Western Society News

As we embark on shaping the next phase of work, there is a mix of concern and excitement about getting the transition right. Kevin Empey explores what leaders can do with this once-in-a-generation opportunity to mould the future of work here and now. After overseeing the most dramatic shift to work in modern history over the last two years, leaders are now centre stage again with the expectation to guide and lead organisations through an even more complex and tricky phase of work design. As many have remarked in recent months, it was one thing to get people out of the office against the backdrop of a pandemic and a standard set of rules and guidelines for everyone; it is quite another to get people back to a new model of work that is complicated by choice and continuous comparison with what everyone else is doing. Three work phases Most organisations moving to a hybrid or more blended model (remembering that there are thousands of jobs where remote working is not an option) typically agree that we are looking at progressing through at least three phases: Experimental: a tentative, almost experimental type experience that is currently underway for many, influenced by the changing realities of COVID-19. Transitionary: a more deliberate, test and learn and strategic phase, with a transition to different ‘target’ working models that are more sustainable and hopefully free of the constraints and concerns around COVID-19. Most agree that we are also not likely to get this transition perfectly right the first time. Bedding-down: the realities, lived experience and outcomes from the transition to new target models are truly revealed, understood, and implemented over the next couple of years. On the back of these three phases, leaders need to consider two things: The operational and logistical challenge of getting people safely through these phases; and The strategic challenge of creating a new work model, associated people processes, and a leadership approach and culture that is ultimately successful and purpose-built for the organisation and its future. Strategic agility The exact sequencing of these three phases and two workstreams will differ from organisation to organisation. However, there is one foundational quality that will maximise the success of this change-management experience and prepare the organisation and workforce for further inevitable disruption into the future. That quality is strategic agility. Strategic agility is a complex, ambiguous, vulnerable leadership challenge for everyone: organisational leaders, managers, human resources, and employees. But the transition to the next phase of work is also an invaluable case study of agility in action – a case study that we can learn from, experiment with, and embed into our ways of working. The longer-term prize for leaders and employees Over the next 6 to 12 months, the potential prize for organisations is not just a safe and successful transition to a new, post-COVID-19 work model. It is also about using the learning and experience of this transition (along with the lived experience of leaders and employees over the last 22 months) to help organisations develop and embed more agile ways of working, leading and thinking for the future. Being deliberate about developing these skills over the coming months will give us the ability to deal with any change, uncertainly and disruption. Importantly, it means our leaders and our workforces will be able to flourish and thrive in the longer-term future of work and not just respond and cope from one disruption to the next. Conscious development of the sustained and deliberate capability of agility at an organisational, team and individual level will be the long-lasting legacy of COVID-19. And this prize can be won through our combined work over the next year as we go through the experience of co-creating new, successful working models and working lives. Kevin Empey is the Founder and Managing Director of WorkMatters. He is also the author of Thrive in the Future of Work, published in 2021.

While the economic future is bright for the island of Ireland, we mustn't take it for granted. Neil Gibson outlines lessons learned from the last two years and what challenges lie ahead. It is encouraging to report that the all-island economy ended 2021 in much better health than expected despite the economic and societal headwinds of the past 22 months. The economic rebound has been quick and substantive to date, driven by a combination of well-timed policy responses and the ingenuity and flexibility of the business base. The economy is dealing with labour shortages and price increases exacerbated by high demand levels. These problems can be viewed as consequences of success, but it does not make them any easier for businesses or policymakers to navigate. The emergence of the latest COVID-19 "variant of concern" adds renewed uncertainty to the outlook as many unknowns remain about its severity and impact at the time of writing. The 2022 outlook for the Republic of Ireland (ROI) and Northern Ireland (NI) has been revised upwards from forecasts produced in spring 2021, with the labour market outperforming expectations. The pandemic has hastened a trend that has been gathering momentum – not all growth is equal. Purposeful growth that brings together economic, societal, and environmental development has become the goal for policymakers, citizens, and business leaders alike. The resilience and adaptability of the all-island economy will be tested further as the challenges of the "three Ps" – people, planet, and prices – move into sharper focus this year. Can the headwinds become tailwinds? The headline economic performance may be better than expected, but not all businesses are booming. The ever-changing nature of the virus, supply chain disruptions, and rapidly increasing prices all present significant headwinds for many companies. A strong labour market recovery amid a slowdown in migration also means that many businesses struggle to attract and retain talent. The economic outlook appears much more daunting when these short-term challenges are coupled with the necessity to transform towards a more sustainable future. The evidence of the past 22 months has shown that the organisations that can turn these challenges into opportunities will achieve unparalleled success. Finding talent in new places, deploying technology to mitigate price increases, achieving sustainability goals through innovation, clear leadership, and targeted investment are all traits of businesses that have thrived in these uncertain conditions. The critical question for the wider economic outlook is whether a sufficiently broad cohort of businesses can participate in this transformation. Policy plan remains 'grow faster' The UK and ROI budgets emphasised the need to keep public spending levels high to tackle ongoing pandemic issues and accelerate efforts to address significant societal, environmental, and economic challenges. The two most prominent issues set out in the ROI and UK budget speeches were climate change and housing. It was evident that the key policy choice is to raise taxation to meet spending rather than curb spending to match income. There were no widespread austerity measures put in place across either economy despite the levels of borrowing incurred due to the pandemic. However, the UK did introduce two major tax increases to rebalance public finances and facilitate sustained elevated levels of public spending, increasing national insurance and the headline corporation tax rate. In ROI, strong levels of growth and tax receipts have safeguarded against any immediate tax rises for the time being. However, the OECD global tax agreement will modestly increase the corporation tax rate. Reassessing risks is an imperative Given the outperformance of the all-island economy, it may seem pessimistic to warn of complacency as a risk to economic growth. Still, as the emergence of Omicron demonstrates, it is essential not to take the strong recovery for granted in 2022. The availability of a seemingly endless supply of public money to deal with the pandemic, the assumption by most economists that inflation will be temporary, and the availability of low-cost finance are all open to challenge. The public finances will need to be repaired, particularly if interest rates rise sooner rather than later. Traditionally, technology, global competition, and labour supply would mute prices. However, these assumptions are now being challenged as wages are rising and consumers are becoming more conscious of suppliers' ethical and environmental standards. Growth is always hard-earned, and the ingenuity and adaptability that has been evident across the island economy will be required again. As scientific evidence shows, there is very little calm after the storm, but at least the economy faces the challenges from a more robust platform than predicted. Neil Gibson is the Chief Economist at EY Ireland.

