Temporary Assistance Payment Scheme for Nursing Homes (Covid-19)
There is revised wording for accountant certification reports attaching to the Temporary Assistance Payment for Nursing Homes (Covid19) Scheme applications. There were concerns about the previous certification wording, and after engagement with the National Treatment Purchase Fund, a new wording was agreed. Download the revised form.
Suspicious transaction reports
All anti-money laundering suspicious transactions reports (STRs) in Ireland are made to two separate state agencies. The first report is made to the Garda via the Financial Intelligence Unit’s GoAML system. This, once accepted, is downloaded in XML format and re-uploaded via ROS to the Revenue system.
Ireland does not have a single centralised reporting system, unlike the UK and elsewhere. From 7 September 2020, Revenue will refuse any paper-based STRs and all reports must be made via ROS. Follow the process for making an STR to Revenue.
Trustees of defined benefit schemes
The pension authority has issued guidance to trustees of defined benefit pensions on the implementation of the IORP II Directive. Schemes are to be split into three categories based on the risk profile. See the full document.
Parental leave
From 1 September 2020, employees can now take 26 weeks of unpaid parental leave per child, up from the previous 22 weeks.
New auditing standard on risk
ISA (Ireland) 315 (Revised October 2022), Identifying and Assessing the Risks of Material Misstatement, is now available. The effective date of the revised standard is for audits of financial statements for periods beginning on or after 15 December 2021; early adoption is permitted.
National minimum wage
The national minimum wage will increase to €10.20 (from €10.10) per hour from 1 January 2021. The rate is applicable to anybody aged over 20, with a graduated reduction down to 70% for workers younger than 20. There is no longer a ‘trainee rate’.
Annual return data extension
The Companies Registration Office has announced that companies with an annual return date on or after 30 September 2020 now have until 26 February 2021 to complete all aspects of filing their annual return and financial statements. The extension does not apply to companies that have an annual return date earlier than 30 September 2020. This is in addition to the existing extension where annual returns due to be filed by any company between 18 March and 30 September 2020 (previously 31 October) will be deemed to have been filed on time if the B1 is filed by 31 October 2020 and all elements of the annual return are completed and filed by the date on the signature page, which should be 28 days from the date that the B1 was filed.
Covid Restrictions Support Scheme (CRSS)
The new scheme, announced by Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe in his Budget speech, will pay up to €5,000 per week to a hospitality business closed due to pandemic restrictions. At the time, the minister said that the scheme would provide a ‘cash payment in respect of an advance credit for trading expenses for the period of the restrictions’. This means that the subsidy is a taxable payment. While the immediate cashflow will be welcomed by business, the government may recoup up to half the amount back in the form of increased taxes in the future.
Remote working
Most ACCA members will be working at home at present and may be contemplating claiming the e-working tax credit. The inclusion in the budget of broadband costs to the list of allowable utility bills means an additional tax credit of approximately €50 for the year for somebody working at home full time and paying for fibre broadband. The running costs for every house will differ, but if your utilities are running at €3,000 a year and you work full time from home, then the e-working credit is worth about €200 a year. If you claim the credit, then you must retain all your utility bills to support the claim in an event of an audit.
Example audit reports
The Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority has issued a compendium of illustrative audit reports. The examples include standard FRS 102, 105 and IFRS financial statements, industrial and provident societies, abridged financial statements and revised financial statements.
