News

The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) has released a series of 20 educational videos on the first set of draft European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRSs). These videos provide some useful guidance in the form of short "glimpses" and longer "educational sessions" which will help viewers gain an understanding of the requirements as set out in the ESRSs. The ESRSs , which were subject to public consultation in 2022 set out the sustainability reporting requirements which will be phased in over time for different kinds of companies, with the first reporters doing so for years commencing on or after 1 January 2024.

The FRC Lab has published a report entitled "Net zero disclosures". This report, which highlights examples of current practice, discusses some of the key considerations for investors who use net zero disclosures and the elements of net zero disclosures that investors want to understand. The report builds on three key elements of net zero disclosures (commitments, impacts and performance) and discusses areas of consideration and challenge within these topics. The report provides some useful guidance for preparers seeking to navigate the difficult area of reporting on their greenhouse gas emission reduction commitments.

In this week’s sustainability/ESG bulletin, we bring details of Cabinet’s approval of Ireland’s new Circular Economy Bill. Also covered are EU developments, the release of sustainability-related strategies in both the Republic and Northern Ireland, technical updates, and a link to listen back to our interview with Sustainability Expert Rosie Dunscombe. In the news Ireland’s Circular Economy Bill receives Cabinet approval  In what has been described as a landmark Bill that will introduce world-leading moves to reduce waste and influence behaviour, the Circular Economy Bill received Cabinet approval this week. The new legislation will underpin Ireland’s shift from a ‘take-make-waste’ linear model to a more sustainable pattern of production and consumption that will instead minimise waste to help significantly reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. Click here for details of the Bill, particularly what it will mean for businesses. EU Commission to empower consumers for the green transition The EU has also taken action on the circular economy this week. The European Commission is proposing new consumer rights and a ban on greenwashing. It announced proposals to amend the Consumer Rights Directive to oblige traders to provide consumers with information on the durability and reparability of products, and is also proposing several amendments to the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD). The rules will strengthen consumer protection against untrustworthy or false environmental claims, banning ‘greenwashing’ (a form of corporate misrepresentation where a company will present a green public image and publicise green initiatives that are false or misleading) and banning practices misleading consumers about the durability of a product.  Sustainability-related strategies Sustainability-related strategies were in the news last week in both Ireland and Northern Ireland: The first ever Further Education and Training (FET) Green Skills Summit in Ireland took place last week, led by SOLAS, the Further Education and Training Authority in collaboration with Education and Training Boards Ireland (ETBI). The summit addressed the green economy as an area of opportunity, and pointed to the key challenge of upskilling and reskilling for changes to existing roles. Speaking at the summit, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris described it is “an important step in our response to the challenge of climate change and the targets we have set for ourselves at a national level.”   Northern Ireland’s first overarching Environment Strategy was given approval by Northern Ireland’s Environment Minister Edwin Poots . The strategy sets out Northern Ireland’s environmental priorities for the coming decades and forms part of the Executive’s Green Growth agenda. Commenting, Minister Poots said the Strategy “will provide a coherent response to the global challenges of biodiversity loss and climate change.” The draft strategy, which will have to be formally approved by an incoming Executive before it can be published, can be found here.   Technical Updates The European Commission’s advisory Platform on Sustainable Finance has published its final report on how to bring investments in line with four environmental priorities of the EU’s taxonomy of green investments which are: Ensuring a sustainable use of water and marine resources Protecting and restoring biodiversity and ecosystems Transitioning to a circular economy; and Preventing and controlling pollution. Recommendations made in the report include giving a green label to activities that meet specific environmental criteria (additional criteria are expected to be recommended by the Platform in May). The Commission is expected to publish a Delegated Act later this year.   The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) has launched a consultation on its first two proposed standards. One sets out general sustainability-related disclosure requirements and the other specifies climate-related disclosure requirements. Find out more here.   Our colleagues in Professional Accounting tell us that the IFRS Foundation and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) have announced a collaboration agreement under which their respective standard-setting boards, the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) and the Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB), will seek to coordinate their work programmes and standard-setting activities. Resources ESG? Sustainability? ISBB? Net zero? Drowning in the ‘alphabet soup’ of sustainability terminology? You’re not alone! Listen back to our ‘Ask the Expert’ short interview that took place on Wednesday 30 March to hear Rosie Dunscombe FCA explain the key terms you're likely to hear as a finance professional.   British technology firm Dyson has reportedly created headphones designed to help people avoid polluted air in cities. The headphones come with a visor that delivers filtered air and were created in response to growing concerns about air and sound pollution in urban areas. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that nine in 10 people globally breathe air that exceeds its guidelines on pollutant limits, and approx. 100 million people in Europe are said to be exposed to long-term noise exposure above its recommended level.     You can find information, guidance and supports to help members understand sustainability and meet the challenges it presents in our online Sustainability Centre.   