HMRC has informed Chartered Accountants Ireland that late filing and late payment penalties are waived for one month for Self-Assessment taxpayers filing their 2020/21 returns.  The Institute made representations to HMRC before Christmas and earlier this week highlighting the health and safety risks facing accountants and taxpayers in meeting the 31 January deadline in wake of worsening COVID-19 case numbers.  The deadline to file and pay remains 31 January 2022 but those who cannot file their return by the deadline will not receive a late filing penalty if they file online by 28 February and they will not receive a late payment penalty if they pay their tax in full, or set up a Time to Pay arrangement, by 1 April.  Interest on late payment of tax, however, will apply from 1 February, as usual. On publishing news of the penalty waivers, Lucy Frazer, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, said: “We recognise that Omicron is putting people under pressure, so we are giving millions of people more breathing space to manage their tax affairs. Waiving late filing and payment penalties will help ease financial burdens and protect livelihoods as we navigate the months ahead.” HMRC noted that, of the 12.2 million taxpayers due to submit their tax return by 31 January 2022, almost 6.5 million have already done so. HMRC told Chartered Accountants Ireland that Time to Pay options are still available to assist taxpayers.  Once they have filed their 2020/21 tax return, taxpayers can set up an online payment plan to spread Self-Assessment bills of up to £30,000 over 12 monthly instalments.  HMRC noted that if taxpayers still cannot file by 28 February or pay (or set up a payment plan) by 1 April, the usual right of appeal against any penalty will be available, with COVID-19 as a possible reasonable excuse.   See HMRC’s press release for further details. 

In the first interview from our new governance webcast series, Dr Margaret Cullen and Níall Fitzgerald discuss board effectiveness, some of the issues currently impacting Irish and UK boards and how those issues can affect behaviours, and key concerns boards have in relation to their responsibilities at the beginning of 2022. Dr Cullen discusses a range of topics in this webcast, including: three competencies that are critical to board effectiveness; what senior management can do to self-manage behaviours and ensure their contributions facilitate effective decision-making; individual and collective accountability and the importance of good decision-making processes; and the governance issues that are having the greatest impact on SMEs, large private and listed companies. The interview with Dr Margaret Cullen is available to view on our YouTube channel. Dr Margaret Cullen is an experienced non-executive director, lecturer, and researcher. She is founder and principal of Think Governance Limited, a corporate governance consulting firm.

Faced with the possibility of hefty fines, organisations are taking legislation such as GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) seriously. But how clear are privacy and other transparency notices? Liam McKenna warns organisations about the perils of muddying the waters of transparency. As a fundamental principle of data protection and ethical business, transparency is a critical concept that must be constantly worked on and improved. From recent actions and regulations, we have seen that it is essential for organisations to implement the correct processes to deliver accurate and relevant information to individuals. Why is transparency important? From a data protection point of view, organisations must comply with GDPR. It is also essential for individuals to receive sufficient information to decide whether they want their personal data processed by those organisations. In addition, transparency has grown in importance in recent regulations, such as the gender pay gap and environmental and social governance, which require transparent reporting from organisations. One of the most important reasons for ensuring adequate transparency is trust. Consumers place more importance on their trust in organisations before deciding to purchase, set up an account, or share personal data. GDPR outlines the information we need to provide to individuals, including receiving their data from a third-party. The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) provides guidance on the correct methodology when presenting this information. The core concept is that we need to inform people: what we do; the data being used; why it’s being used; who the data is about; who the data will be shared with; how long the data will be kept; and how people can access their right to their data. This information must be provided using plain language, considering the target audience, and in a manner that is easy to access and navigate. Unfortunately, many privacy/transparency notices are very legal and use complex language that most people will not understand. They are also challenging to navigate, resulting in continuous scrolling before reaching the desired information.  How do we become transparent? Before creating privacy notices, you must be fully aware of all your processing activities. This means undertaking a Record of Processing Activity (RoPA) exercise. An accurate RoPA should contain most, if not all, of the information required in the privacy notice.  Once you have all the required information, you must choose the correct language for your privacy notice. It must be unambiguous but also targeted to your audience. If you anticipate that people under 18 will use your services, for example, younger people must understand the notice. Similarly, if you provide services for people to learn English as a second language, the language used in the privacy notice should be easy to understand. The EDPB has good guidance to ensure that your privacy notice meets GDPR requirements. It is available on the EDPB website. What happens if we are not transparent? Recent actions taken by regulators across Europe, especially the Irish Data Protection Commissioner (DPC), demonstrate the repercussions of getting this wrong. One example of this is WhatsApp, which received a fine of €255 million – part of which was for transparency violations. After an extensive investigation, the DPC found that WhatsApp had not met its obligations to provide the required information. Similarly, Facebook has been issued with a notice of intention to fine up to €36 million for similar infringements. Consumers are becoming more aware of their privacy rights and expect certain standards. For business-to-business organisations, having a bad privacy notice or other transparency information can result in consumers exiting the sales process. There is a risk that business may be lost before there is a chance to discuss it. Continuous compliance In 2018, there was a rush to push out privacy notices on websites and information booklets across the EU. Some organisations have not revisited these since; others have updated them but have not had them reviewed by a third-party. Transparency efforts must be continuous and form part of compliance monitoring processes and frameworks. Organisations should review their notices to meet the requirements and deliver value to their customer and stakeholders. Liam McKenna is a Partner in Consulting at Mazars.

