The Institute has revised the Audit Regulations UK which set out the requirements for Institute firms and responsible individuals registered for audit in the UK, with effective date 1 October 2024.  The most important revision for UK audit firms relates to audit firm eligibility.  Audit firm eligibility – majority and voting rights The Audit Regulations, UK are updated to improve alignment with the UK Companies Act 2006 and the FRC Eligibility Criteria. The definitions of ‘majority’ and ‘voting rights’ for the purposes of determining the control of an audit firm have been clarified, and the guidance has been expanded.  Firms may be affected where a ‘super-majority’ (more than 50%) is required for certain decisions of the firm to take effect – in those cases firms will need to ensure that the relevant ‘super-majority’ of voting rights is held by appropriately qualified persons where those decisions direct the overall policy of the firm or alter its constitution.  The FRC issued a position paper in this regard in August 2024.     As some firms may need a period of time to effect necessary governance changes a transition period of 6 months has been incorporated so that these particular rules take effect from 1 April 2025.  Firms are reminded of the requirement to inform the Institute promptly in relation to changes to the firm’s structure, ownership or constitution in accordance with Audit Regulation 2.11.   The Audit Regulations UK are issued jointly by Chartered Accountants Ireland, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS).  ICAEW has published some useful FAQs in relation to the Audit Regulations UK and clarified eligibility criteria. Firms with any questions about the application of these revised definitions to their firm should contact the Institute at authorisations@charteredaccountants.ie Other changes to the Audit Regulations UK (all effective from 1 October 2024) include: Recognition of overseas audit qualifications Revisions have been made to reflect the provisions of the Professional Qualifications Act 2022 for the steps which professional bodies, including the Institute, have to take to recognise third country qualifications where there was agreement between the UK and the relevant third country.  These steps include requiring an adaptation period and/or aptitude test.  To date, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein are specified states under the Professional Qualifications Act.  The Professional Qualifications Act provisions are in addition to the role of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) under section 1221 of the Companies Act 2006 to recognise certain third country qualifications.  The countries where the qualification has been approved in that regard by the FRC are set out on the FRC website on this link. Changes to the Audit Regulations UK in this regard include: ·new definition ‘adaptation period’, ·new definition ‘Professional Qualifications Act’, updated definition of ‘appropriate qualification’, and, updated guidance in chapter 4 regarding applications for responsible individual (RI) status. Changes to the Institute’s affiliate requirements: The Institute has made changes to its approach to affiliates such that there is a single affiliate status across all Institute regulations replacing multiple categories of affiliate.  Therefore, distinct categories such as ‘audit affiliate’ are replaced by ‘affiliate’ and this is reflected in the revised Audit Regulations, UK.  The requirements for Institute affiliates are set out in chapter 7 of the Institute’s Public Practice Regulations.    There is no longer any exemption from affiliate status for members of particular bodies – the overall requirement is that a principal at an Institute firm who is not a member of the Institute should be an affiliate of the Institute.  From the perspective of the Audit Regulations UK this means that the current exemption from affiliate requirements for ICAEW, ICAS and ACCA members who are principals at an Institute registered audit firm is removed. CPD obligations Additional material has been added at regulations 3.17 and 3.17A to clarify the obligations of UK audit firms and responsible individuals (RIs) in relation to CPD requirements – now more closely aligned with the Audit Regulations, Ireland. Guidance ISQM 1   At chapter 3 of the Audit Regulations UK, guidance in relation to quality management standards has been updated to reflect ISQM 1 instead of the previous standard, ISQC 1.  Also, the somewhat out of date guidance (Part 2, chapter 2) in relation to ‘Audit compliance reviews’ (ACR) has been removed.  It is considered that the relevant content is sufficiently contained within the ISQM 1 standard.   Amalgamation with CPA Ireland   A new paragraph has been added to guidance at regulations 2.03, 4.01 and 4.04 to draw attention to the amalgamation between the Institute and CPA Ireland on 1 September 2024 and the status of CPA qualifications in the UK (which is unchanged by the amalgamation). Future proposed changes to the Audit Regulations UK. In recent months, the attention of members was drawn to further proposed changes to the Audit Regulations UK as set out in a public consultation hosted by ICAEW.   That consultation (closed on 6 September) proposes to make changes to the UK Audit Regulations which would require UK audit registered firms to notify their registering body when they are appointed as auditors to certain entities. The consultation is available to read here.   Feedback received during the consultation period will be taken into consideration in the finalisation of next amendments to the Audit Regulations UK which are expected during 2025. Any queries in relation to the current or proposed revisions to the Audit Regulations UK can be directed to professionalstandards@charteredaccountants.ie

