Longer spring days also mean that exam season is also slowly approaching! Here is an update on what's happening in CAP1, CAP2 and FAE education programmes this March Dates for your diary: CAP1 and CAP2 in-person student events 2023 Our academic programmes kicked off last September and October with in-person student networking events, and we're pleased to announce another series of in-person events for our CAP1 and CAP2 students. On Friday, 24 March, CAP1 and CAP2 combined events will take place in Belfast, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Kilkenny (venues TBC). Our Dublin event takes place on Saturday, 1 April.  We'll have presentations on exam preparation, e-assessment technique and getting the most from study leave at the events.   There will also be guest speakers who will help you look after your well-being during stressful periods, and you'll meet regional representatives from CASSI.  At the time of writing, email invitations to CAP1 and CAP2 students are due to go out shortly. We look forward to seeing you there! FAE in-person dates and venues are to come. Sample papers The Education team has released some additional support for CAP1 and CAP2 exams.  'Sample papers' (accompanied by solutions) are full, exam-standard PDF scripts that allow you to attempt a full paper in exam conditions and duration.   If you undertake each sample paper in MS Word over the coming months, you'll quickly find out how well-prepared you are.  There are four sample papers for every subject examined, and they are now available on the Institute website. FAE sample papers will be available soon. Practice papers For additional exam preparation, the Exams team is also providing a practice paper to assist with exam technique.  For this, we take one of the sample papers and upload it to the exam platform, Cirrus. Before going into your practice papers, please view all the explanatory videos on e-assessments, available on the exams section of the Institute website.  Once you access the practice paper, you can address the exam questions just as you will in the summer exams (bar the invigilation that will be present on exam day).  You'll learn how to navigate the paper, switch from exam questions to the answer window, how to insert tables, add rows and view additional resources.   A practice paper will be available for each main subject across all programmes, starting with CAP1. You will have a maximum of four attempts on the practice paper. We recommend using two attempts before the mock exams and two afterwards.  Remember, once you enter and close out the practice paper, that constitutes one attempt, so use them carefully.    Mock exams Another important support you should take advantage of is the mock examination.  CAP1 will start in April, followed by CAP2 in May. (More information on the Institute website.)  The mock exams are online, and exams may be sat during a time window when it suits you.   You'll use Cirrus, just like you will during the summer exam, but without the invigilation and with the ability to self-mark your own exam script.  Exam paper solutions and lecturer recordings of those solutions will be available as soon as the mock exam windows close.  The mocks are fantastic preparation for your main exams. Please put these dates into your diaries and plan to undertake the mocks now.   FAE update  The second (and last) material release for FAE Electives takes place on Wednesday, 1 March, when all FAE content (bar Integrated Case Day support materials) will be available.  Finally, a reminder to all FAE students: all students must attend a minimum of five out of seven Integrated Case Days – otherwise, you can't sit your FAE exams. Watching them back as recordings does not count as attendance. The Integrated Case Days are a practical way of preparing to answer in FAE question format.  Don't hesitate to contact us by email at CAP1 / CAP2 / FAE@charteredaccountants.ie and use the discussion forums for all your academic queries.  Bryan Rankin is the Head of Student Operations at Chartered Accountants Ireland