2021 has seen organisations undergo digital transformations and a continued push for sustainable practices. Paul Browne examines the triggers driving major transformation programmes in Irish organisations and outlines some trends we can expect in 2022. Fuelled by digital transformation and a heightened focus on cybersecurity and data protection, 2021 has seen a significant increase in activity across the Irish business landscape. Disruptive trends are driving structural changes in the way organisations operate. Over the course of the year, we have seen a range of triggers driving major transformation programmes in the Irish market, such as a major focus on sustainability, millennials accelerating the adoption of tech-enabled products and services, and the reskilling of employees to make organisations more agile. As we close out 2021, we see several key trends emerging for 2022. Sustainability as a transformation driver Sustainability has evolved into a key priority for the technology profession. In recent months, we have seen sustainability emerge as the new driver of transformation, similar to digital, driven by the need to meet emerging challenges along with rising importance and visibility across society. The sustainability landscape is complex with multitudes of standards and metrics, and the ecosystem is ever-evolving. Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions in particular will evolve to include sustainability reporting and ratings. For example, power consumption or percentage of renewables used. Investors and capital markets now weigh environmental sustainability more heavily as part of ESG (environmental, social and governance) analysis of investment opportunities. Organisations must show how they are contributing positively to society and not just meeting financial performance metrics. KPIs will explicitly reference energy consumption, carbon output and climate ethical work practices. We expect that the phrase “verifiable claims” will be critical for executives in 2022 as they seek to deliver the transparency demanded by stakeholders. Initial conversations post-COP26 have highlighted the role for blockchain and its ability to provide immutable evidence across an end-to-end supply chain. A renewed focus on business resilience Organisations continue to struggle to protect themselves fully against the multitude of emerging cyber threats. Many of the world’s biggest and most technologically advanced organisations have suffered cyber events. The reliance on third parties in the supply chain has been a particular challenge. Proactive and predictive supply chain management with technology at its core has emerged. Organisations can no longer assume that users, systems, or services within the security perimeter can be trusted. Technology companies must embrace digital trust to develop consumer confidence and competitive advantage. They need to embed privacy and risk management into their products and offerings and ensure that integrity, transparency, and accountability are designed into their systems. Organisations are taking a proactive approach and continuously monitoring all system levels to react to threats effectively. They are planning and preparing for a breach, with many organisations now using cloud-hosted services to assist in reacting to a breach. It forms a vital part of their security defence within a comprehensive structure involving people, processes, and technology. Cloud-supplied security offerings provide a cost-effective solution with a lower cost of entry. The ‘pay per user’ and ‘pay as you go’ cloud model offers full enterprise-level security to organisations that were previously priced out of the market. These offerings will continue to evolve, with artificial intelligence built into technology platforms rather than being provided as an add-on. For example, AIOps (artificial intelligence for IT operations) will be embedded into IT Operations to help reduce, simplify, optimise and automate a wide range of tasks and processes needed to deliver effective IT incident identification, management, and resolution. Paul Browne is Director of Azure Cloud Engineering at EY.

Many trustees are planning to ensure that their occupational pension schemes will fully comply with IORP II regulations by the end of 2022. Munro O’Dywer explains how companies, as sponsors, should use the remainder of 2021 to strategically assess their existing pension value proposition and determine if they should consider a different approach. Pensions represent a significant component of the employee benefit value proposition. However, employees often do not see the actual value in their pension arrangements due to their inherent long-term nature. Those companies who can convey the value of their pension structures to their employees, both in the short- and longer-term, will drive increased loyalty. But what does value mean in the context of the pension scheme for the employee? This should not simply be viewed as the level of employer contributions being made. Adequate contributions are only a small part of the overall retirement planning jigsaw. Other aspects that should come into consideration include: scheme participation; investment options; investment performance; charges; member outcomes at retirement; member support to make optimal decisions; and the use of technology. The changing needs of employees Delivering a pension scheme that meets the needs of all five generations that exist in today’s workplace is by no means easy. Each generation has its own set of preferences. In addition, many will have different pension makeups (e.g. defined benefit only; a mix of defined benefit and defined contribution; and defined contribution only). Defined contribution pension schemes are becoming the norm. There is a greater focus on the adequacy of retirement savings and broader financial wellness. Employees can also have multiple pension sources, potentially across different countries. This creates added personal portability and taxation challenges. Furthermore, how employees expect to be supported on their retirement savings journey varies. There are different preferences around communication channels and the level of support (self-guided, group, or one-to-one). Achieving the right mix of pension components – structure, contributions, employee support and communications etc. – to maximise their effectiveness for all employees is more critical than ever. The market evolution In the same way generational needs and preferences differ, the pension providers, their propositions and the regulatory and taxation environment in which they operate continue to evolve. Operational changes, technology enhancements, investment thinking, and member engagement innovations are only some of the areas providers continue to adapt to, each of which has a knock-on impact on costs. For companies, it is essential to benchmark existing structures relative to the broader market. This will likely become a feature of the new regulatory regime, as outlined in the draft Code of Practice. The impact of the new regulatory regime The past ways of governing and managing trust-based pension schemes are expected to change under IORP II regulations. There will be a greater focus on risk management, value for members, and the ongoing monitoring of outsourced arrangements. As well as the culture and the ability of the trustees to look after member interests, risk, time and cost will increase when it comes to operating a single trust-based pension scheme. Many pension schemes can spend a disproportionate amount of time on regulatory compliance. This can come at the expense of those aspects that are likely to be valued higher by employees. This imbalance has the potential to be heightened by the new regulations. Areas include the adequacy of contributions, achieving strong investment returns, and making the right decisions at the right times before, at, and after retirement. What employers should consider before 2022 Companies have until the end of 2022 to be compliant with the new regulations. 2022 will be a year of pension changes. Companies need to ensure that their changes in 2022 are well considered in the context of the broader pension value proposition and look to enhance, rather than diminish, it. An effective way for companies to use the remainder of 2021 is as follows: Document your existing pension value proposition for employees (benefits/costs) Companies should document all benefits that employees receive from the pension scheme (e.g. employer contribution, tax relief, strong governance, investment options, help and support etc.) and the associated costs. Understand your employee needs and how these will evolve The next stage is to consider your employees and their particular needs. This will help companies understand if the employees’ views on what is valuable to them about their pension scheme are consistent with the benefits/costs documented and, if not, where the gaps lie. Consider the impact of the new regulatory regime IORP II regulations will mean more time and cost spent on regulatory compliance. This could affect the employee pension value proposition, where the elements most valued are neglected due to regulatory pressures. Consider how the existing proposition can be adapted or modified Companies should explore alternative pension structures (e.g. consolidation of pension schemes or master trusts), which will help mitigate the regulatory impact but where the employee pension value proposition remains intact or is indeed enhanced. Munro O’Dwyer is Pension Partner at PwC.