In this week’s Public Policy Bulletin, read about recently announced Government initiatives to support remote working in Ireland, a BearingPoint study which analyses 123 European banks and the recently released annual report on public debt in Ireland. We also cover Minister McConalogue and Northern Ireland’s Minister Lyons’ trip to Expo 2020 Dubai and a statement from Minister Lyons on the independent review of Invest Northern Ireland  Initiatives to support remote working announced by Minister Humphrey   This week, the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys, announced a series of major initiatives to support Remote Working. Through the Connected Hubs 2022 Call, the Department of Rural and Community Development will provide €5 million to add additional capacity to the existing remote working infrastructure in Ireland by upgrading existing hubs and Broadband Connection Points (BCPs). €8.9 million has already been provided for 118 remote working projects across the country in 2021.  In May 2021, the National Connected Hubs network was launched with 60 hubs onboarded onto the connectedhubs.ie platform. There are now in excess of 200 hubs live on the connectedhubs.ie platform, with an aim to hit 400 hubs by 2025. The Connected Hubs mobile app has been launched to allow users to find their nearest hub facility and easily book a desk space using their mobile device.   Read the press release here.  Pandemic impact on European and Irish Banks   A BearingPoint study has found that Irish banks were hit harder than many of its European peers during the Covid-19 pandemic. The study looked at 123 European banks from 2013 to 2020 and found that Irish banks set aside significantly more capital for the impairment of loans during the pandemic (an increase of 1300 percent), when compared to their European counterparts (an increase of less than 120 percent).  In 2020, Bank of Ireland and AIB had impairment charges of €1.1 billion and €1.4 billion respectively due to Covid-19 concerns. Irish banks had a negative return of 6.3 percent in 2020, compared to a European average return on equity of 2%. 2020 cost income ratios for Irish banks averaged at 68.7 percent, higher than the European banks average of 64 percent and the optimum cost income ratio, which should be less than 55 percent.   Noel Crowley, the Financial Services Director at BearingPoint, shares his response to the report here.   Annual Report on Public Debt in Ireland 2021   The Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe released the fifth annual report on public debt this week. The report found that public debt increased by €33 billion during the two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, now approaching a quarter of a trillion euros. This is an estimated 106 percent of national income or €47,250 for every person in the country. These figures stood at 95 percent and €41,450 in 2019.  Minister Donohoe highlighted the major fiscal challenges that lie ahead, including a likely fall in corporation tax receipts, an aging population and the large fiscal costs that will be required to finance the journey to “net neutral”. In a press release issued by the Department of Finance, Minister Donohoe concludes “This is why we need to rebuild our fiscal buffers, including by steering the public finances to a more balanced path. We can do this while continuing to make significant capital investment, as outlined in the National Development Plan. This will help to lay the foundations for future growth while protecting against the future fiscal challenges that lay ahead of us.”   Read the full report from the Department of Finance here.     Dubai’s Expo 2020  Minister for Agriculture, Food and Marine, Charlie McConalogue opened a Board Bia celebration of Irish food at the Irish pavilion at Dubai’s Expo 2020, with the current year theme “Island of Inspiration” highlighted when he remarked “that spirit of inspiration and creativity reflected in the Irish food producers, large and small, who are innovating and finding routes to premium markets in the Gulf region”.  Northern Ireland’s Economy Minister Gordon Lyons also attended the event during his two-day visit program to the UAE. Speaking from the UK Pavilion at the Expo, under the UK’s theme of “Innovating for a shared future”, Lyons said “Today, Northern Ireland is centre stage at the world’s largest live international event. We are here to bring a flavour of Northern Ireland to the world and showcase our innovations within business, tourism, food and education to a global audience."  Invest Northern Ireland independent review  Northern Ireland’s Economy Minister Gordon Lyons made a statement to the NI Assembly this week in relation to his decision to commission an independent review of Invest Northern Ireland (Invest NI). He pointed out the fantastic track record Invest NI has in making Northern Ireland the most attractive location in the UK, outside of London, in respect of foreign direct investment.   The statement from Lyons can be read here.   Dame Rotha Johnston DBE and Ms Maureen O’Reilly have been appointed as panel members to work with the panel chair, Sir Michael Lyons for this independent review. The report of their findings is expected in September 2022.   Invest NI’s offers of financial assistance to companies beyond March 2020 is currently on pause, as they await clarification on their potential 2022/2023 Budget sign allocation from its parent Department for the Economy 