With four examinable tax heads on the Tax Syllabus, getting them correct on exam day can be challenging. Philip Nicolls lets you in on the secret to getting them right The CAP1 Tax syllabus spans income tax (IT), corporation tax (CT), capital gains tax (CGT) and value-added tax (VAT). Getting to grips with all four tax heads is quite a challenge.   A quick read through recent examiner reports highlights that while many candidates differentiate the separate taxes, some confuse the rules for each tax under exam pressure.  Often this includes some of the more fundamental aspects, and candidates lose relatively easy marks. These basic aspects include: The rate of tax applicable; The due dates for filing and payment; and The rules relating to add-back deductions for IT vs CT – candidates often apply the IT rules in their CT computation. It was tempting to simply include three reference tables in this article showing the information for these three aspects across the relevant tax heads. However, the CAP1 exams are closed book, and getting the information from a table is the least effective way to understand and memorise it. Instead, I challenge you to take an hour to prepare the three tables yourself using your lecture slides and textbook. You should: Detail each of the three aspects, including a list of all the common add-backs and deductions; Add a column for each relevant tax head; and Populate your table with the correct rate/date/treatment. Repeat this technique before your mock exam and spend a few seconds reviewing it every time you study tax. When you sit your mock exam, answer these questions from memory.  I guarantee that researching and preparing the information yourself will make it much more memorable. Good luck with your CAP1 Tax paper in May. Please don’t miss out on any of those easy marks! Philip Nicolls is Paper Development & Syllabus Manager at Chartered Accountants Ireland

Some CAP1 candidates will soon sit their first professional exam. There are steps students can take to ensure their first exam is a successful one, says Garret Mulvin  You have undoubtedly received plenty of guidance and materials to help you navigate your CAP1 journey. At this point, however, a reminder of the critical components of exam success is worth reviewing for all CAP1 candidates. All students preparing for the upcoming CAP1 exams from 22 to 26 May are here on merit and, regardless of the educational route to Chartered Accountants Ireland, are well placed to take on the challenge.  While there is a noticeable step-up to professional exams, how to achieve the magical passing score of 50 percent on any CAP1 exam paper is not a mystery. Exam-focused preparation Engaging with the learning hub, attending webinars and reviewing question banks have been a central and vital part of your CAP1 experience.  Ultimately, however, each CAP1 subject will present candidates with a three-hour challenge during exam week. Four sample papers are available for each subject that reflect that challenge, and students should practice with these as soon as possible.   It is one thing to be able to calculate a cost of capital, complete a variance analysis, prepare a tax computation or finalise a statement of cash flow—it is an entirely different challenge to do this under exam conditions.  Put the phone away, close the study-room door behind you and remove the solution from view until you have completed your attempt.  You may get a shock the first time you attempt a sample question (not to mention a paper!) under exam conditions. You will likely be uncertain and hesitant, make many mistakes and run well over the allotted time. Don’t be discouraged by this – it is essential to your exam preparation journey! Learn from it, understand where you went wrong, and prepare to attempt another similar question.  Practice on Cirrus All Chartered Accountants Ireland exams are taken on Cirrus, the e-assessment platform. Practice papers are available to students on Cirrus.  It is essential to become familiar with the functionality and feel of the e-assessment platform. Navigating between questions, creating tables, and flagging incomplete questions you wish to return to are just a flavour of some of the functions that must become second nature for all students.  This is especially relevant at CAP1, where most candidates do not have the benefit of having taken a main exam on Cirrus in the past. Ensure you engage with these practice papers well in advance of your exams. Mock exams As you know, practice and preparation are essential for passing your exams.  Any exam can be a nerve-wracking experience, regardless of how prepared candidates may be. Mock exams can serve as a confidence-building exercise, help you control the nerves, improve your exam technique and, ultimately, maximise your performance on exam day.  Remember – there is no such thing as doing a bad mock.  Time management Exam technique is essential to your CAP1 preparations, and time management is a huge part of that. In the Exams Department at Chartered Accountants Ireland, we work closely with the examiners to ensure that the entire allocated time (three hours per CAP1 paper) is necessary to complete all requirements. Because of this, time management must be central to your studies.  A CAP1 student has approximately 1.8 minutes for each available mark on the paper. With discipline and practice, your time taken per question will fall, and your chances of exam success will increase.  In the exam itself, once you’ve used the suggested completion time on a particular question, finish up and move on to the next one. Years of feedback from our marking teams tell us that you will undoubtedly get a better return by moving on to the next question rather than spending too long on the current one.  Time management is a skill that needs to be practised. Appropriately managing your time ensures you will attempt all required parts of an exam paper, thus significantly increasing your chances of securing a passing score. Be e-prepared Ensure that both you and your equipment are ready for e-assessment. The links below provide important information for all students. How to get started:  https://www.charteredaccountants.ie/Current-Student/Exams/E-assessment-info/How-to-start  FAQs: https://www.charteredaccountants.ie/Current-Student/Exams/E-assessment-info/Exams-FAQ   Garret Mulvin is in the Examination Executive-Paper Development Unit at Chartered Accountants Ireland