The IASB is proposing changes that may be of interest to finance leaders. Emer Keaveney takes a deep dive into who will benefit from them. To date, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has focused on the requirements for publicly traded entities rather than group companies or standalone statutory financial statements. My interest was piqued by two recent publications from the IASB, which suggest a change in this focus. Widening scope to include group restructuring In November 2020, the IASB issued a discussion paper proposing how to account for business combinations under common control (BCUCC). A BCUCC is one in which all the combining entities are ultimately controlled by the same party, before and after the combination. This type of transaction is sometimes called a group reorganisation or a restructuring. Who will this affect? In today’s dynamic business environment, group reorganisations are very common across all sectors, from large public entities to small and medium-sized enterprises. They can be structured as transfers of shares or transfers of trade/business. There are a number of reasons for a group to restructure. It could be to facilitate the sale of a part of the business, for succession planning, for banking or tax purposes, or to simplify the legal structure. There is currently no International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) that address how to account for BCUCCs. In fact, common control transactions are specifically excluded from the scope of IFRS 3 Business Combinations. This has caused a great deal of diversity in practice, making it difficult for users of financial statements to understand the effects of these transactions. It certainly drives the need for more clarity. Currently, there are two allowable methods of accounting by the entity receiving the transfer of shares or trade/business: the ‘acquisition method’ and the ‘book value’ method. There is no consensus on which method is appropriate in which situation. This discussion paper aims to reduce this diversity in practice. IASB’s view is that there is no single method that can be applied to all scenarios. The discussion paper proposes detailed prescriptive rules, reducing the scope for policy choices and bringing clarity to which method should be applied in each scenario. A new take on reduced disclosures In July 2021, the IASB issued the exposure draft that proposes to allow eligible entities to elect to apply reduced disclosure requirements while still applying the recognition, measurement, and presentation requirements in IFRS. The board’s aim here is to reduce the cost of preparing IFRS financial statements for subsidiaries that are not publicly accountable while maintaining the usefulness of the information provided. The election is optional and can be revoked at any time. So, which entities will benefit from the proposals? This will be any entity which, at the end of the reporting period: is a subsidiary as defined in IFRS 10 Consolidated Financial Statements; does not have public accountability. That is, “its debt or equity instruments are traded in a public market or it is in the process of issuing such instruments for trading in a public market” or it “holds assets in a fiduciary capacity for a broad group of outsiders as one of its primary businesses”; and has a parent that prepares consolidated financial statements available for public use that comply with IFRS. If you work with entities meeting these above criteria, I encourage you to provide feedback to the IASB through comment letters until 31 January 2022. The intent of this proposal is similar to the existing FRS 101 reduced disclosure framework applied by many group companies in the UK and Ireland. FRS 101 differs significantly in the details from the proposals in IASB’s exposure draft, and it is currently unclear how the two will interact in practice. Globally, a number of national standard-setters have implemented different national IFRS-based reduced disclosure regimes. However, IASB’s exposure draft has the potential to enable a radical streamlining of the preparation of statutory financial statements for organisations operating across multiple jurisdictions – for example, in a shared service centre environment. Emer Keaveny is an Associate Partner in Financial Accounting Advisory Services at EY.

While people from around the world gather in Glasgow to attend COP26, what is the state of Ireland’s CO2 emissions and how can we strengthen our commitment? Kim McClenaghan explains. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides the estimates of greenhouse gas emissions in Ireland. Its latest data shows that overall greenhouse gas emissions in Ireland decreased by 3.6% in 2020, and energy industry emissions decreased by 7.9%. The decrease was primarily driven by economic restrictions imposed in response to the pandemic, reduced peat use in power generation and an increase in renewable generation. Despite the decrease in emissions, the EPA warns that Ireland is still not on the pathway required to meet future targets and a climate neutral economy. To achieve permanent emission cuts in line with the Paris Agreement, it will be vital that this decrease is not an isolated occurrence, but rather part of a long-term trend as economic activity fully resumes. In the past year, Ireland’s long-term climate ambition has been restated, and the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021 has been passed into law by the Oireachtas. The Bill sets out the ‘national climate objective’ to achieve a climate-neutral economy no later than 2050. This target is consistent with the Paris Agreement and other international obligations. Carbon budgets To realise this ambition, the Climate Change Advisory Council has been tasked with proposing economy-wide carbon budgets, which will then be applied across relevant sectors by the Minister for the Environment and approved by the Government. The first carbon budget will see emissions reduced by 4.8% on average between 2021 and 2025. The second budget, running from 2026 to 2030, will see emissions reduced by 8.3% on average. The first two carbon budgets will provide for a 51% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 relative to 2018 levels, resulting in a cut of almost 35 million tonnes of CO2. The scale and pace of the economic and societal change and investment needed to achieve these targets are significant, but they will be necessary to reduce our emissions consistently and achieve the 1.5°C goal set by the Paris Agreement. Raising ambition The overarching aim of the climate summit in Glasgow – COP26 – is to mobilise stronger and more ambitious climate action from governments to keep the 1.5°C Paris Agreement goal within reach. This will require a significant strengthening of climate commitments from all countries, and especially from the G20 as without concerted action from this group, the chances of limiting warming to 2°C, let alone 1.5°C, will all but disappear. Converting climate pledges into action Governments have a pivotal role to play in creating the enabling environment for the transition to net-zero through policy and regulatory reform and investment. National targets need to be underpinned by policies that will deliver change at the pace and scale required. These policies will vary by nation, depending on the socio-political and economic context, but need to set the regulatory environment that businesses and individuals operate within, and encourage capital to be deployed to the right places. This requires clear overarching strategy and ambition, long-dated policy mechanisms, and the removal of fiscal or other disincentives. Private sector execution We have seen an unprecedented number of net-zero commitments by the private sector in the last 18 months. Over 3,000 businesses are now part of the Race To Zero Campaign, joining 733 cities, 31 regions, 173 of the biggest investors, and 622 higher education institutions. Alongside 120 countries, they form the largest ever alliance committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 at the latest, collectively making up nearly 25% of global CO2 emissions and over 50% of GDP. Over half of the sectors that make up the global economy are now committing to halve their emissions within the next decade and achieve near-term emissions reduction targets. In each of these sectors, at least 20% of the major companies by revenue are aligning around sector-specific 2030 goals in line with delivering net-zero emissions by 2050. Time for all businesses to commit, plan and act Making the transition to a more environmentally and socially responsible world is now an urgent business imperative. We have less than two business cycles left to deliver the necessary changes. Working alongside governments, and providing the mandate and impetus for them to go further and faster, is vital if we are to keep warming to 1.5°C and avoid catastrophic climate change. By taking firm and decisive action now to halve global emissions by 2030 and reach net-zero emissions by no later than 2050, we have a chance to succeed. Kim McClenaghan is a Partner in Consulting and Head of the Energy, Utilities & Sustainability Advisory team at PwC.

