Technical Roundup 30 June

In developments this week, IAASA has published a June 2023 edition of Standards Newsletter which includes information on the revision of ISA (Ireland) 600 for group audits and international developments; in the UK, the Department for Business and Trade has launched a new digital service, the Regulated Professions Register (RPR) which provides information about 200 regulated professions in the UK in one place on GOV.UK.

Read more on these and other developments that may be of interest to members below.

Assurance and Audit

Technical Release 01/2023 Safeguarding reporting for payment and electronic money firms has been issued. The purpose of this Technical Release (TR) is to provide assistance to auditors who are engaged by Payment and Electronic Money (E-Money) institutions (the Firms) following a request from the Central Bank of Ireland to carry out an engagement pursuant to a letter to the Firms dated 20 January 2023 and a further communication on 25 May 2023.

IAASA has published a June 2023 edition of Standards Newsletter. It includes information on the revision of ISA (Ireland) 600 for group audits, updates to the CEA guidance note, ethics for auditors in Ireland, proposed revisions to ISA (UK) 505 and international developments.

ISSA 5000 General Requirements for Sustainability Assurance Engagements: The proposed International Standard on Sustainability Assurance 5000 (ISSA 5000) was approved by the IAASB and will be open for public consultation by August.

This proposed standard aims to enhance confidence in sustainability reporting, responds to IOSCO recommendations, and complements the work of other standard setters, including the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants, EFRAG, International Sustainability Standards Board and IFRS Foundation, Global Reporting Initiative, and others.

Once finalized, ISSA 5000 will serve as a comprehensive, stand-alone standard suitable for limited and reasonable sustainability assurance engagements. It will apply to sustainability information reported across any sustainability topic and prepared under multiple frameworks. Moreover, the standard will be profession-agnostic, enabling its use by professional accountants and other professionals performing sustainability assurance engagements.

Sustainability

The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) issued its inaugural standards—IFRS S1 and IFRS S2—on 26 June 2023.  The standards create a common language for disclosing the effect of climate-relates risks and opportunities in companies.

Two webcasts recently hosted by ISSB Vice-Chair Sue Lloyd focus on IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information and articulate how IFRS S1 and IFRS S2 work together, with IFRS S1 setting out the way companies should approach reporting.

The ISSB has also released an article entitled “Ten things to know about the first ISSB Standards”.

EFRAG has welcomed the publication of IFRS S1 and S2, noting that their publication is a major step forward towards a global baseline in sustainability disclosure requirements.

The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has also welcomed the release of the standards and issued an urgent call for the global accountancy profession to drive adoption and use of the standards.

The European Commission (EC) issued the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D) to trigger a behavioural change and hold businesses accountable for the impacts of their operations on environment and human rights.

As the EU institutions are entering the trilogues on the CS3D, an in-person event is being held on 5 July in Brussels at the offices of the European Parliament which will bring together speakers representing the European Parliament, EC, investors, business and civil society to debate key issues and hear their priorities for the negotiations.

The UK Endorsement Board (UKEB) has issued its draft comment letter relating to the ISSB’s recent Request for Information to inform its initial two-year work plan. Comments are requested by 23 July 2023.

The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment is holding a webinar on the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive on Tuesday 4 July at 3pm. The webinar will provide an update on the policy decisions taken following the recent public consultation on member state options, and an update on its transposition plans. Registration is open here.

Financial Reporting

While opening the IFRS Conference 2023, Andreas Barckow, Chair of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) spoke about the role of financial reporting in uncertain times and how the IASB is supporting companies and ensuring investors’ information needs are met. Speaking at the opening of the same event, Emmanuel Faber spoke about the International Sustainability Reporting Standards (ISSB) and the role they will play in the future.

The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group’s (EFRAG) draft comment letter in relation to the IASB’s Exposure Draft 2023/2 Amendments to the Classification and Measurement of Financial Instruments (Proposed amendments to IFRS 9 and IFRS 7) remains open for comment until 30 June 2023.

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has published the Request for Information: Post-implementation Review of IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers. This request for information is intended to inform the upcoming post-implementation review of IFRS 15.

This June IASB Update has been issued which highlights preliminary decisions of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). Projects affected by these decisions can be found on the work plan.

The UKEB has published its Draft Endorsement Criteria Assessment (DECA) on International Tax Reform: Pillar Two Model Rules (Amendments to IAS 12). Comments are requested by 10 July 2023.

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has published new technical actuarial guidance on models (TAS 100), which comes into effect on 1 July 2023.

The FRC Lab has released its latest Insight Report entitles “Disclosure of dividends revisited”.

Anti Money Laundering

Readers with an interest in virtual assets and virtual asset service providers can read the recent report from FATF entitled Targeted update on Implementation of the FATF Standards on Virtual Assets and Virtual Asset Service Providers. FATF writes that this report is the fourth update on global implementation of these requirements, including the travel rule, a key FATF requirement to prevent funds being transferred to sanctioned individuals or entities. The report finds that, four years later, global implementation is poor and remains behind that other sectors and that many jurisdictions have not yet implemented fundamental requirements.

Register of Beneficial Ownership: Following the 2022 judgment of the Court of Justice of the Europe Union, access to the Register of Beneficial Ownership has been severely restricted. New regulations, the European Union (Anti-Money Laundering: Beneficial Ownership of Corporate Entities) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (SI 308 of 2023) have restricted the basis for access to the central register as a matter of legislation. Click here for our recent news item with details.

Other News

Decision Support Service: The Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies - Ireland (CCAB-I), of which Chartered Accountants Ireland is a member, has recently issued Technical Alert 04 2023 Help sheet on the appointment of a Decision-Making Representative under the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015. This help sheet signposts certain features of the Decision Support Service (DSS) as it may relate to the work of our members in their role as a professional accountant.

IAASA Annual Report: The Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment has laid the Authority’s 2022 Annual Report before the Houses of the Oireachtas.  The report provides detail on the many activities undertaken by the Authority in 2022, together with an outline of the strategic actions undertaken by IAASA in the context of its remit to oversee auditing and accounting in Ireland.

Regulated Professions Register launched in the UK: The Department for Business and Trade has launched a new digital service, the Regulated Professions Register (RPR). The RPR provides information about 200 regulated professions in the UK in one place on GOV.UK, and the service is particularly relevant to professionals from overseas seeking to access the UK labour market and also to UK businesses wishing to attract overseas professionals to the UK.  The service signposts individuals to their chosen profession, offers them information about how the profession is regulated and by whom, and provides contact details for the relevant regulator. In launching the service, the Department notes that having this information in one, easily accessible place will make it easier for qualified professionals to navigate the UK labour market, and that it will also be a useful tool to understand more about the UK’s regulatory landscape and the various legislation governing regulated professions. Find out more here.’

The Irish Minister for Finance recently launched a public consultation on Ireland’s funds sector entitled “Funds Sector 2030: A Framework for Open, Resilient & Developing Markets”. The public consultation period will run until 15 September 2023.

Click here for preliminary details from the Central Bank on a Financial System Conference 2023 – “Achieving good outcomes in an uncertain world”. The conference will be held in November 2023 and CBI gives details on its webpage of how to register your interest.