Remote work has given trainee accountants a lot of freedom. However, that freedom comes with some challenges that can be overcome with balance, says Jack Deignan It’s easy to list the obvious joys of remote work. The increased levels of flexibility in daily routines, the total elimination of the pains of the commute and the comfort to be found in working from your own home.  There’s also something to be said of the lack of pressure that working from home allows. There is no expectation to get out of your pyjamas, and you can take solace in knowing your favourite mug is just down the hall.  It can be much easier to get into the rhythm of the day if you just need to walk from your bed to your desk.  Work and study challenges However, working remotely is not without its challenges.  The lack of social cohesion in teams when everyone works from home can impact performance. It’s also difficult to foster a sense of comradery if every interaction is facilitated through a screen.  Learning on the job has also become more difficult in some cases. It’s almost always more beneficial to ask someone to explain something face-to-face.  The same goes for studying. When the pressure is on, it can feel isolating to be away from people who are going through the same kind of juggling act between work, study and life. A proper balance Working remotely has created an opportunity to reflect on what is gained and lost when given a chance to work from home.  We must balance our work and study while utilising the advantages of remote working. When working from home, you can get lost in a task and continue working more than what would be considered healthy for proper work-life balance. It’s important to remember to take breaks—go for a walk, get a coffee and don’t worry about going to the GP or running to the post office if needed. Similarly, studying can take over your life when you don’t have people around you that can keep you in check. Take the initiative to meet fellow trainees for a study session at the office or a local café.  Alternatively, set up a Teams or Zoom study call, so you don’t have to leave home but still have a study group. Having flexibility doesn't mean forgetting when the work and study day ends—it means you get some of that time back for yourself. Enjoy it. Jack Deignan is a Risk Assurance Associate at PwC  

Please join us in Chartered Accountants House on 29 March for some free, in-person events to mark the Periodic Review of FRS 102, FRS 105 and other UK and Irish accounting standards. In December of last year, the FRC released  FRED 82 Draft amendments to FRS 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland and other FRSs. This Financial Reporting Exposure Draft (FRED) forms part of the periodic review of the standards which happens approximately every five years. The FRED is now open to consultation and comments are requested by the FRC by 30 April 2023. We are delighted to be welcoming Jenny Carter and Stephen Maloney from the FRC to Dublin for two events to help inform members on the proposed changes. From 12:30 to 13:30 they will be giving a summary of the key changes proposed to the standards in their Summary presentation    If you would like to hear more about the proposed changes, including changes to lease accounting and revenue recognition, they will also be holding some Roundtables from 14:00 to 16:15 Members are invited to attend the presentation and roundtables. If you want to register for these you can do so using the above links.

