD) is con­sult­ing on updates to its final rec­om­men­da­tions on cli­mate-re­lated financial dis­clo­sures; the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) is inviting stake­hold­ers to par­tic­i­pate in a two-part survey. The feedback from the survey will be used to assist the IASB and EFRAG on possible future projects.

Read more on these and other developments that may be of interest to members below.

Financial Reporting

The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) is inviting stake­hold­ers to par­tic­i­pate in a two-part survey on the following: (1) EFRAG’s con­sul­ta­tion on the IASB’s Third Agenda Con­sul­ta­tion and (2) EFRAG’s con­sul­ta­tion on its Proactive research agenda.  The feedback from the survey will be used to assist the IASB and EFRAG on possible future projects.

EFRAG announced that it will hold its EFRAG TEG-CFSS webcast meeting on Wednesday 16 June 2021. To watch the webcast please register here. Agenda items include Business Combinations under Common Control, Goodwill and Impairment, IAS 21 amendments, and Sustainability Reporting. The full agenda and papers can be found here.

In May 2021, the IFRS Foun­da­tion initiated a series of webinars on the IASB exposure draft ‘Dis­clo­sure Re­quire­ments in IFRS Standards — A Pilot Approach’. The second webinar in the series will be held on 17 June 2021.

The FRC has issued Amendments to FRS 102 and FRS 105 – COVID-19-related rent concessions beyond 30 June 2021. These amendments extend the application 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 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 amendments are effective for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2021, with early application permitted.

Auditing and Ethical Standards

In November 2020, the Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority (IAASA) issued revised ethical and auditing standards. These new amendments, which were the subject of a formal consultation in 2020, are effective for audits of financial statements for periods beginning on or after 15 July 2021, with early adoption permitted. This article summarises the main changes in the Ethical Standard (Ireland) for Auditors, the International Standards on Auditing (Ireland), and International Standard on Quality Control (Ireland) 1.

Sustainability

Accountancy Europe is amongst a group of 10 stakeholders who have recently issued a joint statement welcoming the European Commission’s timely initiative on sustainable corporate governance.

The Task Force on Cli­mate-re­lated Financial Dis­clo­sures (TCFD) set up by the Financial Stability Board (FSB) to develop voluntary, con­sis­tent cli­mate-re­lated financial risk dis­clo­sures for use by companies and other stake­hold­ers is con­sult­ing on updates to its final rec­om­men­da­tions on cli­mate-re­lated financial dis­clo­sures as dis­clo­sure practices and the use of dis­clo­sures by financial and non-fi­nan­cial or­gan­i­sa­tions have continued to progress since 2017.

The Taskforce on Na­ture-re­lated Financial Dis­clo­sures (TNFD) is a new global mar­ket-led ini­tia­tive which aims to provide financial in­sti­tu­tions and cor­po­rates with a complete picture of their en­vi­ron­men­tal risks and op­por­tu­ni­ties. The TNFD will deliver a framework for or­gan­i­sa­tions to report and act on evolving na­ture-re­lated risks, building on the success of the Task Force on Cli­mate-re­lated Financial Dis­clo­sures (TCFD).

The IFRS Foundation Trustees announced the establishment of an Eminent Persons Group, chaired by Jean-Claude Trichet, to provide strategic advice and counsel to the Trustees on the proposed formation of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) and its connectivity with jurisdictional initiatives. Read more here.

On 7 July 2021, the IFRS Foundation Trustees invite interested stakeholders to join them for live webinars that offer an update on the Trustees’ work on setting up a proposed new standard-setting board—International Sustainability Standards Board—that would develop sustainability-related disclosure requirements to meet investors' needs. The webinars will summarise feedback gathered during the Trustees’ 2020 Consultation and how the Trustees have responded to that feedback. The speakers will also outline the Trustees’ strategic decisions and the remaining steps before the Trustees make a final determination on the new board by the United Nations COP26 conference in November 2021.

Other areas of interest

The Central Bank of Ireland has issued its Annual Report and Performance Statement for 2020.

The Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar T.D., this week opened the Small Business Assistance Scheme for COVID (SBASC) for a second round of applications from both SMEs and microenterprises. Businesses that received the grant in the first round can receive a second grant provided they are still eligible. From today SMEs and microenterprises can apply for a grant of €4,000 for those with turnover above €50,000 and €1,000 for microenterprises with a turnover of between €20,000 and €49,999, via a new streamlined application process through their Local Authority or Local Enterprise Office. Read more here.

Members are reminded that the Companies Registration Office  extension is to Friday 11 June 2021 and all elements of the annual return for companies with an Annual Return Date of 30 September 2020  must be filed by that date.

For further technical information and updates please visit the Technical Hub and the Covid-19 Hub on the Institute website.