Roundup

Welcome to this week’s Technical Roundup.  In developments this week, the FRC has published summaries of its corporate reporting reviews and  has published a new report on supervision; IAASA has published an Information Note: IAS 36 Impairment of Assets – information requests from IAASA; EFRAG and the European Commission have met with leading international sustainability reporting standard setters; the Central Bank of Ireland has issued a consultation paper on stakeholder engagement. Read more on these and other developments that may be of interest to members below. Financial Reporting The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) is seeking public comments on a new approach to developing disclosure requirements in IFRS Standards and new disclosure requirements for the Standards on fair value measurement and employee benefits. The Exposure Draft Disclosure Requirements in IFRS Standards—A Pilot Approach (Proposed amendments to IFRS 13 and IAS 19), along with a Snapshot which provides an overview of the proposals, and a short video introducing the proposals, are available here. The Board is asking for stakeholder comments by 21 October 2021. The IASB has also published a consultation document to seek views on what the Board’s priorities should be over the next five years. In the March episode of the monthly IASB podcast, the Chair and Vice-Chair of the IASB talk about the Board’s discussions at the supplementary meeting on 10 March to discuss IFRS 16 Leases and covid-19-related rent concessions, as well as at the regular monthly meeting held virtually on 23 and 24 March 2021. The March 2021 IASB Update has also been published and the work plan updated. The IASB has decided to extend by 30 days the comment period for the Exposure Draft Regulatory Assets and Regulatory Liabilities to give stakeholders more time to respond. The comment period will now end on 30 July 2021. The IASB has extended by one year the application period of the practical expedient in IFRS 16 Leases to help lessees accounting for covid-19-related rent concessions. The Board has extended the relief by one year to cover rent concessions that reduce only lease payments due on or before 30 June 2022. Further information is available here. Each year, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) conducts over 200 corporate reporting reviews to assess whether company reports and accounts comply with relevant accounting and reporting requirements. Announcing a new approach to publishing corporate reporting reviews, the FRC has, for the first time, and aligned with a recommendation of Sir John Kingman’s Independent Review of the FRC that reviews should be made publicly available, published summaries of its corporate reporting reviews. IAASA has published an Information Note: IAS 36 Impairment of Assets – information requests from IAASA. IAASA notes that the primary purpose of this Information Note is to provide preparers, auditors and users of financial statements with information to encourage discussion and stimulate debate as to whether or not issuers have adequately considered the requirements of IAS 36, and that, with the aim of achieving this primary purpose, IAASA is publishing a selection of the IAS 36 information requests that it has made to issuers during recent financial statement examinations. Find out more here. Reaching out to stakeholders, EFRAG has released the final podcast of its four-episode series dedicated to the post-implementation review of IFRS 10, IFRS 11 and IFRS 12, along with a survey to collect stakeholders’ views. Noting the issuing of the IASB consultation Request for Information - Third Agenda Consultation (mentioned above), the UK Endorsement Board (UKEB) has invited those interested in being involved in their outreach on this project to email them at agendaconsultation@endorsement-board.uk. Separately, the UKEB has launched a video guide on IASB DP/2020/2 Business Combinations Under Common Control. The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has issued a Statement on Going Concern Assessments and Disclosures during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Auditing The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has published a new report Our Approach to Audit Supervision, which sets out what firms can expect from the FRC in the course of supervision with a focus on audit quality and firm resilience. A link to the report is available here. Sustainability / Non-Financial Reporting EFRAG and the European Commission have met with leading international sustainability reporting standard setters and other related initiatives to present recommendations for the development of EU sustainability reporting standards and explore possible cooperation in a co-constructive spirit, promoting convergence and maintaining momentum. Find out more here. In the latest In Conversation podcast the FRC's Deputy Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs speaks to the Head of Clean Growth at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) on the UK Government's consultation to require mandatory TCFD reporting. Anti-Money Laundering Listen to the Association of Compliance officers  podcast series. This week the Deputy Money Laundering Reporting Officer of a financial institution discusses the importance of firm-wide AML frameworks, the role of the compliance professional and the role of the first line of defence in managing AML risk. Previous podcasts in the series includes a conversation with the Director of Enforcement and Anti Money laundering at the Central Bank of Ireland about the CBI priorities 2021; she discusses diversity and inclusion, the CBI fitness and probity regime, PCFs and what’s new on the anti-money laundering front. Other areas of interest UK extension of dates of coronavirus temporary measures The UK government’s  Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (Coronavirus) (Extension of the Relevant Period) Regulations 2021 came into force on 26th March 2021. It extends the restrictions on the use of statutory demands and winding up petitions to 30 June 2021 (from 31 March), extends  the modifications to moratorium provisions and temporary moratorium rules to 30 September 2021 (from 30th March ) and extends the small supplier exemption from termination clause provisions to 30 June 2021( from 30 March 2021 ). It also extends provisions suspending liability for wrongful trading to 30 June 2021 (from 30 April 2021). Central Bank of Ireland Consultation with Stakeholders The Central Bank of Ireland has issued a consultation paper on stakeholder engagement. Consultation Paper 136 Enhancing our Engagement with Stakeholders. As a body representing accountants, we welcome this engagement. Details are in the attached and the consultation runs until 11 May. For further technical information and updates please visit the Technical Hub and the Covid-19 Hub on the Institute website.   