Welcome to this week’s Technical Roundup.  In developments this week, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has published a myth buster to dispel common misconceptions about Corporate Governance and Stewardship; the National Crime Agency (NCA) in the UK has published its first SARs (Suspicious Activity Reports) Booklet of 2023 which showcases further positive feedback from law enforcement agencies and includes a number of case studies highlighting excellent outcomes derived from SARs. Read more on these and other developments that may be of interest to members below. FRS 102 Periodic Review- Meet the FRC Please join us in Chartered Accountants House on 29 March for some free, in-person events to mark the Periodic Review of FRS 102, FRS 105 and other UK and Irish accounting standards. In December 2022, the FRC Published FRED 82, which contains the proposed amendments to UK and Irish accounting standards. These include some significant changes in the areas of Revenue and Leasing. These events will help attendees understand the proposed changes, with presentations from the FRC and include a summary presentation and roundtable sessions. Financial Reporting The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group’s (EFRAG) draft comment letter in response to the IASB’s Exposure Draft 2023/1 International Tax Reform—Pillar Two Model Rules (Proposed Amendments to IAS 12) remains open for comment until 27 February 2023. Sustainability The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) has issued its February 2023 update and podcast. The meeting, amongst other matters, focused on redeliberating the Exposure Drafts IFRS S1 General Sustainability-related Disclosures (draft S1) and IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures (draft S2) and to decide whether to begin the balloting process for IFRS S1 and IFRS S2. The ISSB discussed the sources of guidance an entity would use to identify sustainability-related risks and opportunities, and related disclosures and tentatively decided that the effective date of IFRS S1 and IFRS S2 would be effective for annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2024, and that early adoption would be possible. The ISSB will now commence the balloting process and expects to issue the Standards towards the end of the second quarter of 2023. Anti-Money laundering/Sanctions The Temporary Protection Directive (Council Directive 2001/55/EC) was activated for the first time by the E.U Council on 4 March 2022. Under it, the Irish Dept. of Justice began granting temporary protection to persons fleeing the war in Ukraine on 9 March 2022. To date some 75,000 people have been given temporary protection in Ireland and the Dept. recently announced that it was extending the temporary protection for another 12 months to March 2024. You can read more about this extension of temporary protection on the Dept of Justice’s website. The National Crime Agency (NCA) in the UK has published its first SARs Reporter Booklet of 2023. The NCA writes that the booklet showcases further positive feedback from law enforcement Agencies and includes a number of case studies highlighting excellent outcomes derived from SARs. You can access the SARs Reporter Booklet here. A revised and updated 'Guidance on Submitting Better Quality SARs' from the UKFIU has been published and is available on the National Crime Agency (NCA) website. It aims to provide all reporters with guidance on how to submit better quality SARs to the NCA and the booklet should be read in conjunction with guidance found on the NCA website https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/. Governance and stewardship The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has published a mythbuster to dispel common misconceptions about Corporate Governance and Stewardship. The document addresses several frequently asked questions, such as:  What is corporate governance? What do we mean by stewardship? Does the Corporate Governance code give the FRC powers to enforce against Directors? Protected Disclosures amendment legislation Readers may recall that the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Act 2022 was signed into law in July 2022 and commenced on 1 January 2023.The  Dept of Public Expenditure (DPER ) has a useful webpage with information on the legislation. The DPER protected disclosures webpage has recently been updated by the addition of a further booklet (to the two already there) on “Protected Disclosures Act Key messages for workers”. Other Areas of Interest Readers may be interested in the “Dear CEO letter “issued recently by the Irish Central Bank (CBI). It sets out some detail of CBI’s regulatory and supervisory priorities for 2023 including authorisation processes, Individual Accountability Framework and supervising firms’ compliance with Anti Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism obligations and administering and enforcing financial sanctions. For further technical information and updates please visit the Technical Hub on the Institute website.    

The Minister for Justice, Simon Harris, has confirmed that he considers it no longer appropriate to keep the Immigrant Investment Programme (IIP) open. The Ireland IIP was established in 2012 to allow wealthy individuals and families from outside the European Union to obtain residency in Ireland in exchange for making an approved investment in the Irish economy. Although permanent residence is not offered by the program, once the appropriate conditions are met residency permission could be extended every few years for an indefinite period. The Ireland IIP does not officially provide Irish citizenship by investment, but long-term residency in Ireland can be used to support a citizenship application under the country's naturalization rules. Although the government granted a three-month grace period in limited exceptions, applications will no longer be accepted after 15 February 2023. Further information is available here.

