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In Practice

Planning for Success - Sunday Business Post

Business planning is not just a desirable option for a business, it is an absolute necessity. Sometimes people are so busy working in their businesses that they forget to plan and this inevitably leads to problems. Without a plan you don’t know what your business ought to be doing, action without a plan is not sensible, but having a plan without implementing it is unforgivable. Many mid-sized businesses don’t devote enough time to planning, the management does not stand back and take a look at where they want to go and how they are going to get there. They are storing up problems for themselves in the future.

Sep 22, 2015

Reasons you Struggle with Motivation

Books, theories and articles about what motivates us and demotivates us are ubiquitous; but is it really that complex to diagnose and heal our own individual motivational aliments? Goals and goal setting have clearly dominated the field of motivation for several decades, both from an academic research perspective and from an organisational performance management perspective. Additionally, goals are understood to be the solution to progressing many of our focus areas outside of our careers.

Sep 22, 2015

Voting is now open for ACCA’s AGM.

Two Irish Accountants have been nominated for election to ACCA Council at the 110th AGM of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants to be held in London on 17 September 2015. This year, there are nine positions on Council to fill and 28 candidates. Anthony Harbison – ACCA President, past President ACCA Ireland, past Chairman and serving member of Ulster Network. Orla Collins – serving Council member, past President ACCA Ireland, past Chairman Financial Services Network.

Aug 25, 2015

Inbound Marketing – The Future for Marketing an Accounting Practice

Inbound marketing has become the gold standard for marketing an accounting practice. The idea is simple – define your dream customer and then create content specifically designed to attract and delight your dream customer. The tactics are tougher than traditional direct response marketing (aka – outbound marketing) and take more time to create a head of steam but after it’s done properly, it’s so much easier to generate leads and sustain your marketing.

Aug 25, 2015

FRC issues Key Facts and Trends in the Accountancy Profession

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has today published the thirteenth edition of ‘Key Facts and Trends in the Accountancy Profession’, the annual report which provides key data on the accountancy profession, its member bodies and firms.

Jun 23, 2015

The Keys to Improving Your Practice Profitability

Accountants primarily engage in four management activities: productivity, pricing, cost management and client management. From these we can derive five keys that enable us to focus on improving profitability: Leverage, Utilisation, Billing rate, Realisation and Margin. This is known as the LUBRM model.

Mar 31, 2015

Amendments to FRS 102 - Pension Obligations

(i) In 2012, 2013 and 2014 the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) revised financial reporting standards in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. The revisions fundamentally reformed financial reporting, replacing the extant standards with four Financial Reporting Standards: (a) FRS 100 Application of Financial Reporting Requirements; (b) FRS 101 Reduced Disclosure Framework; (c) FRS 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland; and d) FRS 103 Insurance Contracts.

Mar 31, 2015

Auditor Reports more Descriptive and Innovative

Take-up of new requirements for extended auditor’s reports has been positive; many auditors have made quite radical changes that go beyond the Financial Reporting Council’s (FRC) new requirements, first announced in 2013. The requirements for auditors to describe assessed risks of material misstatement, materiality and the scope of the audit are beginning to make a process that had previously been described as a “black box” by investors more transparent. In time we hope this will lead to improved justifiable confidence in audit.

Mar 3, 2015

The Secret To Winning Your Next Sales Pitch

Clients hate sales pitches. You probably do, too. How do you like to sit still while someone presents PowerPoint slides to you? Clients don’t like boring pitches, but they love to learn. So turn your next sales presentation into a collaborative, value-added session for the client. Role model what it would be like to actually work with you and your organization.

Jan 13, 2015

Introduction of new Irish and UK GAAP - FRS 102

The latest part of the new suite of financial reporting standards which will apply in Ireland and the UK – “FRS 102” – now published; FRS 102 – which is likely to be applied by more than 95 percent of entities in Ireland – is based heavily on “IFRS for SMEs”; FRS 102 departs from “IFRS for SMEs” to retain a number of existing treatments allowed by existing FRSs or EU IFRS; Many preparers will face increased measurement complexity as a result of increased use of fair value measurement for some items and a greater level of prescription generally than applies at present under Existing GAAP
Transition will present commercial challenges which need to be considered and planned for well in advance, particularly in respect of multi-year arrangements and tax planning structures or transactions which will survive transition; Transition will be required for periods beginning on or after 1 January 2015 but earlier adoption is permitted; Restatement of comparatives will be required.