Welcome to this week’s Technical Roundup.  In developments this week, the FRC starts the next periodic review of FRS 102 and is seeking views from stakeholders; the Institute’s Accounting Committee responds to the IASB Exposure Draft ‘Lease Liability in a Sale and Leaseback (Proposed amendment to IFRS 16)’; the FRC issues a revised Practice Note 14 ‘The Audit of Housing Associations in the United Kingdom’; The IFRS Foundation Trustees announce a working group to accelerate convergence in global sustainability reporting standards focused on enterprise value; and BEIS has published a consultation seeking views on proposals to mandate climate-related financial disclosures by certain companies and LLPs. Read more on these and other developments that may be of interest to members below. Financial Reporting The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is starting the next periodic review of FRS 102 (and other UK and Ireland accounting standards). Part of this process is seeking views from stakeholders on areas that might be considered as part of the review. The FRC note that this might include new issues/transactions that should be addressed, or comments or suggestions in relation to the current requirements. In addition to stakeholder feedback the review will consider recent developments in financial reporting (such as changes in IFRS) and relevant developments in the wider reporting framework. Stakeholders can provide comments to the FRC on any aspect of the standards to ukfrsperiodicreview@frc.org.uk by 31 October 2021. The FRC note that any changes to accounting standards that are proposed as a result of the periodic review will be subject to public consultation at a later date, not expected to be before 2022, and that the effective date for any amendments is currently expected to be 1 January 2024. The FRC also expects to hold roundtable events for stakeholders to provide their views. The Chair of the UK Endorsement Board, has announced the appointment of ten members to form the inaugural UK Endorsement Board (UKEB). The UKEB has been set up to endorse and adopt new or amended international accounting standards on behalf of the UK. The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has published a webcast for investors summarising the Board’s consultation on reporting mergers and acquisitions between companies under common control (transfers of businesses from one company within a group to another). The Board invites investors to comment on its suggestions by completing a short investor survey, or to arrange a 1:1 interview. The meeting report from the SME Implementation Group (SMEIG) meeting held on 4–5 February 2021 is now available. SMEIG, a consultative group of the IASB, supports the international adoption of the IFRS for SMEs Standard and monitors its implementation. The Institute’s Accounting Committee has responded to the IASB Exposure Draft ED/2020/4: Lease Liability in a Sale and Leaseback (Proposed amendment to IFRS 16). The IASB’s proposed amendment would specify the method a seller-lessee uses in initially measuring the right-of-use asset and liability arising in a sale and leaseback transaction and how the seller-lessee subsequently measures that liability. The response is available to read here. The IFRS Foundation has published the IFRS Taxonomy 2021. The IFRS Taxonomy 2021 is based on IFRS Standards as at 1 January 2021, including those issued but not yet effective. A short webcast introducing the IFRS Taxonomy 2021 is also available. The March 2021 IFRIC Update is now available. IFRIC Update is a summary of the decisions reached by the IFRS Interpretations Committee in its public meetings. The Committee met on 16 March 2021. EFRAG has announced that it will hold its EFRAG Board webcast meeting on Monday 29 March 2021. The agenda and public documents for the meeting, along with details on how to watch the live webcast, can be found here. Auditing The FRC has issued a revised Practice Note 14 (PN 14) (Revised March 2021) The Audit of Housing Associations in the United Kingdom. PN 14 provides sector specific guidance on applying the FRC’s auditing standards to audits of Housing Associations. The Technology Working Group of the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) has released non-authoritative support material to help auditors address the risk of overreliance on technology, whether it arises from using automated tools and techniques or from using information produced by an entity’s systems. Following publication of the UK Government’s consultation Restoring trust in audit and corporate governance the FRC will be hosting a series of webinars and roundtables to provide further insight on key aspects of the consultation and to provide interested stakeholders with an opportunity to share their views and comment on the government’s proposals. Further details about how to participate in the FRC’s engagement programme is available here. Sustainability / Non-Financial Reporting The Trustees of the IFRS Foundation have announced the formation of a working group to accelerate convergence in global sustainability reporting standards focused on enterprise value and to undertake technical preparation for a potential international sustainability reporting standards board under the governance of the IFRS Foundation. Find out more on the work and membership of the group. At its March 2021 meeting last week, the IAASB approved Non-Authoritative Guidance on Applying ISAE 3000 (Revised) to Extended External Reporting (EER) Assurance Engagements, which will be published in April. To help stakeholders understand the role of both the guidance and ISAE 3000 (Revised), the IAASB Chair has published an article ‘Assurance Standards keeping pace on non-financial reporting’ detailing the guidance and how it supports the application of ISAE 3000 (Revised), growing demands for non-financial information reporting and assurance thereon, and the IAASB’s ongoing commitment to the consistent performance of quality engagements. The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy in the UK has published a consultation seeking views on proposals to mandate climate-related financial disclosures by publicly quoted companies, large private companies and Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs).  Anti-Money Laundering Together with ICAEW, the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has released the sixth installment in its Anti-Money Laundering: The Basics educational series: Installment 6: Businesses in Difficulty. IFAC note that the publication is part of a 6-month short series helping accountants enhance their understanding of how money laundering works, the risks they face, and what they can do to mitigate these risks and make a positive contribution to the public interest. They also note that the installment series, with its focus on accessibility and ease of use, will be a resource for Small and Medium Practices, and accountants less familiar with AML, while also providing guidance for those looking for a quick refresher or reference. Other areas of interest The Charites Regulator and the Revenue Commissioners have agreed an updated cooperation arrangement. Noting the issuing of the memorandum of understanding, the Charities Regulator says that it supports cooperation and collaboration in the interest of ensuring appropriate sharing and assessment of information by both parties, and that the overarching aim of the arrangement is to uphold the integrity of charitable organisations and charitable trusts in Ireland and support public confidence in charities operating in Ireland or under Irish law. For further technical information and updates please visit the Technical Hub and the Covid-19 Hub on the Institute website.   

