Following the Central Bank of Ireland’s Dear CEO letter of 20 January 2023 and, in particular, the requirement that payment and e-money firms obtain a specific audit of their compliance with the safeguarding requirements under the PSR/EMR an acceptable format for these engagements has been agreed. We will issue guidance to our members on performing these engagements in due course.  Payment and e-money firms are required to prepare a detailed document setting out a description of aspects of their organisational arrangements to secure their compliance with the relevant safeguarding requirements under the PSR/EMR.   Theses forms should also prepare an assertion, approved by the Board of directors, stating that in all material respects 1 the description is fairly presented, and 2 the controls and processes included in the description were operating as described at the reference date. Further details are outlined in the Safeguarding Notice to Payment and E-Money Firms. These reports are due by 31 October 2023.  Members will be informed via eNews when our guidance is published. 

Welcome to this week’s Technical Roundup.    In developments this week, the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group is holding a symposium on Connectivity between financial reporting and sustainability reporting at the European Accounting Association Annual Congress which will take place in Helsinki and Espoo on 26 May, 2023; the Joint Committee of the European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA and ESMA - ESAs) has published its 2022 Annual Report, which provides an account of its joint work completed over the past year.  Read more on these and other developments that may be of interest to members below.  Financial Reporting IAASA, Ireland’s accounting enforcer, has published a Paper “Transparency Regulations – information requests”. This Paper lists some information requests that IAASA has made to companies as part of its financial statement examinations. In its recent letter to the EC’s President Ursula von der Leyen & Commissioner Mairead McGuinness, Accountancy Europe have addressed the recent commitments by the EC to simplify reporting requirements in the green, digital and economic thematic areas. Specifically, the EC have recommended that any upcoming legislative proposals should not be rushed, should be based on independent and costed impact assessments, should be subject to public consultation and should be field tested. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has issued Amendments to Basis for Conclusions FRS 101 Reduced Disclosure Framework - 2022/23 cycle. This completes the annual review by the FRC of the FRS 101 standard, which proposed no amendments. The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has issued amendments to IAS 12 Income Taxes. The amendments give companies temporary relief from accounting for deferred taxes arising from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) international tax reform. The IASB has also issued amendments to IAS 7 Statement of Cash Flows and IFRS 7 Financial Instruments: Disclosure. These amendments are intended to enhance the transparency of supplier finance arrangements and include additional disclosures. The changes are effective for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2024. The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) is asking for preparers to provide input to an academic study on the effects of the adoptions of IFRS 15. This is to assist in EFRAG’s work on the post-implementation review of the standard. The UK’s Department for Business and Trade is seeking views on the non-financial reporting requirements UK companies need to comply with to produce their annual report, and whether company size thresholds remain appropriate. This consultation remains open until 16 August. The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) is holding a symposium on Connectivity between financial reporting and sustainability reporting at the European Accounting Association Annual Congress which will take place in Helsinki and Espoo on 26 May, 2023. Audit The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has announced the Audit Committees and the External Audit: Minimum Standard, which comes after careful consideration of the consultation responses received from stakeholders. Corporate Governance The Financial Reporting Council has launched a public consultation on proposed revisions to the UK Corporate Governance Code. This follows the UK Government's response to the White Paper, Restoring Trust in Audit and Corporate Governance, which identified areas of reform related to a particular focus on directors' responsibilities for internal control, risk, audit and corporate reporting. Comments on the questions set out in this consultation document are requested by Wednesday 13 September 2023. Other Safeguarding reports for payment and electronic money firms The Central Bank of Ireland have issued a communication to clarify the nature of the specific audit of compliance with the safeguarding requirements under the Payment Services Regulations (PSR)/ Electronic Money Regulations (EMR), as communicated in the Central Bank’s letter dated 20 January 2023, addressed to all payment and electronic money institutions authorised in Ireland. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) is consulting on draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) under the revised ELTIF Regulation. Interested stakeholders are invited to provide input by 24 August 2023.  ESMA will consider the feedback it receives to this consultation in Q3/Q4 2023 and expects to publish a final report and submit the draft technical standards to the European Commission for endorsement by 10 January 2024. The Joint Committee of the European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA and ESMA - ESAs) has  published its 2022 Annual Report, which provides an account of its joint work completed over the past year.  It focused on issues of cross-sectoral relevance, such as joint risk assessment, sustainable finance, digitalisation, consumer protection, securitisation, financial conglomerates, and central clearing. Sustainability Accountancy Europe has announced that it has joined EU Green Week, which raises awareness, promotes and discusses European environmental policy. For further technical information and updates please visit the Technical Hub on the Institute website. Technical Hub on the Institute website.     

The CCAB-I Insolvency Committee has today published Technical Alert 03 2023 Changes to examinership regulations. This Technical Alert provides updates on significant changes to the examinership process following the introduction of The European Union (Preventive Restructuring) Regulations 2022 (SI 380/2022) and outlines a number of the key amendments to Companies Act 2014 arising from the transposition of EU Directive 2019/1023.