With the requirement to work from home soon expiring, employers must be proactive in their approach to the return to the workplace. As restrictions lift and the vaccination rollout continues, planning and preparation are needed to ensure a seamless return, says Dera McLoughlin. With the successful rollout of Ireland’s vaccination programme against COVID-19, many Irish employers and workers are now preparing to return to their physical workplace after a considerable period of working from home. To ensure that the return to work aligns with current Public Health advice and measures to keep workplaces safe, the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar TD, has published an updated Work Safely Protocol. It will help ensure that employers and workers continue to contain and prevent the spread of COVID-19. While many retail and hospitality sectors returned to work in May 2021 in line with Government advice at the time, a phased return to the office and workplaces for those currently working from home will now take place from 22 October 2021, when the requirement to work from home will be removed. This will allow employees to return to physical attendance in the workplace on a phased and cautious basis appropriate to each sector. Lead worker representative A key component for ensuring adherence to the Protocol is the role of the Lead Worker Representative (LWR) in the workplace. Employers are required to appoint at least one LWR who will work with the employer to assist in implementing and monitoring adherence to the Protocol to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace. LWRs should be trained appropriately by their employer and be the conduit between workers and the employer for any concerns about the implementation of the Work Safety Protocol. Guidelines within the Work Safely Protocol The Work Safely Protocol sets out comprehensive steps for employers and workers to reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19 in the workplace, including: Updating the COVID-19 response plan; Implementing and maintaining policies and procedures for prompt identification and isolation of workers who may have symptoms of COVID-19; Developing, updating, consulting, communicating and implementing workplace changes or policies; and Implementing COVID-19 Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) measures. The Protocol also provides guidance on workplace and community settings, occupational health and safety measures, and a library of resources for employers and workers. Considerations for employers Through many workplace surveys carried out in the past year, it is evident that many office-based employees wish to avail of some form of remote work in the future. Many companies also indicate that they want to adapt and accommodate their employees and continue to offer a degree of flexibility. A recent survey from CIPD Ireland outlined that one in two businesses in Ireland plans to adopt remote working in some form permanently in the future. When organisations consider their working arrangements, any decisions made must be based on several factors such as business objectives, employees’ wishes, potential office space adaptations and associated costs. Here are some key considerations. Health and safety requirements Before any employee returns to their workplace, the work environment must be safe and compliant with all relevant Government and HSE guidelines and in line with the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act requirements. Companies are advised to create and/or update policies that reflect the environment, health and safety, and emergency protocols to align with HSE guidance. It is also essential that the organisation establishes clear protocols for returning to the building, provides the requisite training on accessing shared workspaces and equipment, and the measures in place if an employee displays symptoms of COVID-19 while in the workplace. The price of returning to work Before returning to the workplace, an organisation must evaluate and understand the costs of bringing people back to the office. There will likely be costs such as reconfiguring office space and seating, increased cleaning costs, and potential PPE costs. Types of work and phasing the return to work Before returning to the workplace, each role and team should be reviewed strategically to identify which roles need to be on-site and which roles use technology or machinery. When determining which teams should be prioritised, an organisation will plan a phased return to ensure maximum productivity. The voice of the employee The difficulties that employees have faced over the past year while remote working cannot be understated. Therefore, before employees return to the workplace, employers must assess and understand employees’ needs, personal situations, welfare, and mental health. Where possible, businesses must understand such employee concerns while ensuring productivity is maintained. Tax Hybrid working is the future, and while employers can provide certain benefits to staff tax-free (e.g. specific office equipment, mobile phone etc.), these are limited. Employers must be conscious of published Revenue guidance on what expenses and benefits the employer can provide tax-free to remote working employees. If the employer inadvertently provides benefits not addressed in Revenue guidance, the benefit would be considered a taxable benefit, resulting in a payroll exposure for both the employer and employee. Employers should look for any potential new measures that may be announced in Budget 2022. Dera McLoughlin is Partner, Head of Consulting at Mazars.

Trustees should be aware of their obligations to register details of the beneficial ownership of their trust with the Central Register of Beneficial Ownership of Trusts (CRBOT) on or before the 23rd October. That deadline is fast approaching and trustees should be reviewing their internal registers and preparing to register if they have not already done so. The obligation to register with CRBOT was introduced under the 4th and 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directives which require each EU Member State to establish a Central Register of Beneficial Ownership of Trusts. Legislation was introduced on 23 April 2021 (Statutory Instrument 194 of 2021) to transpose those requirements into Irish law. The purpose of this legislation is to provide transparency both in Ireland and the EU around who ultimately owns and controls Irish trusts. This will help to identify and tackle circumstances where trusts are being used to fund criminal and terrorist organisations. The legislation also assigned the responsibility for CRBOT to the Office of the Revenue Commissioners. Trustees (or their agents, advisors or employees) can register for the CRBOT through the ‘Trust Register’ portal on Revenues Online Service (ROS). For individual trustees who do not have ROS access, the ‘Trust Register’ is available on MyAccount. Revenue.ie also contains a series of Frequently Asked Questions which should assist trusts and their agents, advisors or employees to determine whether they are obliged to register and how they can meet their obligations. Further information can be accessed at the link below - https://www.revenue.ie/en/crbot/index.aspx Any queries regarding the Central Register of Beneficial Ownership of Trusts (CRBOT) can be sent via MyEnquiries on ROS or MyAccount. For direct contact to the CRBOT team please ensure the relevant titles below are selected for both drop down menus: Select ‘Trust Register (Central Register of Beneficial Ownership of Trusts)’ from menu ‘Enquiry relates to’ Select ‘General Query’ from menu ‘More specifically’