Welcome to this week’s Technical Roundup.    In developments this week, the UKEB has published its feedback on the Business Combinations: Disclosures, Goodwill and Impairment project; the meeting notes from the February IFAC Advisory Council are now available; in the UK the BEIS has just issued its much anticipated white paper  - Restoring trust in audit and corporate governance; and the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) (Amendment) Act 2020 was signed into law. Read more on these and other developments that may be of interest to members below. Financial Reporting  The UK Endorsement Board (UKEB) secretariat has published its feedback statement on the Business Combinations: Disclosures, Goodwill and Impairment project. The feedback statement summarises UK stakeholder views shared with the UKEB secretariat and how those views were reflected in the final comment letter submitted to the IASB’s Discussion Paper DP/2020/1 Business Combinations, Disclosures, Goodwill and Impairment. Investors, analysts and other users of insurance company accounts are invited to attend a webinar on IFRS 17 – UK endorsement. Following the UK’s exit from the EU, IFRS 17 needs to be assessed by the UKEB if it is to be adopted for use in the UK. This webinar, which will be held on 30 March, forms part of the UKEB's engagement with stakeholder groups and is intended to initiate discussion around key aspects of the standard from the user perspective. The webinar will include an outline from the UKEB secretariat of the project to assess IFRS 17 for UK adoption and explain how you can get involved in outreach. The meeting papers and agenda for the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) meeting to be held on 23–24 March 2021 are now available. The topics for discussion include a work plan update, the equity method research project, management commentary, goodwill and impairment, primary financial statements, and the second comprehensive review of the IFRS for SMEs Standard. The links to the webcasts will be available in due course. The IFRS Advisory Council met on 23 February 2021 to discuss an update on the IASB’s work plan, sustainability reporting and post-covid-19 planning. The Advisory Council Chair’s report on the meeting is now available, summarising these discussions. EFRAG has requested comments on its draft endorsement advice on Disclosure of Accounting Policies (Amendments to IAS 1 and IFRS Practice Statement 2) and on Definition of Accounting Estimates (Amendments to IAS 8). EFRAG's overall preliminary assessment is that both sets of amendments satisfy the criteria for endorsement for use in the EU and therefore recommends their endorsement. Comments are requested by 7 June 2021. Auditing IAASB Meeting The IAASB share the agenda and papers for their meetings two to three weeks in advance of the meeting.  The next meeting is 15-19 March and the aganda and papers can be accessed here https://www.iaasb.org/meetings.  Minutes and highlings of previous meetings are also available on this website and observers can register to view the meeting on the IAASB YouTube channel.    IAASA has published a quality assurance review report in respect of each of Ireland’s seven audit firms that perform statutory audits of public interest entities (PIE audit firms). Each of the reports summarise IAASA’s findings arising from the quality assurance reviews of the PIE audit firms that took place in 2020. Department of Business Energy & Industrial Strategy white paper The Department of Business Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) in the UK has just issued its long awaited white paper  ‘Restoring trust in audit and corporate governance: proposals on reforms’. This proposes some significant changes to corporate governance and a number of sweeping reforms for the audit sector. The consultation period is 16 weeks and the closing date is 8 July 2021.     Sustainability reporting The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) last week convened over 150 chief executives and senior leaders of professional accountancy organizations around the world, together with its Board of Directors, to discuss critical issues relevant to the future of the accountancy profession. A key focus of the meetings was hearing from key stakeholders on the future of corporate and sustainability-related reporting, and how these fit into the broader context of sustainable business and finance, where professional accountants will need to play a pivotal leadership role based on their core competencies and ethical codes. Read more here.  Ethics IESBA have issued an exposure draft of proposed revisions to the International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including International Independence Standards) that broadens the definition of a public interest entity (PIE). These revisions include more categories of entities, given the level of public interest in their financial condition, for the purposes of additional independence requirements to enhance confidence in their audits. The comment period is due to end on May 3, 2021 and IESBA are running a webinars in March to explain the key proposed changes To read the exposure draft:https://www.ethicsboard.org/publications/proposed-revisions-definitions-listed-entity-and-public-interest-entity-code Re register for a webinar : https://www.ethicsboard.org/events/webinar-highlighting-proposals-january-2021-pie-exposure-draft-0 Central Bank The Central Bank’s Innovation Hub  2020 Update   provides details of types of queries received during the year including queries from  accounting firms looking to register as Account Information Service Providers (AISPs) to help auto-import financial accounts. The hub was launched in April 2018 to facilitate open and active engagement with the FinTech sector. It  provides a direct and dedicated point of contact for all firms, from small start-ups to incumbents, to engage with members of the Central Bank’s Fintech Network. New legislation The Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) (Amendment) Act 2020 was signed into law by the President this week. It brings the fifth Anti Money Laundering Directive into Irish law. More details on the new act will be available shortly on the Institute website. Forthcoming proposed legislation The Department of justice action plan 2021 was published recently. Areas which might be of interest include plans during the year to carry out remote anti money laundering inspections, to commence drafting of a general scheme of a Cybercrime Bill, to enact the Personal Insolvency (Amendment) (No.1) Bill to ensure that sufficient supports are in place for mortgage holders with repayment difficulties including those due to the pandemic and complete statutory review of Personal Insolvency Acts 2012-2015 and prepare Scheme of Personal Insolvency (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill based on the outcome of the review. For further technical information and updates please visit the Technical Hub and the Covid-19 Hub on the Institute website.