Revenue has updated the Tax and Duty Manual for qualifying health expenses relating to certain illnesses. The updated manual includes the flat rate expense amount allowable regarding certain kidney patients and children with life threatening illnesses. The examples throughout the manual have also been updated to refer to the current year of assessment.

Revenue has updated the Share Schemes Manual relating to growth shares, to include updated examples and provide a link to comprehensive guidance on filing the employer return.

Revenue has updated the Stamp Duty Tax and Duty Manual for relief for leases of farmland to reflect recent developments. Section 81D SDCA1999 provides for relief from stamp duty (subject to State aid rules) in respect of certain leases of farmland executed (signed, sealed or both) on or after 1 July 2018. In order to qualify for the relief, a farmer must either hold a relevant agricultural qualification or spend a specified amount of time farming. Finance Act 2022 inserted a new section 654A in the Taxes Consolidation Act (TCA) 1997, which streamlines how agricultural qualifications are listed and updated for the purposes of various tax relief schemes, including relief on certain leases of farmland.

Welcome to this week’s Technical Roundup.  In developments this week, following public consultation, IAASA has issued a revised version of ISA (Ireland) 600 Special Considerations – Audits of Group Financial Statements (Including the Work of Component Auditors) and conforming amendments; the Financial Reporting Council has announced an increase in the number of signatories to the UK Stewardship Code following the publication of its updated list. Read more on these and other developments that may be of interest to members below. Financial Reporting The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) has released a podcast on its recent discussion paper Accounting for variable consideration – from a purchaser’s perspective. EFRAG has also released a summary report on its recent conference entitled “Where is Corporate Reporting heading?” Auditing IAASA issues a revised version of ISA (Ireland) 600 Following public consultation, IAASA has issued a revised version of ISA (Ireland) 600 Special Considerations – Audits of Group Financial Statements (Including the Work of Component Auditors) and conforming amendments. https://iaasa.ie/iaasa-issues-a-revised-version-of-isa-ireland-600/ Sustainability The Financial Conduct Authority in the UK has recently published a discussion paper on finance for positive sustainable change: governance, incentives and competence in regulated firms. The paper does not make any concrete proposals in terms of new regulatory rules, but it seeks views on how firms should develop their arrangements for governance, incentives and competence in sustainability. The FCA has requested responses to the paper by 10 May 2023. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment is holding a series of free events for businesses which will highlight the opportunities and challenges presented by digital transformation and decarbonisation. The first event will be hosted in the North-West on Friday 3rd March and is open for businesses based in Donegal, Leitrim and Sligo. You can read more and register here. Small businesses and entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to sample hundreds of events helping them to start or grow their business as part of this year’s Local Enterprise Week which takes place from March 6th to 10th. Click here to read more about it and here for more details of the events  including spotlight events for example one on Green, Sustainability & Competitiveness on Thursday 9th March from 2.30pm to 3.30pm. Insolvency The Institute recently hosted a webinar on Options for directors in financial difficulty. It outlined 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 was also discussion on the recent insolvency related changes to Companies Act 2014 on the expansion of directors’ duties and a Q&A session. The recording can be accessed here. Sanctions/cybercrime The UK government recently sanctioned seven people said to be part of a Russia-based cybercrime gang under the UK’s thematic cyber sanctions regime pursuant to The Cyber (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020. In conjunction OFSI also published Guidance on Ransomware and Financial Sanctions and you can read the UK Government press release here . The European Union this week announced that it is considering its 10th package of sanctions against Russia. Click here to read the press release on the proposed 10th package. They propose to further restrict the export of dual use and advanced tech goods and to add third country entities to the Russia dual use sanctions. They will also look at setting up an overview of all frozen assets of the Russian central bank held in the EU and will look to tackle circumvention of sanctions. We will bring further news of the sanctions when available. The European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) and CERT-EU, which is the Computer Emergency Response Team of all the EU institutions, bodies and agencies (EUIBAs), have issued a joint publication to alert on sustained activity by particular threat actors which they say pose a significant and ongoing threat to the European Union. Click here to go to the ENISA webpage where you can access a copy of the publication and the recommendations in it. Other Areas of Interest The FRC has announced an increase in the number of signatories to the UK Stewardship Code following the publication of its updated list. The list now includes successful applicants who submitted their reports at the end of October 2022. The regulator received 105 applications, of which 88 were successful, taking the total number of signatories to 254, up from 235 in September last year. This includes 179 asset managers, 58 asset owners and 17 service providers. The additional signatories bring the total assets under management of the list to £46.4tn, up from £40.7tn. The European Central Bank recently issued its ECB February 2023 Supervision newsletter where there a number of topics readers may find of interest including a piece from the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland on whether banks are overregulated, an article on crypto-assets: a new standard for banks and an article on banks’ digital transformation. Section 225 of the Companies Act 2014 introduced a requirement for a directors’ compliance statement (DCS) into Irish law. Now that the DCS has been operational for several years, the Company Law Review Group (CLRG) is reviewing it to determine its effectiveness in achieving compliance and its usability and, if appropriate, to make recommendations as to how these might be enhanced in the interest of good corporate governance. Readers may know that the CLRG is a statutory advisory expert body charged with advising the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment on the review and development of company law in Ireland. The CLRG has issued two surveys, a directors’ survey and a practitioners’ survey, to get feedback from directors of affected companies and practitioners (auditors, financial directors, solicitors, and so on) who are involved in the preparation of the annual DCS. Please see here for more information from DETE on the review . Please access the directors’ survey here. Please access the practitioners’ survey here. The closing date is 28 February 2023. DETE's February 2023 Enterprise newsletter is now available. It contains information on the survey referred to in the preceding paragraph and a number of consultations which DETE is currently involved in including the consultation on which we brought you details in the last few weeks seeking the views of interested parties on the member state options in the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive. As a reminder of the details you can click here for a recent Institute news item with some more information on the Directive. The Irish Minister for Justice this week obtained approval from Government to close the Immigrant Investor Programme (IIP) to further applications from close of business on 15 February 2023. He said that all programmes are kept under review and the Government has also taken on board a number of reports and findings from international bodies such as the EU Commission, Council of Europe and OECD on similar investment programmes. You can read more in the press release from the Dept of Justice website. For further technical information and updates please visit the Technical Hub on the Institute website.  