With Ireland putting its climate goals into law, businesses will find it tough to meet their targets. Although it will undoubtedly be a challenge, says Michael Hayes, there are ways Irish companies can act now – not only for themselves but for their stakeholders too. One of the key objectives of COP26 is to provide a forum to create a globally co-ordinated climate response, where all nations commit to ambitious emissions reductions plans (also known as Nationally Determined Contributions or NDCs). Achieving this globally co-ordinated response, including the creation of an internationally agreed carbon market (which COP25 failed to achieve), will be one of the key measures of the success of COP26. Ireland has joined a select few countries in enshrining its climate goals in law. The Climate Bill, ratified this summer, commits to a 51% reduction in emissions by 2030 relative to a baseline of 2018, with the Climate Action Plan and the first round of sectoral carbon budgets due in the final quarter of this year. Nonetheless, Ireland remains an outlier in pollution with the third-highest emissions per capita in the EU. Where carbon leakage is a concern, partnerships and collective action across governments, businesses, and civil society are essential. Why does climate matter to business? Too often, we think of far-off impacts of climate change such as wildfires in California or Australia – but Ireland is not immune to the climate crisis. The EPA’s recent Status of Ireland’s Climate study showed that the decade between 2006 and 2015 was the wettest on record, while 15 of the top 20 warmest years on record have occurred since 1990. Meanwhile, KPMG’s most recent CEO survey shows that in both the Republic of Ireland (40%) and Northern Ireland (44%), a noticeably higher percentage of respondents than the global average (27%) are concerned that not meeting climate change expectations will result in public market investors shying away from their organisation. Financial risk Businesses and listed corporates, in particular, are getting it from all sides in terms of ESG. Companies face a genuine and immediate financial risk if they don’t address ESG concerns. Investors may walk away, customers may not buy their products and services, consumer sentiment is changing rapidly, and employees want to work for companies with purpose. Companies that do not address the climate change and ESG agendas in a meaningful way will suffer. This has become even more serious in the aftermath of the IPCC report and its ‘Code Red for the Planet’ warning, and regulators and governments will force the agenda. Businesses that don’t appreciate the scale of new policies and regulations coming down the tracks run a real risk of being left out in the cold. Meanwhile, the most immediate pressure comes from investors who often manage other people’s money. Government stimulus required CEOs in Ireland and worldwide indicate that a multifaceted approach will be required to address climate change. Over three-quarters of leaders surveyed globally (77%) believe that government stimulus is needed to turbocharge their goals of reaching net-zero. This figure is even higher in the Republic of Ireland (80%) and Northern Ireland (82%). That so many CEOs say government stimulus and assistance will be required to help their organisations reach climate targets is interesting. There is a clear message there that most corporates believe they will not get to net-zero alone. No one should be under any illusions about how difficult it’s going to be.  What can business do? The same research showed that 84% of business leaders in the Republic of Ireland and 76% of their counterparts in Northern Ireland are focused on locking in the sustainability and climate change gains made during the pandemic. Companies with huge air miles before the pandemic simply stopped flying, with resulting cost savings and environmental gains. COVID-19 provided a unique test-bed for accelerating and testing new ways of working, and it’s hard to see how we could revert completely to where we were before. Furthermore, many organisations will be consciously working to ensure that they don’t slip back to old ways of working. Measure the gains Companies that wish to hold onto gains made during COVID-19 must know what they want to lock in. They need to set out clear KPIs and metrics for those gains. Many companies implemented good ad hoc climate initiatives during COVID-19, but the absence of a structured framework or programme means many of the gains are unlikely to persist. Creating frameworks and programmes now will help companies bed down those gains and build on them in the future. However, it should be noted that gains from climate action tend predominantly to be long-term in nature. Therefore, organisations should put governance structures in place to recognise such long-term gains. Michael Hayes is the Global Head of Renewables at KPMG.

After 18 long months of remote working, many people are feeling fatigued at the thought of attending yet another virtual meeting or event. Patrick Gallen gives us top tips on how to cope in these virtual settings. Do you find yourself avoiding, cancelling, or rescheduling virtual meetings, virtual coffee or virtual team events? When you do attend such virtual meetings or events, have you noticed that during the meeting you’re not present or focused, and afterwards you’re incredibly tense or tired? These are all potential signs that virtual fatigue has set in and you’re not alone. It is reported that 38% of workers say they’ve experienced virtual fatigue since the start of the pandemic, and anecdotal evidence would suggest that this trend is growing. Virtual fatigue is the feeling of exhaustion that often occurs after attending a series of virtual meetings or other virtual events such as webinars or training. Stanford researchers identify four causes for virtual or ‘zoom fatigue’ and found that not only is it more fatiguing seeing ourselves in real-time, but the cognitive load placed on our brains is much higher in virtual settings. But why does this happen more so than the typical in-office meetings we are used to? Our focus is diminished When we’re at home and in a video call, it’s easier to lose focus or get distracted. We tend to try to do things simultaneously, like answering emails or sending texts while attending a virtual meeting. The home environment also lends itself to other distractions, particularly if we do not have access to a private working space.  It is more difficult to ‘catch up’ In a face-to-face meeting, it is easier to ask clarifying questions, pick up on non-verbal cues, and help the meeting stay on track. In a virtual setting, if we miss something, have people speaking over each other or if there are technological challenges, it becomes more difficult to stay engaged. Looking at a camera is exhausting In a virtual setting that involves cameras, we feel obliged to appear engaged by looking into a camera for extended periods. This can lead to extensive scrutiny of our own performance and appearance which can have negative, long-term impacts on our self-esteem. Now that we know how to identify virtual fatigue it is important to consider how to reduce it with a few handy tips. Meeting structure Keep meetings short and try to limit the number of people present on calls. Where possible, avoid scheduling consecutive video meetings. Don’t forget the real world Take regular and structured breaks during the day from your workspace, and take time outside in fresh air and sunlight. Avoid multitasking Try to be ‘in the here and now’ when engaging in virtual activity. Avoid emails, texts, and external distractions where possible. Turn your camera off If it’s appropriate and you need a break, then turn your camera off – but don’t be tempted to use this as an opportunity to do other things. Instead, use it to really start listening to what people are saying and engage meaningfully Switch up your communication method Is a meeting really required? Would a phone call or email suffice? Think about the most effective communication method for your messaging and how you can get this across. Pay attention to how you’re feeling, and take these steps to prevent fatigue before it becomes a problem. Patrick Gallen is the Head of People and Change Consulting at Grant Thornton.