Australian Society Chair Cliff Wilson, Wilson Select and committee member Paul Minton, Lemon Talent are ideally positioned to offer advice to members who are considering a move to Australia. In this short video they discuss the to do's and what not to do if you are thinking about going down under! Watch the video here.

Sligo Chamber Of Commerce budget breakfast is back with member Martin Coggins providing a briefing on next years budget. The event will take place from 7.30am to 9am on Wednesday, 2 October at the Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa, Sligo This event is free for our members, but booking is essential. Book here.    

Not even torrential ran could dampen the spirits of the race goers at our summer visit to Sligo Races. This sell out event was a huge hit for everyone with winners on and off the track! Photos are available to view here.

Well done to all who supported the Chartered Accountants Ireland team at the Ireland Funds Global 5k run on Saturday 21 September. Funds raised will help good causes across Ireland and Australia. Photo's of the live runs in Sydney and Brisbane are available to view here.

The international community has taken another step in ensuring fairer international tax arrangements (particularly for developing countries) with the implementation of the Pillar Two Subject to Tax Rule (STR).   The STR ensures a minimum level of taxation on relevant cross-border payments and aims to prevent circumstances where income is either taxed at rates below 9 percent or not taxed at all due to differences in tax regimes across jurisdictions. The STR particularly benefits developing countries as such jurisdictions are often the source of significant outbound payments.  

The Annual Report on Taxation (previously known as ‘Tax policies in the European Union’) has been published annually by the European Commission since 2016. The report is a detailed analysis of tax systems and taxation policy across the EU. The report assesses progress on tax policies both at Member State level and at EU level and forms the basis for discussion on the present and future of EU tax policy. 

We set out below a range of miscellaneous updates to the following manuals:    Life Assurance Companies - Return of Payments   Jobs and Pensions Service User Manual  PAYE Services: Manage your tax     Life Assurance Companies - Return of Payments (Part 26-06-02)  This manual has been updated as follows:  Links to relevant regulations and legislation have been inserted,  Guidance on submitting returns has been updated,  Contact details for the relevant area of Revenue have been updated, and  Minor updates and clarifications throughout the manual.    Jobs and Pensions Service User Manual (Part 42-04-64)  This manual has been updated as follows:  Screenshots throughout the manual have been updated,  In section 2.1, the instructions for adding an additional job have been removed,  In section 2.2.1, the list of payments for which taxpayers must enter the weekly payment amount now includes three additional payments, and  In section 4, the reference to a second/subsequent job has been removed.    PAYE Services: Manage Your Tax (Part 38-06-04)  This manual has been updated as follows:  The screenshots throughout the manual have been updated, and  Details in relation to tax credits that can be claimed/edited/deleted have been updated. 