The Minister for Finance, Michael McGrath, has urged tenants who are eligible for the Rent Tax Credit to make their claims without delay. While 137,697 people have already successfully claimed the credit for 2022, the Department of Finance estimates the up to 400,000 tenants may be eligible to claim the relief. The rent tax credit is valued at up to €500 per person, or €1,000 in the case of a jointly assessed couple, and is available for the 2022 to 2025 years of assessment inclusive. As previously outlined, PAYE taxpayers can claim the 2022 rent tax credit by filing a Form 12 via MyAccount PAYE Services, while self-assessed taxpayers can claim the rent tax credit when filing their Form 11 via ROS. In addition, PAYE taxpayers have the option of claiming their 2023 rent tax credit in 2023 by using Revenue’s Real Time Credit facility. Commenting, the Minister said: “The Rent Tax Credit was introduced in Budget 2023 as a means to help renters deal with the rising cost of living. This tax credit is different to most as it applies retrospectively for 2022 as well as going forward to 2025. To date, 137,697 claims have been made in respect of rent paid in 2022. The vast majority of those taxpayers will have received a refund of €500 paid directly into their bank accounts. This is very welcome given that for many, the cost of living pressures are most acute at the beginning of the year. I would strongly urge tenants who have not already done so, and who are eligible for the Rent Tax Credit, to complete their 2022 tax returns through Revenue’s myAccount without delay so they can claim the refund, and any other tax refunds that they may be due.”