Welcome to this week’s Technical roundup.    In developments this week, the IASB met to redeliberate the proposals in its recent consultation on Covid-19-Related Rent Concessions; the IFRS Foundation Trustees announce strategic direction and further steps based on feedback to their sustainability reporting consultation; EFRAG has published two reports submitted to the European Commission setting out recommendations on the development of EU sustainability reporting standards; and listen to the latest in the EFRAG podcast series on the PIR of IFRS 10, IFRS 11 and IFRS 12.   Read more on these and other developments that may be of interest to members below.  Financial Reporting   A supplementary International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) meeting was held on 10 March to redeliberate the proposals in the February 2021 Exposure Draft Covid-19-Related Rent Concessions beyond 30 June 2021 (Proposed Amendment to IFRS 16). A summary of the supplementary meeting, along with details of the next step is available here. Reaching out to stakeholders, EFRAG has released its third episode, out of a series of four podcasts, dedicated to the post-implementation review of IFRS 10, IFRS 11 and IFRS 12. With the aim of collecting stakeholders' views, EFRAG has also launched a survey on the application of these IFRS Standards and looks forward to receiving responses by 16 April 2021.  The Trustees of the IFRS Foundation have invited applications from suitable candidates to fill two vacancies on the IFRS Interpretations Committee. EFRAG is renewing the membership of its Financial Instruments Working Group and has invited suitable candidates to send their applications by 15 April 2021. EFRAG is also seeking an academic fellow to work with EFRAG during a sabbatical leave period of between 6 months and two years - applications are welcome by 15 April 2021. Hans Hoogervorst, Chair of the IASB, delivered a speech at a meeting of the International Forum of Accounting Standard Setters (IFASS). He reflected on his 10-year tenure, as it comes to an end in June 2021; how IFRS Standards have evolved during that time; and on the importance of independent standard-setting.  The FRC Financial Reporting Lab has released its first newsletter for 2021. In this issue, the team reflect on the work it completed over the past year, provide updates on the Lab’s ongoing projects and other areas of reporting.  Sustainability reporting  The Trustees of the IFRS Foundation met in early March to continue their analysis and discussions of the feedback received to their Consultation Paper on Sustainability Reporting. Based on the feedback to the Consultation, and encouraged by the IOSCO Board statement, the Trustees have reached views on the strategic direction and further steps in their initiative. The new board to be set up would: focus on information that is material to the decisions of investors, lenders and other creditors; initially focus its efforts on climate-related reporting, while also working towards meeting the information needs of investors on other ESG matters; build upon the well-established work of the Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), as well as work by the alliance of leading standard-setters in sustainability reporting focused on enterprise value; and by working with standard-setters from key jurisdictions, issue standards that would provide a globally consistent and comparable sustainability reporting baseline, while also providing flexibility for coordination on reporting requirements that capture wider sustainability impacts.          Read the announcement here.          Further, IFAC have noted their support of the next steps and strategic direction of         the IFRS Foundation’s work on sustainability.    Two reports were published this week, prepared in response to the mandates given by the European Commission to EFRAG and to the EFRAG Board President. The reports set out recommendations to the European Commission for the elaboration of possible EU sustainability reporting standards and for possible changes to EFRAG's governance and funding if it were to become the EU sustainability reporting standard setter. The final report of the Project Task Force on preparatory work for the elaboration of possible EU non-financial reporting standards proposes ‘a roadmap for the development of a comprehensive set of EU sustainability reporting standards.’ Read more and access the report here.  Other areas of interest   ESMA turned 10 on 1 January 2021 and as part of their anniversary celebrations, will host an online conference on 23 March to reflect on the progress the Authority has made as a financial regulator and look to its future. Registrations are now open, and the details of the agenda and speakers are available.  The Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) (Amendment) Bill 2020 was due back before the Dáil this week for consideration of amendments from the Seanad. When the Bill is passed into law, details of the legislation will be provided in a future Roundup.  Section 78(2) of the Companies (Accounting) Act 2017 delayed implementation of the requirement in Section 1274 of the Companies Act 2014 for certain private unlimited companies to file financial statements, to financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2022. With the expiry of this delayed implementation approaching, members may wish to review the area as applicable to them and /or their clients.  The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment has issued its March monthly Enterprise Newsletter, which includes information on the Department's initiatives, schemes and latest publications.   For further technical information and updates please visit the Technical Hub and the Covid-19 Hub on the Institute website.   