Oireachtas Committee responds to the final report published by the Commission on Pensions In its response to the Report of the Commission on Pensions, the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands has recommended that Ireland’s State Pension age remain at 66 years. This rejects the proposal put forward by the Commission on Pensions last year that the qualifying age is increased from the current 66 years by three months every year from 2028, reaching 67 in 2031.  To fund this, the Committee recommends that the Commission on Welfare and Taxation examine potential changes to Employers’ PRSI contribution rates.  Among the 13 proposals put forward, the Committee also recommends banning the mandatory retirement age for both new and existing employment contracts. Chartered Accountants Ireland issued a statement following the response this week, welcoming the recommendation to leave the state pension age unchanged at 66 years, while recognising that the shortfall in funding the State Pension long-term needs to be addressed. The Institute said that asking employers to pay increased rates of PRSI cannot be a long-term solution and the fact that employers are already paying high salaries to compensate workers for high personal tax rates must be recognised. The Committee also recommended that funding auto-enrolment should not be prioritised over retaining the current State Pension age. Chartered Accountants Ireland however believes that reforms to enhance the sustainability of the State Pension cannot take place without parallel reforms to increase private pension coverage in Ireland to enable workers to avoid living their retirement in poverty.    Calls for coherent Government policy were also made to enable workers to adequately plan for their retirement. Bank of Ireland’s recent economic pulse survey indicates pay rises this year    According to the most recent Bank of Ireland economic pulse survey, 50 percent of firms are pricing in pay rises this year. 56 percent of people surveyed indicated that it is now easier to find or move jobs, with a third of firms reporting a struggle to fill open positions. 46 percent of those surveyed expect to see a 3 percent average increase in wages in the next year. According to Bank of Ireland’s chief economist Loretta O’Sullivan, “As businesses look to retain and attract staff, and workers find it easier to get or change jobs, upward pressure on pay is likely” with a shortage of workers helping to drive the pay increases. The survey also indicated that 77 percent expect houses prices to rise in the next 12 months, with 70 percent also expecting a rise in rent. The Economic Pulse is based on a series of monthly surveys of households and firms where they are asked for their views on a wide range of topics including the economy, hiring activities, business plans, personal spending and financial situations among others. Tánaiste intends to strengthen remote working laws   We highlighted the draft Bill to give employees the right to request remote working published by Tánaiste Leo Varadkar. The proposed legislation will set out a legal framework to apply for remote working, the reasons the request could be refused and outlines the process for appeals. The Tánaiste discussed the draft Bill with the Select Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment this week, indicating his plans to strengthen the legislation and his intention that “employers cannot just tick a box to say no”. The Tánaiste also reiterated that the Bill is in draft form and that “there can’t be an absolute right to remote working”. Chartered Accountants Ireland has written a letter to the Tánaiste to request clear and comprehensive guidance, including practical examples, to assist our members to implement the legislation when it becomes law. Read the Draft Scheme of the Right to Request Remote Working Bill 2022. Enhanced Illness Benefit (EIB) extended The Minister for Social Protection, Heather Humphreys TD, has secured Government approval to extend the EIB payments until the end of June 2022. Almost €230 million has been paid in EIB to date, supporting over 374,000 people. The €350 weekly payment is available to people diagnosed with Covid-19 or told to self-isolate. This is available to employees or self-employed people. For more information, and to apply, go to MyWelfare.ie. Northern Ireland Business Demography Statistics 2020 released Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) recently released the latest business demography results for Northern Ireland which looks at births, deaths and survival rates of Northern Ireland businesses by Industry and District Council Area. 6,375 businesses were born in 2020, a decrease of 3.8 percent on the previous year. 4,900 businesses closed during the year, a decrease of 9 percent from 2019. The number of businesses births was greater than the number of business deaths for all district council areas across Northern Ireland.   Retail saw an introduction of 780 businesses in 2020, a 47 percent increase on 2019 and the highest number of births for the sector since the series by industry began in 2009. Importance of Traineeships as part of economic recovery in Northern Ireland This week, Northern Ireland’s Economy Minister Gordon Lyons highlighted the importance of traineeships to enable economic recovery in the region stating that “developing the local skills base is a key priority for me and a cornerstone of the recovery”. As part of the Department for the Economy’s 10X Economic Vision, the goal is “to equip people with the skills they need for the constantly evolving jobs market and build on Northern Ireland’s successes on the global stage”. The £180 million NI Traineeship program, launched in September 2021 as part of the economic recovery package, intends to fund 20,000 Traineeship places over the next seven years.

