2006 News Items
President enacts the Investment Funds, Companies And Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2006Sunday, 24th December, 2006: The Investment Funds, Companies And Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2006 has been signed into law by the President. The text of the Act can be found here. Authority’s information sharing powers enhancedThursday, 14th December, 2006: Minister Michael Ahern TD, Minister for Trade & Commerce has signed into law Statutory Instrument 619 of 2006 (‘Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Act 2003 (Prescribed Bodies for Disclosure of Information) Regulations 2006’). The legal effect of the Regulations is to permit the Irish Auditing & Accounting Supervisory Authority to disclose information - that would otherwise be confidential - to certain organisations specified in the Regulations. This is effected by adding to the parties with whom the Authority may currently share information pursuant to the provisions of section 31 of the Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Act, 2003. Such disclosure is only permissible in circumstances where information: I. is, in the Authority’s opinion, connected with the functions of those organisations; and II. is disclosed directly to those organisations. The organisations prescribed in the Regulations are EU and international bodies charged with functions similar to those discharged by the Authority, particularly in the areas of oversight of the accountancy profession and financial statement review. The practical effect of the Regulations will, therefore, be to enhance the Authority’s ability to co-operate with its EU and international counterparts. The text of the Regulations can be accessed here. Authority seeks Project ManagerFriday, 24th November, 2006: The Authority wishes to augment is existing professional staff complement by recruiting a Project Manager. Details of this senior role in the Authority can be found here. This competition is now closed. Authority seeks Administrative Support StaffThursday, 9th November, 2006: The Authority sought to recruit administrative and support staff. Details of the positions on offer can be found here. This competition is now closed. International audit regulators establish an International Forum of Independent Audit Regulators (IFIAR)Friday, 15th September, 2006: At a Roundtable meeting in Paris, an International Forum of Independent Audit Regulators (‘the Forum’) was established. The Forum will facilitate the following activities: • the sharing of knowledge of the audit market environment and practical experience of independent audit regulatory activities; • the promotion of collaboration in regulatory activity; and • the provision of a focus for contacts with other international organisations which have an interest in audit quality. In addition to the Irish Auditing & Accounting Supervisory Authority (IAASA), independent audit regulators from the following countries agreed to the creation of the Forum: Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, The Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) participated in the Roundtable meeting as an observer. Other international organisations that participated in the meeting as observers were the Financial Stability Forum, the World Bank, the International Organisation of Securities Commissions, the Basel Committee, the International Association of Insurance Supervisors, the Public Interest Oversight Board and the European Commission. The Forum appointed Mr. Jeffrey Lucy, Chairman of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), as its inaugural Chairperson and Mr. Paul Boyle, Chief Executive of the UK’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC), as its inaugural Vice-Chairperson. Mr. Lucy and Mr. Boyle will serve terms of 12 and 18 months respectively. The Paris Roundtable meeting provided the opportunity for independent audit regulators to further their discussions on audit regulatory matters, including: • how audit regulators can best share the information necessary for them to exercise effective oversight; and • the drivers of audit quality. Participants agreed to return to these topics at the next IFIAR meeting. Participants also noted the debate ongoing in the UK on the issues of competition and choice in the audit market and discussed the issues arising. It was agreed to continue to exchange views on developments in this area from the regulators’ perspective. It was agreed that the next meeting of the Forum will take place in March, 2007 Minister outlines progress regarding recognition of the term “Accountant”Friday, 11th August, 2006: Following IAASA’s recommendation to the Minister for Trade & Commerce, Mr Michael Ahern TD, that there is merit in some form of action being taken regarding the issue of legal recognition of the term ‘accountant’, the Minister has requested the Authority to further develop proposals in this regard. The full text of the Minister’s press release can be seen here. Minister announces publication of Companies Report 2005Wednesday, 5th July, 2006: The Minister for Trade & Commerce, Michael Ahern TD, has announced the publication of the Companies Report 2005. The full report can be found on the Department of Enterprise, Trade & Employment website, by clicking here. EU Publishes 8th DirectiveTuesday, 6th June, 2006: The 8th Company Law Directive as published in the Official Journal of the European Union can be viewed here. Directive No. 2006/43/EC on statutory audits of annual accounts and consolidated