Welcome to this week’s Technical Roundup.   In developments this week, the FRC discusses why challenge of management and a challenge culture is critical to high quality audit; the UKEB has responded to the recent IASB consultation on the proposed amendment to IFRS 16 Leases; IFAC recently released the final instalment in its series Exploring the IESBA Code; the FRC encourages more transparency when reporting against the UK Corporate Governance Code; and Accountancy Europe have issued their March newsletter covering a range of topics. Read more on these and other developments that may be of interest to members below.  Financial Reporting   The UK Endorsement Board (UKEB) has responded to the recent International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) consultation supporting the amendment to IFRS 16 extending Covid-Related-Rent concessions. In publishing the response, the UKEB secretariat note that they plan to issue a draft Endorsement Criteria Assessment for public consultation in the same week IASB publish the final amendment.  Read more here.   The IFRS Foundation held a live webinar on 24 February 2021 about the IASB's Exposure Draft Regulatory Assets and Regulatory Liabilities. The recording of the webinar and accompanying slide deck are now available.  The February 2021 monthly news, summarising news and events from the IASB and the IFRS Foundation over the past month, is now available. Audit In a recent podcast, the Financial Reporting Council’s (FRC’s) Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs discusses with members of the FRC’s new Supervision division why challenge of management and a challenge culture is critical to high quality audit.   Other areas of interest   The FRC has issued advice for companies on how to report transparently and effectively when departing from certain provisions of the UK Corporate Governance Code. This new guidance builds on the findings of the FRC’s Review of Corporate Governance Reporting issued in November. These reports are part of the FRC’s ongoing drive to promote good practice and support companies to continually improve their reporting against the Code. The FRC is carrying out a post implementation review of the Technical Actuarial Standards (TASs) and has issued a call for feedback for the current Framework for TASs, Technical Actuarial Standard 100 (TAS 100), and potential actuarial standards in relation to IFRS 17. IFAC recently completed its inaugural series Exploring the IESBA Code, an educational resource developed in collaboration with the staff of the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA).  The final installment released explains the “building blocks” structure of the Code and its interconnected nature. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has submitted its response to the European Commission’s targeted consultation on the European Single Access Point (ESAP).  The International Valuation Standards Council (IVSC) has published a perspectives paper to initiate discussion and debate on the topic of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in business valuation. "Credit union sustainability: the role of risk management, in sector restructuring and business model change", the Registrar of Credit Unions addresses the Credit Union Managers Association’s Spring Conference. Accountancy Europe have issued their March newsletter covering a range of topics, and it is available to read here.  For further technical information and updates please visit the Technical Hub and the Covid-19 Hub on the Institute website.

Developments of interest this week are outlined. Chartered Accountants Ireland The IASB recently consulted on a proposal to extend by one year the application period of the amendment to IFRS 16 Leases issued in 2020. The Institute’s Accounting Committee has responded to the Exposure Draft and the response is available to read here. ROI The Central Bank of Ireland has issued a Consultation Paper on enhancing engagement with stakeholders.  In the consultation the bank acknowledges the importance of stakeholder engagement in its ability to identify opportunities to enhance the performance of the financial system and identify any risks that may be developing. The closing date for responses is Tuesday 11 May 2021. UK  The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) published principles for operational separation of the audit practices of the ‘Big 4’ firms in July 2020.  The FRC asked the firms to submit their implementation plans by 23 October 2020.  The FRC has reviewed these plans and discussed them with the firms individually and is now content for the firms to move to the next stage of implementation. Europe Recent fraud cases, corporate failures and the pandemic’s impact have led Accountancy Europe to issue two publications with recommendations to strengthen the financial reporting ecosystem, respectively on: Going concern, and Fraud. The EFRAG has released a first podcast on the post-im­ple­men­ta­tion review of IFRS 10 ‘Con­sol­i­dated Financial State­ments’, IFRS 11 ‘Joint Arrange­ments’ and IFRS 12 ‘Dis­clo­sure of Interests in Other Entities’, which provides an in­tro­duc­tion into the post-im­ple­men­ta­tion review process. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets regulator, has published the final report on Guidelines aimed at assisting competent authorities in the application of EMIR provisions that deal with the review and evaluation of central counterparties (CCPs). International The IASB has released a podcast featuring IASB Chair Hans Hooger­vorst and Vice-Chair Sue Lloyd to discuss de­lib­er­a­tions at the 4 February 2021 sup­ple­men­tary meeting and the 16–17 February 2021 IASB meeting. The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) is requesting public comments on its Exposure Draft addressing changes in some of its standards and framework resulting from the new and revised quality management standards. Comments are requested by May 24, 2021.

Developments of interest this week are outlined. UK  A new FRC Lab report, Virtual and Augmented Reality in corporate reporting, considers how virtual and augmented reality are and might be used to expand the scope and audience for corporate reporting. The report includes examples of current practice and highlights some possible future uses. The report is the final deep dive from the Lab’s Digital Future series. Europe Accountancy Europe and the European Association of Cooperative Banks (EACB) invite you to join them as they debate how new rules on reporting non-financial information (NFI) might affect small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). With the help of EACB, Accountancy Europe is developing a checklist for accountants to help SME clients prepare for these new requirements, whether they stem from legislation, banks or supply chain partners. ESMA has submitted IFRS 9 and IAS 20 related questions to the IFRS Interpretations Committee. Find out more here. EFRAG has issued a Draft Endorsement Advice letter and a separate invitation to comment relating to the endorsement for use in the EU of Covid-19-Related Rent Concessions beyond 30 June 2021 ('the Amendments'). EFRAG's overall preliminary assessment is that the Amendments satisfy the criteria for endorsement for use in the EU and therefore recommends its endorsement. Comments are requested by 17 March 2021. EFRAG has issued a reminder in relation to its call for EFRAG TEG members. Candidates with an accountancy profession background with an EEA nationality (other than France, Germany, Italy and Spain) have until 28 February to send their applications to join EFRAG’s Technical Expert Group (EFRAG TEG) for the 2021 rotation. International The IFRS Foundation is holding a live webinar on the IASB’s consultation on regulatory assets and regulatory liabilities. The webinar, which will be held on Wednesday 24 February 2021 at 12:00 GMT, and will run for approximately an hour, will provide an overview of the proposals in the Exposure Draft Regulatory Assets and Regulatory Liabilities (published in January 2021). A recording of the webinar will be available after the live discussion. The IASB has recently issued narrow-scope amendments to IFRS Standards. Following feedback that more guidance was needed to help companies decide what accounting policy information should be disclosed, the Board has issued amendments to IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements and IFRS Practice Statement 2 Making Materiality Judgements. Separately, the Board has also issued amendments to IAS 8 Accounting Policies, Changes in Accounting Estimates and Errors. The amendments clarify how companies should distinguish changes in accounting policies from changes in accounting estimates.      