Susan Rossney, Public Policy Officer, writes: It seems that everyone is talking about sustainability nowadays. Accountants in SMPs are watching the news and listening to the debate. You may well be asking questions like: “What can I do in the face of a global issue?” “How will this affect my practice and my clients’ businesses?” “What questions will my clients ask me next?” “ What expertise should I be developing now?” “How will sustainability work for me?” The sense of urgency to address climate change across the world is intensifying. Droughts, floods and wildfires are increasing, ecosystems are collapsing, and in response people are calling for change. But climate change is part of a broader sustainability challenge – one that can be summed up as ‘environment, social and governance’, or ESG. The responsibility to meet this challenge falls on all businesses and firms, including small ones. As ESG continues its rise up the political and corporate agenda, smaller businesses now more than ever need to meet certain ESG criteria so they can access finance, win contracts or be part of larger companies’ value chains. Clients and consumers also expect businesses to have a positive impact on the environment and to be doing their part to contribute to change. Companies that want to prosper in the future will have little choice but to become sustainable. Small businesses have a crucial role in the transition to more sustainable economies and societies. Accountants are key financial advisors for those businesses, but also need to understand and implement sustainability practices for their own businesses. This article discusses the opportunities for small businesses – and their advisors – in embracing sustainability. “Practices who want to engage particularly with the next generation of staff and clients need to be able to take sustainability seriously and need to be able to demonstrate that” Conal Kennedy, Head of Practice Consulting, Chartered Accountants Ireland Environmental, social and economic issues present huge risks for businesses. Examples include: losing out to competitors; having reduced access to capital; developing weaknesses in supply chains; developing succession risks; and failing to meet the requirements of stakeholders, including consumers, clients, banks, business partners, staff and regulators. Accountants can identify and quantify these risks for their own practices, and develop policies for themselves and their clients to address them. But managing risks against ESG factors can also benefit businesses directly. As this article will show, if properly addressed, it impacts employee welfare, improving employee experience and leading to greater output; it affects ability to access finance; it enhances an organisation’s reputation, helping to attract new business and staff; and it can help companies comply with supply chain requirements of their larger clients. Preparers and auditors of financial statements will also need to consider these issues going forward. Generating new business Many accountants are now adding “sustainability consulting” to their services to clients. As trusted advisors, they can play a key role in helping SME clients think about their potential sustainability risks, and leverage opportunities offered by the sustainable transition. For example - Accountants can help clients to: assess sustainability impact and risks improve efficiencies reduce costs avail of grants acquire finance identify opportunities to expand their range navigate the changes Sustainability is also an increasingly important factor in tendering for contracts with larger organisations which have stricter sustainability goals. Some of these large organisations perform assessments of potential suppliers. Others also carry out regular risk screenings of existing supply-chain suppliers, and/or conduct internal audits and onsite supplier audits to verify that their supply chain suppliers are conforming to their policies. Accountants have a huge role to play in helping companies prepare this information, and in doing so themselves if they are part of these supply chains or are tendering for contracts. Accessing Finance Embracing sustainability is working towards ensuring the financial future of accountants’ businesses or their clients’ businesses. Investors are actively looking to invest in sustainable projects, and are screening out certain sectors or companies (like those heavily reliant on fossil fuels, for example). Businesses seeking this investment benefit from being able to collect and report on their sustainability-related activities against a recognised standard. Many banks are also adopting sustainability criteria and may require proof of sustainable practices from companies looking to avail of finance. There are also business grants as well as support schemes and tax incentives available for organisations looking to transition to more sustainable practices. Again, accountants have a huge role to play in guiding clients through this. Savings Operating in a sustainable manner saves costs. While there may be short-term costs associated with transitioning to a sustainable business model, businesses can recoup the investment they make and can also reduce their business costs by introducing more sustainable ways of working. According to the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), the average SME can save up to 30% on its energy bill by becoming more energy efficient. A business with an engaged and motivated team is also less likely to experience high employee-turnover and associated costs. In a drive to decarbonise Ireland’s economy, the rate of carbon tax increased by €7.50 in October 2020 from €26 to €33.50 per tonne/CO2. Reducing your carbon emissions will reduce your cost. Ultimately, though, any costs associated must be reframed as the cost of compliance or risk management. The greater costs are the costs of not being sustainable. Reputation With social media increasing access to companies, there are very few places to hide for organisations which are falling short of sustainability-related expectations. Staff expect it, and customers demand it. Companies not being transparent about their sustainability achievements, or their goals, will be called out by their customers and staff. Likewise, there is little patience for companies that are ‘green-washing’, i.e. presenting a false or misleading green public image. “64 percent of customers are ‘belief-driven buyers’ who will choose, switch, avoid or boycott a brand based on its stand on societal issues.” 