Charity audit exemption
Charities are legally entitled to audit exemption on the same basis as normal for-profit companies – by qualifying as small under the Companies Act limits. However, to obtain and retain a charity tax registration number, the charity is required to submit to an audit once its turnover exceeds €100,000.
A recent amendment to Revenue’s manual for online applications for tax exemption by charities and sports bodies increases that turnover limit to €250,000. It states: ‘The latest financial accounts must be signed by two trustees if the annual income is less than €250,000 and must be audited and signed by the body’s external auditor if the annual income is greater than €250,000.’
Future skills
The government has published a report on future skills requirements in Ireland’s international financial services sector to 2027. The report identifies that the ‘current level of supply of candidates at various qualification levels will be insufficient to meet the skills needs of the industry’. What’s more, the employment potential is expected to ‘expand by between 5,900 and 9,300 persons’ to create a total employment demand of between 59,000 and 62,500 persons by 2027. Sustainability is identified as ‘a key new horizontal skill requirement’ for everybody in the sector.
The report recommends: the establishment of a national oversight group; the collaboration of sector stakeholders in developing a world-class skills framework; a single national portal for skills training; and the enhanced provision and promotion of upskilling and reskilling opportunities. Other recommendations include the promotion of diversity and inclusion in the sector, stronger promotion of apprenticeship programmes, and closer collaboration between the sector and education providers.
Audit monitoring
The March edition of the quarterly guidance from the ACCA audit monitoring team covers what to expect from a monitoring review. The guidance includes the list of documents to have ready for a monitoring visit.
The sixth anti-money laundering directive has additional controls over ‘ultra rich’ individuals
Credit unions
The Central Bank of Ireland has recently published its report on the financial conditions of credit unions. It provides an update on the financial performance and position of the sector for the financial year ended 30 September 2023.
Money laundering
The sixth anti-money laundering directive will shortly be formally adopted by the European Council. Its provisions include a limit of €10,000 on cash transactions (except between private individuals in a non-professional context), and additional controls over ‘ultra rich individuals’ (total wealth of at least €50m excluding their main residence).
Dalata decision
The Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority (IAASA) has published its decision on financial reporting matters at Dalata Hotel Group. The regulator has been critical of the proceeds from the sale of residential units being accounted for as revenue in the Dalata Hotel Group 31 December 2022 annual financial statements. Dalata owns or leases 53 hotels and had revenue in 2022 of €558m.
As part of its total revenue, Dalata disclosed it had ‘development contract fulfilment revenue of €42.6m’, which the accounting policy noted was related to the sale of residential units in Merrion Road as part of the group’s overall development of the new Maldron Hotel Merrion Road on the site of the former Tara Towers hotel.
There are plans for two new government ‘rainy day’ funds
Dalata describes its primary activity as ‘the provision of hotel accommodation and the provision of food and beverage services’. With IFRS 15 defining revenue as ‘income arising in the course of an entity’s ordinary activities’, IAASA concluded that the development was not an ordinary activity for Dalata and should not therefore have been included in revenue. Dalata agreed to revise the accounting treatment in 2023.
Rainy day funds
At the time of writing, the bill to set up the Future Ireland Fund and the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund has reached its third stage in the Dáil. It will provide for two new ‘rainy day’ government funds: the Future Ireland Fund, and the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund.
The Future Ireland Fund will help deal with expenditure from 2041 on an ageing population, climate change, digital transformation and other fiscal and economic challenges. The Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund will seek to deal with the procyclicality of public spending and to assist with climate change objectives and nature, water quality and biodiversity issues.
