Technical Roundup 16 April

Welcome to this week’s Technical Roundup. 

In developments this week, the Institute has published an article ‘Accounting and disclosure considerations for Covid-19-related Government Supports under FRS 102’; and IAASA has published its Transparency Reporting – Thematic Review.  The Charity Commission in England and Wales has published guidance to help with running a charity during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. This includes information on government financial support for charities, fundraising and SORP guidance.  

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

Financial Reporting

• The Institute has published an article ‘Accounting and disclosure considerations for Covid-19-related Government Supports under FRS 102’. In view of the supports being made available to business by Governments in both the UK and Ireland to help them cope with the pandemic, the purpose of this article is to remind members of the requirements of FRS 102 on accounting for and disclosing government grants and disclosing government assistance.
• The IFRS Interpretations Committee has posted the agenda and papers for its next meeting, which will be held on 20 April 2021.
• The IFRS Foundation has introduced a substantial update to its website. They note that the update includes an improved search function and advanced options for customising how to search and receive information, including a new IFRS Standards Navigator. They have also refreshed their ‘Follows’ tool, which enables users to decide what type of alerts they will receive and how often.
• The recording of the inaugural UK Endorsement Board (UKEB) meeting, which was held on 26 March 2021, the agenda, and the papers are now available. The topics discussed included adoption of the Terms of Reference and approval of Delegation of Authority to UKEB Chair. A recording of the 30 March 2021 webinar the UKEB secretariat held on the UK endorsement of IFRS 17 is also available. They note that the webinar, aimed primarily at users of accounts, featured a presentation by IASB Board member Nick Anderson on how IFRS 17 works and some key improvements it introduces, and also included initial views from equity analyst and ratings agency perspectives on how the standard could impact their analysis of insurance business.
• EFRAG has published its draft comment letter on the IASB Exposure Draft ED/2021/1 Regulatory Assets and Regulatory Liabilities and seeks constituents' views on the proposals by 28 July 2021. Also from EFRAG, is a podcast series in which EFRAG Secretariat and experts discuss the issues addressed in the Discussion Paper on Accounting for Crypto-Assets (Liabilities) published by EFRAG in July 2020, and related topics.

Auditing

IAASA has published its Transparency Reporting – Thematic Review. The objective of this thematic review was to assess the effectiveness of transparency reporting by PIE audit firms in Ireland, to share areas of good practice and other reporting innovations, and to highlight areas where firms need to make improvements.

Insolvency

At their video conference on 16 April 2021 Eurogroup, an informal body where the ministers of the euro area member states discuss matters relating to their shared responsibilities, will hold a thematic discussion on insolvency frameworks based on a technical note prepared by the European Commission.

Other areas of interest

• Two  new statutory instruments ,entitled Rules of the Superior Courts (Affidavits) 2021 and the District Court (Affidavits)  Rules 2021 came into force recently allowing for the remote swearing of affidavits in circumstances where it is not practicable for the deponent to physically attend for the purposes of the swearing .The statutory instruments set out the rules around such a swearing.
• The Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment has published its monthly newsletter for April which includes  information about recent developments on the right to disconnect, the Small Business Assistance Scheme for COVID (SBASC) (closing date for receipt of applications is Wednesday, 21 April 2021) and the Government’s agreement to  extend the €2bn Credit Guarantee Scheme. It will remain open for applications until the end of 2021.
• Following publication of  the BEIS Consultation Document Restoring trust in audit and corporate governance  the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) will be holding a series of webinars and roundtables to provide stakeholders with further insight into key aspects of the consultation and to hear your views on the government’s proposals. You can find out more about the FRC’s extensive outreach programme and register to attend any of the webinars here.  
• The Charity Commission in England and Wales has published guidance to help with running a charity during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. This includes information on government financial support for charities,  fundraising and SORP guidance.  https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-the-charity-sector
• Trinity College Law school is hosting a series of webinars some of which may be of interest to members. See  Trinity Law School Spring Series .The  webinars are on the topics of 100 Day of Brexit. (Tuesday 20 April, 6pm) and Time to Get SEARious – the proposed Senior Executive Accountability Regime (Tuesday 11 May, 6pm).There are also webinars on  the topics of The Gig Economy ( Tuesday 4 May, 6pm) and  Assessing the Future of Irish Defamation Law (Tuesday 27 April, 6pm)  .The webinars are free but registration is required .Click the above link for registration details.

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