Developments of interest this week are outlined. Chartered Accountants Ireland Chartered Accountants Ireland has updated the Technical and business updates page on our COVID-19 Hub with updates on Financial Reporting implications of Coronavirus.  We have also updated our page on Other Regulator Updates for both ROI and NI / UK in response to COVID-19.   ROI The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment is developing legislation for the rescue of small companies. To inform development of the General Scheme of the Bill, the Department is seeking submissions from interested parties. UK  The UK Endorsement Board secretariat has published their draft comment letter on the IASB’s ED/2020/4 Lease Liability in a Sale and Leaseback. The draft comment letter is open for comment until 1 March 2021. Europe Accountancy Europe have published Going concern: recommendations to strengthen the financial reporting eco-system. International The IASB has published for consultation a proposal to extend by one year the application period of the amendment to IFRS 16 Leases issued in 2020 to help lessees accounting for covid-19-related rent concessions. The IASB has posted the recording of its recent webinar on iden­ti­fy­ing research op­por­tu­ni­ties by academics in IFRS 15 ‘Revenue from Contracts with Customers’. On 1 March 2021, EFRAG, EFFAS, ABAF/BVFA and the IASB offer a joint ex­plana­tory webinar to consider the views of users for the post-im­ple­men­ta­tion review on IFRS 10, 11 and 12.    

Developments of interest this week are outlined. ROI The Central Bank of Ireland will continue to accept annual financial reports from Irish issuers subject to the Transparency (Directive 2004/109/EC) Regulations 2007 (S.I. No. 277 of 2007) and ESEF Regulation in PDF format for financial years beginning between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2020.  Europe Accountancy Europe have issued a paper as part of their SME risk management project series outlining some of the main insolvency risks and challenges faced by SMEs. The 20th edition of European Securities & Markets Authority (ESMA's) newsletter has just been issued. International In their January podcast Sue Lloyd, Vice-Chair of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), talks about the Board’s discussions at the meeting held virtually on 26 January 2021 as well as other relevant developments during the month. In a sup­ple­men­tary meeting held this week, the IASB discussed extending the practical relief in IFRS 16, which permits lessees not to assess whether par­tic­u­lar rent con­ces­sions occurring as a direct con­se­quence of the COVID-19 pandemic are lease mod­i­fi­ca­tions and, instead, to account for those rent con­ces­sions as if they were not lease mod­i­fi­ca­tions. IFRS Foundation Trustees have announced next steps in response to broad demand for global sustainability standards.  

Developments of interest this week are outlined. ROI The Property Services Regulatory Authority (PSRA) has notified their licence holders that from 22 February 2021 it will be strictly implementing the renewal rules, all licence renewal applications must be received 6 weeks prior to the expiration of a licence. UK The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have published a joint statement reminding companies that extended financial information timelines continue to apply. Read more here. Europe As reported before, EFRAG conducted a series of online outreach events to gather stake­hold­ers' views from various ju­ris­dic­tions on the tentative proposals of the Project Task Force on non-fi­nan­cial reporting standards. An outreach document was provided to fa­cil­i­tate dis­cus­sions at those meetings. Ac­coun­tancy Europe has published a letter noting several short­com­ings of the document. In the first Accountancy Europe podcast episode of 2021, Mathilde Mesnard, Deputy Director for Financial and Enterprise Affairs at the OECD, discusses the global debate around corporate governance. EFRAG encourages constituents to participate in its survey about the Post-Implementation Review of IFRS 10, 11 and 12. Responses are requested by 16 April 2021. International The International Accounting Standards Board expects to publish the Exposure Draft Regulatory Assets and Regulatory Liabilities on 28 January 2021.  The IFRS Foun­da­tion has announced that the annual pub­li­ca­tion formerly known as the 'Blue Book' is now available.

Developments of interest this week are outlined. ROI IAASA has published a further compendium of financial reporting decisions.  Following the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020, the UK is now a third country under statutory audit legislation. UK registered auditors who wish to audit entities incorporated in the Republic of Ireland (ROI) will now need to register as third country auditors under the process set out in ROI law. To facilitate this, IAASA has agreed a Memorandum of Understanding on Reciprocal Arrangements (MOURA) with the FRC. UK The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) invites you to a webinar on 4 February to hear further details about its recent consultation to revise the quality management standards applicable to UK audit and accounting firms. Europe Hilde Blomme, Accountancy Europe and Professor Ann Jorissen discuss the topic of reflections on opportunities and challenges for the profession with respect to the disclosure and reporting of non-financial information. International The meeting summary from the Accounting Standards Advisory Forum meeting held on 10 December 2020 is now available. The IFRS Foundation is holding a live webinar on 27 January on the International Accounting Standards Board’s (Board) consultation on business combinations under common control.

