Welcome to this week’s Technical Roundup.
In developments this week, the IDA in Ireland has issued its monthly e-zine which includes a report of ‘green talent’ on the rise and seven offshore renewables projects given a boost by the Irish Government; the Financial Reporting Council held a webinar on 19 January setting out the proposals contained in FRED 82 Draft amendments to FRS 102 The Financial reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland and other FRSs – Periodic Review.
Read more on these and other developments that may be of interest to members below.
Financial Reporting
The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) are planning to hold a series of webinars on corporate reporting. The series, which commences on 24 January, will offer a deep dive into the ISSB proposed standards and will consist of three parts as follows.
- Part 1: Better information for better decisions—Introduction to investor-focused sustainability disclosure
- Part 2: Any size or stage—Getting started on climate disclosure
- Part 3: Connectivity and controls—the path to investor-grade disclosure
The FRC held a webinar on 19 January setting out the proposals contained in FRED 82 Draft amendments to FRS 102 The Financial reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland and other FRSs – Periodic Review.
Auditing
A new publication from Accountancy Europe builds on the factsheet published last year and offers constructive recommendations based on the discussions with their members’ audit experts as well as external stakeholders involved in developing AQI initiatives in their respective jurisdictions.
Sustainability
The IDA in Ireland has issued its monthly e-zine which you can click here to read. It includes a report of ‘green talent’ on the rise and seven offshore renewables projects given a boost by the Irish Government.
Insolvency
In December 2022, the Bankruptcy Master for Northern Ireland advised that the restriction on filing new creditors' winding up petitions is likely to be lifted in the new term. The court has advised that further information will be issued in advance of the new guidance. The court noted that lifting the restrictions may bring about some logistical challenges which is further hampered by the absence of the new proposed Insolvency (Amendment) Rules (Northern Ireland) 2022 and has encouraged a collaborative approach between all practitioners and the court.
The Institute is hosting a webinar on Options for directors’ in financial difficulty on Thursday, 9 February 2023. We will outline directors’ duties and obligations when a business is in financial difficulty, and possible consequences for directors for not adhering to those duties and obligations. There will be discussion on the recent insolvency related changes to Companies Act 2014 on the expansion of directors’ duties.
Other Areas of Interest
The Irish Dept of Enterprise Trade and Employment (DETE) recently published its January 2023 Enterprise newsletter. It includes information on topics such as the webinar DETE are hosting on Thursday 26 January 2022 between 10am - 12pm to explain the new Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and accompanying standards in more detail. It also includes information on tariff suspension/quota schemes with the deadline for applications at 5.30pm on Tuesday, 31 January 2023. It also gives information on changes to the employment permit system to address skills shortages in Ireland’s Dairy, Transport and Home Care sectors.
DETE has advertised that there will be presentations from the officials heading up the transposition of the directive within the Department of Enterprise, Trade & Employment, the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) and the EU Commission on the day of the webinar.
The Irish government has recently published its legislation programme for Spring 2023. Click here for the press release and to access the spring legislative programme. Some particular items of interest are as follows:
In the programme pre legislative scrutiny has taken place on the Charities (Amendment) Bill and it is now on the priority publication list. There is a heads in preparation of an Equality Acts (Amendment) Bill 2023 stated to make provision for proposed amendments to the equality legislation arising from the review of the Equality Acts.
Readers may recall previous government agenda where a limited partnership Bill was proposed to modernise the Limited Partnership Act 1907.In the spring 2023 programme there is a heads in preparation of a Miscellaneous Provisions (Transparency and Registration of Limited Partnerships and Business Names) Bill 2023. This is stated to be to reform the Limited Partnerships Act 1907 and the Registration of Business Names Act 1963, strengthening Ireland’s regulatory framework and responding to concerns raised in relation to the transparency of limited partnerships.
The Co-operative Societies bill is on the agenda as heads in preparation. Readers may recall that earlier this year, the Institute, as part of CCAB-I, responded to a public consultation from the Dept of Enterprise, Trade and Employment on new legislation for the co-operative sector and in November 2022 we brought you a news item that the Government had approved the drafting of what is billed as ground-breaking legislation for the sector. Here is the link to page giving details of the General Scheme of the Co-operative Societies Bill 2022.
On this quarter’s legislative agenda work is still underway on the Companies (Administrative, Governance & Insolvency Amendment) Bill and it is stated to give effect to outstanding Programme for Government commitments on rights of workers as creditors; trading entities splitting operations; and transactional avoidance. One last bill which might be of interest is the Licencing of Construction Activity Bill which is stated to be to provide for the establishment of a statutory licensing system for construction and related activities.
The Dept of Justice has recently published its 2021 Annual Report. They report that publication of a Justice Climate Policy Statement setting out how the justice sector will reach its ambitious climate and energy efficiency targets, including by the adoption of green public procurement has been carried over to Justice Plan 2022. On the anti-money laundering front it is reported for example that 2021 inspections comprised 106 inspections of High Value Goods Dealers; 138 inspections of Trust or Company Service Providers; 23 inspections of notaries; 8 inspections of gambling providers and 5 inspections of Tax Advisors/ External Accountants.
For further technical information and updates please visit the Technical Hub on the Institute website.
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