2019 Edelman Trust Barometer Special Report: In Brands We Trust? Mobile Survey Attracting clients On the flip side, though, organisations that do embrace sustainability are in a strong position to attract clients. They can do this by becoming more visible in their community. Supporting local literacy or numeracy projects, participating in local charities or sports clubs, or engaging in local-tree planting initiatives not only increases brand awareness of a firm or business: it builds trust with a community. Remember – not everyone may be doing this, so you will have a first-mover advantage if you do. As a greater number of large companies are either required to or decide to report on human rights, diversity and climate-related policies, a greater number of local businesses supplying those companies will also be obliged to disclose their own sustainability practices, and will need help from a financial advisor to do so. Accountants who are experienced in offering clients this support may attract more clients looking to comply with the sustainability requirements of large organisations. Attracting & retaining talent Candidates are actively seeking jobs in companies with strong ESG credentials and are rejecting jobs in those companies not aligned with their own values. What was identified by McKinsey in 1997 as the ‘war for talent’ is as fierce as ever within the professional services sector, and organisations are going to great lengths to recruit talent. These same companies are now including their commitment to ESG values as a competitive differentiation. This is a trend seen by Karin Lanigan, Head of Member Experience in Chartered Accountants Ireland: “I have worked in recruitment for more than 20 years and in recent years, I have noticed a growing trend whereby candidates have become more and more discerning about types of organisations they’ll work for. They are not just considering salary and package; they are looking at the sector, at the reputation of an organisation, and asking themselves ‘will I feel proud if I’m out with my friends on a Friday night to say that I work with whatever the organisation is or whatever the sector is that they are in?’ They want to have sense of pride in their place of work.” Remember: a commitment to ESG does not have to mean having a large sustainability department or running an eco-business. It can also mean being a firm or company that looks after its employees, provides good training and promotion opportunities, and is active in its local community. “With ‘measurements’ everyone thinks of ‘carbon footprint’. But it doesn’t have to be. You can measure staff satisfaction through surveys. You can measure employee-turnover and retention or absenteeism. Encourage staff to measure the number of hours they spend giving back to others in the community.” Teresa Campbell, PKF FKM Impact on Financial Statements Preparers and auditors of financial statements should consider the impact on sustainability and climate change on every entity. Quoted companies, and some categories of larger companies have defined obligations to report on the impact of environmental matters on the companies’ businesses. These specific reporting requirements do not apply to private limited companies reporting under FRS 102. However, climate change and sustainability are major and developing issues that cannot be ignored by anyone. Both IAASA and the FRC have recently commented on matters that they expect to see considered in financial statements. Whilst their comments were largely made in the context of the IFRS framework, much of what they have said is directly applicable to financial statements prepared under FRS 102. Accountants should consider and report on how climate change has impacted on the assets and liabilities of the company, what additional risks have emerged and whether new or increased provisions are necessary. How has climate change impacted on the estimates and judgements applied, and do these need to be disclosed? Consider such matters as the useful lives of property, plant and equipment. Consider also the impact on impairment assumptions. Does the entity have an obligation to remediate environmental damage caused by any of its activities? Have any of its contracts become onerous, or are they likely to? The financial statements, taken as a whole, should contain sufficient information to be useful to stakeholders, and preparers should avoid the use of non-specific boilerplate. See IAASA’s recent observations on published financial statements. The Institute will cover these areas in more detail in future issues of Practice Matters, broadcasts of Practice News, and CPD courses. Some member resources Find more on the Institute’s Sustainability Hub with resources from articles, podcasts and webinars to a glossary explaining the acronyms and terms. You can also find tips in the Institute’s guide on Sustainability for Accountants. This free guide for accountants describes what to do – and where to start – to operate sustainably, successfully and cost-effectively.