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has issued Amendments to Basis for Conclusions FRS 101 Reduced Disclosure Framework - 2022/23 cycle. This completes the annual review by the FRC of the FRS 101 standard, which proposed no amendments. Each year, the FRC carries out an annual review of FRS 101 to provide additional disclosure exemptions as International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) evolve and to respond to stakeholder feedback about other possible improvements. Earlier this year, the Financial Reporting Technical Committee of Chartered Accountants Ireland responded to this consultation, agreeing with the FRC's proposals.

Readers can now read details of the submission by the Corporate Enforcement Authority (“CEA”) in May 2023 to the Irish law reform commission’s consultation on Liability Of Clubs, Societies and Other Unincorporated Associations. The CEA response is supportive of the proposition that detailed consideration should be given to utilising the ‘existing solution’ referred to in the paper and extending the applicability of the Company Limited by Guarantee (‘CLG’) regime to address the issues raised with unincorporated associations. Readers can also go to the Institute webpage on our technical hub titled “Entities other than companies “ to read a number of other linked articles of interest on this subject .   This information is provided as resources and information only and nothing in these pages purports to provide professional advice or definitive legal interpretation(s) or opinion(s) on the applicable legislation or legal or other matters referred to in the pages. If the reader is in doubt on any matter in this complex area further legal or other advice must be obtained. While every reasonable care has been taken by the Institute in the preparation of these pages, we do not guarantee the accuracy or veracity of any resource, guidance, information or opinion, or the appropriateness, suitability or applicability of any practice or procedure contained therein. The Institute is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of the resources or information contained in these pages.

Welcome to this week’s Technical Roundup.    In developments this week, the IFRS Foundation has published educational material to illustrate how the IFRS for SMEs Accounting Standard requires companies to consider climate-related matters that have a material effect on the financial statements; a new tool from the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) is now available to help professional accountancy organizations (PAOs) take leading roles in the anti-corruption fight in their jurisdictions. Read more on these and other developments that may be of interest to members below.  Audit IAASA has published its 2022 Annual Audit Programme and Activity Report. This report provides a summary of the activities performed by IAASA during 2022 to oversee the audit profession in Ireland. Financial Reporting The IFRS Foundation has published educational material to illustrate how the IFRS for SMEs Accounting Standard requires companies to consider climate-related matters that have a material effect on the financial statements. While the IFRS for SMEs Accounting Standard does not explicitly refer to climate-related matters, there are many areas of the standard where entities should consider climate-related matters and how this impacts accounting treatment. The educational material has been developed in response to feedback from some members of the SME Implementation Group and respondents to the 2022 Exposure Draft Third edition of the IFRS for SMEs Accounting Standard. This feedback identifies that interest in the potential effects of climate-related matters on SMEs’ financial statements is growing among users of those statements. The UK Endorsement Board has adopted Lease Liability in a Sale and Leaseback- Amendments to IFRS 16. The Amendments add subsequent measurement requirements for sale and leaseback transactions to improve the requirements for such transactions in IFRS 16 Leases. These amendments were issued in September 2022 by the International Accounting Standards Board. The amendments have an effective date of 1 January 2024, with early application permitted. The European Council has extended the scope of rules to transfers of crypto assets, with the intention of making it more difficult for criminals to circumvent anti-money laundering rules via crypto currencies. Under the new rules, crypto asset service providers are obliged to collect and make accessible certain information about the sender and beneficiary of crypto transfers, regardless of the amount being transacted. Sustainability In a EU Green Week 2023 partner event, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), Accountancy Europe and the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) will bring together global experts on 8 June to discuss the skills and education needed for finance professionals to contribute to a green and just transition. Insolvency The Insolvency Service in the UK is seeking views on proposed changes to its statistics publications to ensure it continues to produce relevant statistics that meet users' needs. The consultation closes on 30 June 2023. Other The FRC is hosting a webinar on the proposed revisions to Technical Actuarial Standard 300 (TAS 300) and the introduction of Technical Actuarial Standard 310 (TAS 310) relating to pensions. The proposed revisions include requirements for providing advice on setting actuarial factors and for bulk transfer exercises including buyout transactions with an insurer and transfers to a pension superfund. TAS 310 sets out the standards for actuarial work in relation to collective money purchase pension schemes.  The CCAB-I Business Law Committee has published a Technical Alert entitled Questions and Answers on the provision of PPSN for directors on certain CRO filings. This document outlines what is required under the new requirement, the potential issues arising and some practical guidance on actions that directors and their advisors can take to prepare for the new requirement which comes into effect on 11 June 2023. The European Securities and Markets Authority has released the latest edition of its Spotlight on Markets Newsletter. This Newsletter includes details of the third edition of the ESMA’s Data Quality report. On 8 May 2023, the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment (DETE) launched a public consultation on proposals to enhance the Companies Act 2014. DETE has published a press release and consultation paper ion their website. The Institute will be making a submission in response to the consultation on behalf of members and all submissions can be emailed to companylawconsultation@enterprise.gov.ie .The closing date is no later than 5pm on 9 June 2023. A new tool from the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) is now available to help professional accountancy organizations (PAOs) take leading roles in the anti-corruption fight in their jurisdictions. Global Fight, Local Actions: Anti-Corruption Advocacy Workbook for PAOs equips PAOs and accountancy profession leaders with the background and framework to craft bespoke approaches and messages that best fit their jurisdiction and needs. For further technical information and updates please visit the Technical Hub on the Institute website. Technical Hub on the Institute website.