Developments of interest this week are outlined. Chartered Accountants Ireland Technical Hub As previously advised, Chartered Accountants Ireland has launched a Technical Hub for members. This new resource replaces CHARIOT from 1 January 2021 and follows the “Hub-based” approach already in use elsewhere by the Institute. The Hub contains content on audit & assurance, financial reporting, insolvency, links to legislation, and a wide range of proprietary Institute content. The hub can be found on the Institute’s website here. A mapping document has been prepared which outlines where content previously found on CHARIOT can now be found on the Technical Hub. ROI IAASA has published summary information of its financial reporting enforcement activities undertaken during 2020. UK After the end of the tran­si­tion period on 31 December 2020, the UK ceased to apply EU law. IFRSs adopted by the EU at that point of time were in­cor­po­rated into Domestic UK law as IFRSs as adopted by the UK. The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and In­dus­trial Strategy (BEIS), who has been given the power of endorsing and adopting international accounting standards while the UK En­dorse­ment Board (UKEB) is still being es­tab­lished, has now adopted two amend­ments to IFRSs for use within the UK. The FRC has issued a podcast on Reflections from the Financial Reporting Lab Europe The endorsement by the European Commission of Amendments to IFRS 9, IAS 39, IFRS 7, IFRS 4 and IFRS 16 Interest Rate Benchmark Reform – Phase 2 is now reflected in the updated EFRAG Endorsement Status Report. Ac­coun­tancy Europe has responded to the con­sul­ta­tion document on the ad personam mandate on potential need for changes to the gov­er­nance and funding of EFRAG in the context of possible changes to non-fi­nan­cial reporting by companies. International The IFRS Foundation has published educational material to support companies in applying going concern requirements. The IFRS Foun­da­tion is offering three webinars aimed at iden­ti­fy­ing how academics can con­tribute to the post-im­ple­men­ta­tion reviews of IFRS 9 'Financial In­stru­ments', IFRS 15 'Revenue from Contracts with Customers', and IFRS 16 'Leases'.  

Developments of interest this week are outlined. Chartered Accountants Ireland Technical Hub Chartered Accountants Ireland has launched a Technical Hub for members. This new resource replaces CHARIOT from 1 January 2021 and follows the “Hub-based” approach already in use elsewhere by the Institute. The Hub contains content on audit & assurance, financial reporting, insolvency, links to legislation, and a wide range of proprietary Institute content. The hub can be found on the Institute’s website here. UK The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has recently launched a consultation on the proposed revision of the standards for an audit firm’s responsibilities to design, implement and operate a system of quality management. The FRC has this week issued guidance for preparers using IFRS and their auditors. The Financial Stability Board (FSB) has submitted a comment letter on the IFRS Foun­da­tion Trustees’ con­sul­ta­tion paper on sus­tain­abil­ity reporting published in September 2020. The UK Endorsement Board (UKEB) is being set up as the body responsible for influencing the development and subsequently endorsing and adopting new or amended international accounting standards, issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), for use by UK companies, from 1 January 2021.  Europe EFRAG has published its Draft Comment Letter in response to the IASB's Exposure Draft ED/2020/4 Lease Liability in a Sale and Leaseback. Comments on the DCL are requested by 22 February 2021. International The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) has released its three quality management standards. The standards promote a robust, proactive, scalable and effective approach to quality management and mark a significant evolution of the existing quality control standards.

Developments of interest this week are outlined. UK The UK Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Financial Reporting Council recently published a letter addressing certain implications of the end of the Transition Period for companies' accounting, reporting and filing requirements.  Europe The European Union has published a Com­mis­sion Reg­u­la­tion endorsing 'Extension of the Temporary Exemption from Applying IFRS 9 (Amend­ments to IFRS 4)'. The European Par­lia­ment and the Council have agreed to an amendment of the Trans­parency Directive allowing Member States to delay by one year the ap­pli­ca­tion of the European Single Elec­tronic Format (ESEF) re­quire­ments for listed companies' annual financial reports, provided that they notify the Com­mis­sion of their intention to do so, and of their suf­fi­ciently justified reasons. International The Global Reporting Ini­tia­tive (GRI) has commented on the IFRS Foun­da­tion Trustees’ con­sul­ta­tion paper on sus­tain­abil­ity reporting published in September 2020. The International Fed­er­a­tion of Ac­coun­tants (IFAC) has commented on the IFRS Foun­da­tion Trustees’ con­sul­ta­tion paper on sus­tain­abil­ity reporting published in September 2020. Deloitte has released a com­pre­hen­sive 380-page pub­li­ca­tion focusing on some of the most common and sig­nif­i­cant dif­fer­ences that may affect financial state­ments when con­vert­ing from U.S. GAAP to IFRS Standards and vice versa. Focusing on the effective and consistent application of our standards, the IAASB is addressing issues and challenges related to complexity, understandability, scalability and proportionality. This communique details development plans for a separate standard for audits of less complex entities.      