Being a positive influence on your team doesn’t have to be complicated. Anna O’Flanagan outlines a few actions you can take today to boost your team’s morale while enhancing your own wellbeing. Are you a drain or a radiator on your team? If you identify more with the former, could you be ‘radiating’ more to boost the morale of those around you while also improving your own wellbeing? Giving back – whether by volunteering, helping a neighbour, or simply offering kind words with no expectations – are proven to enhance overall wellbeing. Fill the tank Think about the members of your team as having an emotional tank. When the tank is full, they feel ready and able to engage. However, when their tank has been bled dry due to a mixture of circumstances, they are bound to struggle with motivation and enthusiasm. We can’t change some of the external factors affecting us right now, but let’s focus on what we can influence. Try being a ‘radiator’ and see how it makes you and those around you feel. Here are a few ways to make that happen: Use your active listening skills and properly give colleagues your attention. Use affirming non-verbal communications like smiling and attentive body language when in the office and working over video calls. Give your colleagues honest and specific appreciation and praise. It needs to be genuine, consistent and spontaneous. Don’t wait for a one-to-one meeting – just pick up the phone or pop them an email as soon as you think of it. Provide recognition for work done well and the behaviours that got them there. Remember, work well done is not all about the result. So, even when the team has a perceived failure, acknowledge what they did well in an environment of learning, not blaming. Maybe you are doing these things already, or perhaps you usually do them but have fallen off the wagon a bit recently. It’s important to accept that you won’t always be able to radiate. But, when you can, why not go out there and be someone’s radiator today? It could make be the difference between a colleague struggling and managing. Anna O’Flanagan is Founder and Chief Squirrel at Red Squirrel Team Building.

Failing to give a good answer regarding your future career plans is a sure-fire way to ruin a great interview. Fionnán O’Sullivan explains how to fix this problem. It’s a question inevitably asked in every interview: where do you see yourself in five years’ time? Many people say that they’d like to be at a point in their career where they can take on a more senior role; maybe with a larger team and more responsibility. When you’ve interviewed as many people as I have, this answer is stock standard, and usually accompanied by a few ‘ahhs’, ‘umms’ and false starts. Not exactly impressive, and does not give the impression you’ve given it a great deal of thought. Sure, it tells me what you think I want to hear, without being too committed to one direction, but it leads me to one question: if this is how you plan your career, how will you run a department? There are a few ways you can make your answer and, therefore, your interview a success. Tailor it to the role for which you are interviewing The fact is, not many of us have clear career plans. We might have an idea of an end goal, but rigorous, self-directed career planning, although advised, is rarely done. Most of us rely on the organisation we work with to define this for us. If this is you, and you don’t have a clear ambition, you need to imagine a ‘future you’ within the context of the role for which you are interviewing. What has the interviewer told you about career progression, or the people you’d be reporting to? Is there a career path already defined you could use to shape your answer? If it’s a flat organisation with not much room for upwards progression, what potential lateral moves could you make? Is there a particular area that you don’t have experience but have a keen interest in? Base your answer around that information, such as: “You’ve told me quite a lot about your career pathways. What is important for me is that I am able to build a toolkit of skills to enhance my overall performance as an asset management or financial services manager. Therefore, in five years, I like to think that I would have proven my value and received the opportunity to move into a leadership role in asset management or financial services, an area that I currently have limited exposure to.” Take control: set your own milestones that speak to the needs of the business Think about the role you’re interviewing for. Does it entail a two, three or five-year plan? Will long-term planning be a part of the role? If it is, then ‘yourself’ in five years is you having delivered the objectives contained in the plan. Tailor it to the organisation you are interviewing for and their objectives. If they are talking about long-term change or business transformation, how does the role in question feed into these larger programmes, and how can you use this information to visualise the ‘future you’? For example: “This role clearly has an important mandate, which is to support the delivery and adoption of the three transformation initiatives you have spoken about, which you anticipate will take four to five years. I would like to think that nearing the end of this period, with regular communication with my superiors, I would be able to define my next career move, depending on the strategic priorities or needs of the business.” Above all, be clear, concise and confident Clarity and precision of thought is essential. There is little more unattractive than someone who shows a lack of ambition at an interview. Even if you are ambitious, fluffing this answer will make you appear like you do not care, or have not given your career enough thought – which may raise serious (if unjustified) questions about your your capacity as a leader. Ensure that however you decide to approach this question, you give it some serious preparation. If you feeling uncomfortable with the answer, practice. Whether you record yourself, get your partner or friend to role play with you, or write it out and learn it, become comfortable with your wording. And if you give a good enough answer – it might even come true. Fionnán O’Sullivan is Managing Partner with the financial services practice in Barden. 

Most office workers have proven they can work just as well – if not better – while working remotely. Why, then, are business leaders so keen to get people back in the office? Patrick Gallen examines the issue of trust and maturity in the workplace.   Flexible and remote working existed in Ireland by exception before COVID-19; today it is a way of working life. COVID-19 has enabled us to prove that flexible and remote working work, but why are so many leaders still keen to ‘get back to normal’? Why is there a belief that having your team in a common physical space between dictated hours allows for better measurement of performance, and how do we challenge this paradigm? I worked in London for seven years in a large multinational; flexible and remote working was an accepted way of working, it was embedded into the culture to work where you want, when you want – as long as the expected output was met. When I returned home to Ireland in 2018, I couldn’t believe the low level of flexible and remote working available. In one experience, I witnessed a senior member of a division ask if it was OK to leave 15 minutes early. One adult asking another adult permission for 15 minutes – this is the ‘aha’ moment. Maturity and trust are key factors to enabling an agile workforce. For this to happen, we must challenge our thinking as leaders on three points. 1. We are all adults As adults, why are we asking permission? Permission removes accountability and power. It is a safety mechanism to move responsibility from one person to another; but if we are not holding our teams responsible for managing their own time or empowering them to do so, what else are we not enabling them to be responsible for? Trusting our people to manage their own time and workload cultivates a mature and empowered culture; empowered people feel safe to be innovative and creative – without asking permission.  2. Attendance vs output: if I can see you, you’re working But if I trust them to manage their own time, how will I know they are delivering their work? Is work measured on attendance or output? In this new reality, establishing the measurement of work will be a major indicator in what the future of flexible and remote working will look like. If our approach as leaders is to look at output rather than attendance, we will need enhanced performance management frameworks, smarter objectives and measures. Processes and systems are just the mechanism; nothing will embed without understanding and working with your people and teams. As leaders, we need to focus on bringing performance management frameworks to life through value-adding conversation and feedback, and making performance management a meaningful experience.   3. Trust, evidence vs fear: if I can see you, I trust you And to come to our third point: is our lack of trust in employees working in a flexible or remote way based on evidence, or fear? For example: two members of your team doing the same job with the same output, but one is in the office and the other is at home – who do you unconsciously trust more? If it is the former, it might be fear-based trust. As leaders, it has never been more important to hold a mirror up to ourselves and find our own resistance: What comfort do I get when my team is in the office? What will I lose if my team works remotely? As humans, we all have insecurities and fears, and every day we do what we can to protect ourselves; most of the time unconsciously. We might be protecting our sense of control, position or status. If we can develop as leaders and bring understanding to this by looking in, we may be able to apply more freedom when we look out. There are many layers to effectively enabling flexible and remote working, but to start it’s important to understand and shift the resistance within ourselves. By bringing maturity and trust into the culture and establishing a consistent focus on output, we will open the gate to a fluid and effective remote working environment – without permission! Patrick Gallen is the Partner of People and Change consulting at Grant Thornton.