In this week’s EU exit corner, we bring you the latest guidance updates and publications relevant to EU exit. The most recent Trader Support Service bulletin is also available as is the latest Brexit and Beyond newsletter from the Northern Ireland Assembly EU Affairs Team. HMRC has sent an email setting out an update on the implementation of the Windsor Framework which confirms that the next step in the Windsor Framework (WF) has been delayed until 31 March 2025 hence the new arrangements for parcels and freight movements will now not take effect from next week. From 31 March 2025 (and not 30 September 2024), the green lane will broaden to all UK Internal Market Scheme authorised traders. Full international customs requirements for traders will be removed and simplified procedures will apply. This will specifically affect parcels moving from GB to NI. However, the next step in labelling requirements under the Northern Ireland Retail Movement Scheme will commence from 1 October 2024. We also set out the next phase in the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM). Next phase in BTOM As we approach the end of September, it is now just a short time before the next stage in the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) commences. From 31 October 2024, phase three of the BTOM commences. From this date, safety and security declarations for EU imports into the UK will come into force. Alongside this, the UK will introduce a reduced dataset for imports. The goal is to reduce duplication in customs declarations. More information and guidance from the UK Government has also been published on the next stage in the WF as follows: Trading and moving goods in and out of Northern Ireland, Check if you can apply for the UK Carrier Scheme, Sending parcels to and from Northern Ireland, Apply for authorisation for the UK Internal Market Scheme if you bring goods into Northern Ireland, Future arrangements for moving parcels from Great Britain to Northern Ireland under the Windsor Framework, and Apply for the UK Carrier Scheme. Miscellaneous updates to guidance and publications Get help using example declarations for imports to Great Britain from the rest of the world Bringing commercial goods into Great Britain in your baggage Apply for approval to import duty-paid excise goods from EU countries into Northern Ireland, bought in an EU member state, as a Tax Representative

Minster for Finance, Jack Chambers, last week published the report of the independent examination of the Standard Fund Threshold (SFT). Following this review, the Government will implement phased increases in the SFT of €200,000 per year beginning in 2026 until 2029; after which the level of SFT will move with the applicable level of wage growth.    The SFT is the limit on the total capital value of an individual’s pension pot before unfavourable tax consequences are realised and has remained at €2 million for the past 10 years.   The Institute, under the auspices of the CCAB-I, responded to the public consultation on the SFT regime in December 2023 and recommended that the SFT should be increased in line with inflation as well as harmonising the treatment of public and private sector pensions when the SFT is breached.   The Minister also confirmed that there would be no change to the rate of chargeable excess tax (CET), currently 40 percent, but that this would be reviewed in 2030.  In relation to lump sums, the threshold for the higher rate of taxation to apply to a pension lump sum will be limited to €500,000 rather than a proportion of the SFT and this change will be introduced in Budget 2025.   Read the Minister's statement announcing the changes.  

In this week’s miscellaneous updates, we bring you news of changes to corporation tax correspondence and the latest Agent Update is available. HMRC has sent a further email on the new alcohol duty digital service and a new guideline for compliance GFC7 Help with Common Risks in Transfer Pricing Approaches has been published. The latest schedule of HMRC live and recorded webinars for tax agents is also available for booking. Spaces are limited, so take a look now and save your place. And finally, check HMRC’s online services availability page for details of planned downtime and the online services affected. Agent Update: Issue 123 The latest Agent Update is available. Get guidance from HMRC if you're a tax agent or an adviser on the following: what an authorised agent can do on a client’s behalf, change of bank details for the Customs Declaration Service, change of bank details for HMRC, machine games duty and gaming duty, and register for Self-Assessment by 5‌‌‌ October‌‌‌ 2024. HMRC changes corporation tax correspondence From the beginning of this month, HMRC is no longer sending corporation tax return and instalment payment reminders, interest statements, or payment receipts. From October 2024, it will no longer send the company’s appointed agent a list of issued notices to deliver a company tax return. There are also plans to trial not sending some return and payment reminders. More information is available in the August 2024 Agent Update.

Revenue has become aware of a recent spate of fraudulent emails and texts purporting to have been sent by Revenue. The communications seek personal information and financial information in connection with a tax or wage subsidy refund. Revenue has reiterated that it never sends emails or texts seeking personal information from taxpayers. Revenue has directed taxpayers to its security page for further information.