Developments of interest this week are outlined. Chartered Accountants Ireland Chartered Accountants Ireland has updated the Technical and business updates page on our COVID-19 Hub with updates on Financial Reporting implications of Coronavirus. ROI Following public consultation, IAASA has this week issued revised versions of: The Ethical Standard for Auditors (Ireland); certain International Standards on Auditing (Ireland) and the International Standard on Quality Control (Ireland); the Glossary of Terms, which defines the terms used in the Irish auditing framework UK The FRC has published consolidated covid-19 guidance for companies and auditors. The consolidated guidance supersedes all previous FRC guidance for companies and auditors. Europe The European Se­cu­ri­ties and Markets Authority (ESMA) has issued a draft amendment to the European Single Elec­tronic format (ESEF) to update the core taxonomy to the latest updates to IFRSs. International Mark Carney, UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance, has commented on the IFRS Foun­da­tion Trustees' sus­tain­abil­ity con­sul­ta­tion and stresses that he endorses the creation of new IFRS Sus­tain­abil­ity Standards Board (SSB). International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) require auditors to exercise appropriate professional scepticism. But the most common finding in the Financial Reporting Council’s (FRC) audit quality reviews is that audit firms did not challenge the management of audited entities effectively on the significant judgements they had made. Given the prevalence of key findings in this area, the FRC has undertaken a new analysis of its audit quality inspection results to identify recurring themes requiring audit firms’ attention, examples of good practice and to correlate these results with root cause analysis undertaken by the largest UK audit firms. The International Accounting Standards Board (Board) is calling for feedback on the IFRS Standards for group accounting—IFRS 10 Consolidated Financial Statements, IFRS 11 Joint Arrangements and IFRS 12 Disclosure of Interests in Other Entities.

Developments of interest this week are outlined. UK Compelling new research commissioned by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has shown that the development of standards for audit committees would support a more consistent approach to promoting audit quality. The research, conducted by YouGov, involved interviews with Audit Committee Chairs (ACCs) on how they carry out their role. The FRC has issued FRED 77 Draft amendments to FRS 101 Reduced Disclosure Framework – 2020/21cycle which proposes amendments to FRS 101 as a result of its latest annual review. The FRC has launched a consultation on the proposed revision of its review standard for interim financial statements, International Standard for Review Engagement (UK) 2410 (ISRE (UK) 2410) Review of Interim Financial Information Performed by the Independent Auditor of the Entity. The revised UK Corporate Governance Code provides an opportunity for companies to report to their stakeholders in a way that allows them to communicate high-quality information about the way in which their governance functions to deliver a company’s purpose and strategy. Although some companies have embraced the opportunities the revised Code offers, the FRC has found in its Review of Corporate Governance Reporting that this was not consistent across the board. Europe  In their latest podcast, Accountancy Europe speaks to CEO, Olivier Boutellis-Taft, on the importance of corporate governance in paving the way for a sustainable economy. International The IASB has published an exposure draft 'Lease Liability in a Sale and Leaseback (Proposed amendment to IFRS 16)' that aims at clar­i­fy­ing how a seller-lessee should apply the sub­se­quent mea­sure­ment re­quire­ments in IFRS 16 to the lease liability that arises in a sale and leaseback trans­ac­tion. Comments are requested by 29 March 2021. The International Accounting Standards Board (Board) has launched a public consultation on possible new accounting requirements for mergers and acquisitions involving companies within the same group—business combinations under common control.  

Developments of interest this week are outlined. ROI IAASA has recently issued a paper discussing the audit of accounting estimates. IAASA has this week published an Information Note IFRS 8 Operating Segments – Identification of Chief Operating Decision Maker (CODM). UK Audit firms have implemented additional measures to enhance their evaluation of companies’ going concern assessments, since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a Review of completed audits by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC). The FRC has commended all the organisations that worked together to develop the recommendations of the Asset Management Taskforce’s Investing with Purpose report. The government and the FRC have this week published letters to the accounting and audit sectors setting out the UK framework for audit and reporting at the end of the transition period. International The IASB has published PTU/2020/5 IFRS Taxonomy 2020 — 'General Im­prove­ments and Common Practice — IAS 19 'Employee Benefits'. The IASB has issued an analysis of their work plan since it was last revised in October. The IFRS Foun­da­tion has released a pub­li­ca­tion that shows how existing IFRS re­quire­ments require companies to consider cli­mate-re­lated matters when their effect is material to the financial state­ments.  

Developments of interest this week are outlined. Chartered Accountants Ireland Chartered Accountants Ireland has updated the Technical and business updates page on our COVID-19 Hub with updates on Financial Reporting implications of Coronavirus. UK The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has this week published a review of corporate reporting in relation to IAS 7 ‘Cash flow statement’ and the liquidity disclosure requirements in IFRS 7 ‘Financial Instruments: Disclosures’. The UK Endorsement Board and the IASB invite you to a joint outreach event to discuss the Business Combinations: Disclosures, Goodwill and Impairment Discussion Paper on 26 November 2020. Europe The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) has published a report of the progress of its project task force on prepara­tory work for the elab­o­ra­tion of possible EU non-fi­nan­cial reporting standards. Accountancy Europe have issued online Sustainable finance – an inside look an exclusive discussion with the Chair of their Sustainable Finance Group, International The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has started its Post-implementation Review (PiR) of the classification and measurement requirements in IFRS 9 Financial Instruments and has added the PiR as a project to its work plan. On Tuesday 17 November 2020, the IFRS Foundation Trustees hosted two live webinar sessions on their Consultation Paper on Sustainability Reporting. The recordings of both sessions and accompanying slide decks are now available.