Most organisations are pledging to embed net-zero into their strategies, but can they really pull it off? Michael Hayes outlines five pillars of action that every company can take on the journey to net-zero. Investors are acutely aware of the relationship between stewardship and financial performance. The message to leaders is clear: climate risk is viewed as a financial risk, a driver of business insecurity. In a world of concerned stakeholders, organisations that fail to mitigate their emissions face the likelihood of reputation damage. Many Fortune 500 companies have outlined decarbonisation strategies to achieve their targets. These strategies rely on several levers that include accelerating the shift to renewables, developing new product offerings, re-locating facilities, investing in carbon capture and optimising tax credits. The detailed strategies vary significantly across industries, but there are basic elements that apply to every organisation. Five pillars of action Organisations on the net-zero journey need to gather and analyse data that gives a clear picture of their emissions footprints. To build confidence in companies’ pledges, data should be objective, easy to compare and up to date. To achieve this, companies should look beyond simple reporting tools and consider a broader technology framework to manage the entire process, infusing trust along every step. 1. Decarbonise with strategic foresight Leaders across sectors must address several competing imperatives: recover from the COVID-19 crisis, prepare for a world of artificial intelligence (AI) and extreme automation, and grow in increasingly competitive markets, while achieving their net-zero pledges. Key steps toward low-carbon and net-zero operations include: Ensure decarbonisation aligns with your overall business strategy; Evaluate and develop a common understanding of the nonlinearity of climate change, competition for renewables and offsets, and the impact of decentralised energy in the marketplace; Define the reporting strategy for internal and external stakeholders, including public disclosures; Shift your capital structure to account for the increasing role of climate in finance; Align executive compensation with environmental performance;  Demonstrate provable progress through targeted emissions-reduction initiatives that support broader business goals. 2. Operationalise sustainable behaviour Understanding your carbon footprint is just the beginning. The key to ingraining sustainability in your operations is to focus on the business case for these initiatives. Further, incorporating decarbonisation into your existing in-flight and proposed organisational transformations may unlock additional benefits for the business and stakeholders. The fundamental shift that needs to happen when an organisation seeks to decarbonise can only be achieved if the people and cultural psychology of that organisation have fundamentally shifted as well. This is not something that can be easily compartmentalised. It must infiltrate every part of an organisation so that climate risk and opportunity become instinctive parts of business thinking at every level. 3. Gain regulatory agility Without the mechanism in place to reliably report emissions reductions, many organisations risk getting caught flat-footed as regulations and standards tighten. 4. Accelerate climate-focused partnerships Many of the world’s leading brands are setting the standard with ambitious goals of eliminating their GHG emissions. It is becoming increasingly common for leading companies to pursue their agendas in partnership with industry peers, industry groups, NGOs, and suppliers – all of whom can help leaders hone their strategies. All the mechanisms for achieving net-zero are not yet apparent. However, the pain points across organisations are similar. By looking outward for partners and alliances across sectors, organisations can collaborate on action, spark innovation, and accelerate broader progress toward larger societal goals. 5. Build trust and prove results Demonstrating provable progress is critical when it comes to capitalising on the strides made through decarbonisation programs. Customers, investors, lenders, and stakeholders are looking for transparent and high-fidelity data to support claims of progress, i.e., reputational and financial benefits.  The convergence of powerful technologies – cloud computing, machine learning, blockchain – to drive insights into emissions arrives at a tipping point when time is running out to prevent global atmospheric temperature from rising above the threshold marked by 1.5°C. The era of climate action demands climate accounting The era of climate action has arrived: stakeholders want to see net-zero strategies in place – and they will want to see proven results. The degree to which an organisation can pursue action-oriented strategies will depend on the nature of the business and how far the company has already advanced its efforts on net zero. At the centre of the effort is the ability to report mitigation results. The very technologies driving wholesale transformation are the foundations of a platform that serves up two key elements: traceability and accountability. Net-zero pledges won’t mean much to consumers and investors unless there is action and verifiable progress behind them. Regulators will want proof of compliance. A net-zero strategy that deploys emissions accounting can provide the trusted traceability and reporting that are the critical stepping stones toward honouring net-zero pledges. Michael Hayes is the Global Head of Renewables in KPMG.

Revenue confirmed to Chartered Accountants Ireland that Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) payments will not be stopped until Wednesday, 1 September where an employer failed to submit their EWSS Eligibility Review Form (EFR) for June and July by the deadline on 15 August 2021. Revenue has provided this grace period to allow EWSS employers complete and file the ERFs if they have not already done so. Revenue commenced a campaign on Tuesday, 17 August to communicate the importance of filing the first two ERFs immediately if an employer intends to continue claiming the EWSS. Employers must deregister if they are no longer eligible or no longer intend to claim the EWSS subsidy.   Further information on the EWSS Eligibility Review Form is included in the Guidelines on eligibility for the EWSS from 1 July 2021.  Information on how to complete the EWSS Eligibility Review Form is also included on the Revenue website.