accounts amends Council Directives 78/660/EEC and 83/349/EEC and repeals Council Directive 84/253/EEC. The timeframe for transposing the directive is two years after publication - i.e. on or before 6 June, 2008. Within the next few months the Department of Enterprise, Trade & Employment are expected to commence the process of consultation with all the stakeholders, including IAASA, to reach a broad consensus on its implementation. Authority agrees Memorandum of Understanding with the ODCEMonday, 29th May 2006: The Authority has agreed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE). The MoU sets out the parties’ agreement regarding the exchange of information to the extent that the disclosure and provision of such information is permitted by law. Any information disclosed by the ODCE to the Authority must be in accordance with the provisions of section 17 of the Company Law Enforcement Act, 2001. Similarly, any information disclosed by the Authority to the ODCE must be in accordance with the provisions of section 31 of the Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Act, 2003. The text of the MoU can be accessed here. Authority seeks Administrative Support StaffThursday, 25th May 2006: The Authority seeks to recruit administrative and support staff. Details of the positions on offer can be found here. Applications are welcome up to the closing date, Friday, 9 June, 2006. Minister announces increase in Audit ExemptionFriday, 12th May 2006: Michael Ahern TD, Minister for Trade & Commerce, has announced his intention to increase the statutory audit exemption limit to €7.3m, the maximum level allowed under EU legislation. The text of the press release can be found here Council of the European Union adopts Directive on Statutory AuditWednesday 26th April, 2006: The Council of the European Union has adopted a Directive updating, and introducing additional EU rules on the audit of company accounts, aimed at reinforcing the reliability of company financial statements by establishing minimum requirements for statutory audit of annual accounts and consolidated accounts. The Directive broadens the scope of application of existing EU legislation by specifying the duties of statutory auditors, their independence and ethics, introducing requirements for external quality assurance, in particular with a view to ensuring better public oversight over the audit profession and improving co-operation between oversight bodies. The new measures are intended to help improve quality audits within the EU and hence underpin confidence in the functioning of EU capital markets. They will also provide a basis for co-operation with oversight bodies of third countries to take account of globally interconnected capital markets. It is expected that, after signature by the Presidents of both the Council and European Parliament, the Directive will be published in the Official Journal of the European Community in late May/early June. It will enter into force 20 days thereafter and Member States will then have a period of two years to transpose it into domestic legislation. The text of the Directive can be accessed here. The Irish Auditing & Accounting Supervisory Authority (IAASA) is a member of the European Group of Auditor Oversight Bodies (EGAOB), a high level expert group established by the EU Commission to provide advice and assistance to the Commission in preparing for the coming into effect of the Directive. Authority invites comments on protection of term 'Accountant'Thursday 2nd March, 2006: The Authority is inviting comments from interested parties as to whether the term 'accountant' should be afforded legal protection under the Companies Acts. The Authority is also seeking contributors' views as to whether persons providing accountancy and/or similar services to the public - other than members of accountancy bodies coming within the Authority's remit - should be subject to regulation and/or supervision. The deadline for submissions has now passed. Three additional accountancy bodies brought within the Authority’s remitMonday 6th February, 2006: Having sought the views of the Authority, the Minister for Trade and Commerce, Mr. Michael Ahern, T.D. has signed S.I. 57 of 2006 into law, thereby prescribing three additional bodies of accountants. The effect of prescription is to bring the three bodies concerned within the supervisory remit of the Authority. The three newly prescribed bodies are the Association of International Accountants (AIA), the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy (CIPFA). Prior to making its recommendations to the Minister, the Authority engaged in consultation with each of the affected bodies and conducted a detailed examination of, inter alia, their constitutions, bye-laws and standards. Further sections of the 2003 Act commencedFriday 3rd February, 2006: The Minister for Trade and Commerce, Mr. Michael Ahern, T.D. has signed S.I. 56 of 2006 into law, thereby commencing a number of additional sections of the Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Act, 2003. The sections commenced have the effect of conferring a range of statutory functions and powers on the Authority. Authority makes senior appointmentWednesday 1st February 2006: The Authority has appointed Ms Helen Hall, FCA, as Head of Regulatory & Monitoring Supervision. Helen joins the Authority from the United Nations, where she was a senior manager with the Internal Audit Division. Previously, she was an audit partner with Deloitte & Touche, Malawi. |
Irish Auditing & Accounting |
|