Nov 11, 2014

Key Facts and Trends in the Accountancy Profession

The FRC has issued its annual ‘Key Facts and Trends in the Accountancy Profession’ report which provides key data on the accountancy profession, its member bodies and practising firms. 　
　
The information illustrates the size and shape of the accountancy profession and shows how it has evolved over recent years. It brings together information about the major audit firms and seven accountancy bodies including both those who offer audit qualifications and those who register and supervise audit firms.
　

Jun 24, 2014

The Importance of a Documented Collection Procedure

To be successful at anything you need a clearly written roadmap to bring you from where you are to where you want to go. This is also true for your collections procedures. Collecting the money you are owed should not be an accident of selling, you must set out clearly what is acceptable and what is not, and set out benchmarks along the way to make sure you are on track.

Every company is different; every company has its own way of doing business; every company has a number of balances that has to be collected every month, this article will give you some suggestions on how you could bring in a number of factors to ensure the timely collection of all your outstanding balances.

Jun 24, 2014

How to Rescue Your Presentation When Boredom Sets In

Your audience will mentally check out of your next PowerPoint presentation after about 10 minutes. Given a presentation of moderately interesting content, your audiences’ attention will "plummet to near zero" after 9 minutes and 59 seconds, according biologist John Medina at the University of Washington School of Medicine. "Before the first quarter-hour is over in a typical presentation, people usually have checked out," says Medina who cites peer-reviewed studies to reinforce this observation.

May 7, 2014

IAASA Publish Profile of the Profession 2013

It is with pleasure that I present the Irish Auditing and Accounting supervisory Authority’s Profile of the Profession 2013, the purpose of which is to provide readers with an insight into: the scale and composition of IAASA’s supervisory remit regarding the nine Prescribed Accountancy Bodies (‘PABs’); the scale of the PABs, both individually and collectively; overall trends in the PABs’ membership, student numbers and profiles; and
the nature and scale of the PABs’ regulatory and monitoring activities.

Apr 22, 2014

Developing a Personal Development Plan (PDP) for Employees

As part of any good Performance Management System for a company there should be included Personal Development Plans for the employees. From a HR perspective you can only develop a company through its employees. Employees who stop developing will eventually become a burden to the company. At the start of the year when performance objectives are set, is the right time to develop Personal Development Plans (PDP).

Apr 8, 2014

What do clients really buy from you?

Most clients know exactly what they want from their accountant, but they don’t know if their existing advisor offers what they truly want, or if they do, by the impression they have, it seems that their accountant is simply so busy right now that there’s no way that they could help them even if they did ask.

Mar 25, 2014

Accountancy Salary & Market Trends Survey - Have Your Say

Our friends over at Marks Sattin are conducting a Salary & Market Trends Survey. Following the fantastic response we received when we published the findings of their 2013 Survey we decided to give AccountingNet.ie readers the chance to have their say. This is a fantastic opportunity to benchmark your remuneration package or that of your team. Once the 2014 report is compiled you will be emailed a copy directly. As an extra sweetener you will be entered in a prize draw to win a holiday.

Mar 4, 2014

Illustrative example of an Irish auditor’s report reflecting the requirements of ISA (UK and Ireland) 700

The UK’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has published an illustrative auditor’s report. This is an update to Example 14 in Bulletin 1(I) Compendium of Illustrative Auditor’s Reports on Irish Financial Statements. It reflects the changes to the International Standard on Auditing (UK and Ireland) 700 made in October 2012 and June 2013.

Feb 4, 2014

Four Strategies for Becoming Powerfully Relevant to Your Prospects and Clients

The power of truly understanding the person on the other side of the desk. Bob Dylan wrote a tuneful but doleful lament about a past lover called Positively Fourth St. At the end he sings, “I wish that for just one time you could stand inside my shoes.” Don’t we all want this from others? It’s that deep understanding of who we are, what we’ve been through, and all the pressures and constraints we’re under.

Feb 4, 2014

FRS 102 - Impact on Pension Schemes

At a glance: New accounting standard FRS 102 introduces a number of reporting changes affecting pension schemes, effective for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2015; Pension schemes will have their own set of investment risk disclosures, less onerous than those applying to other financial institutions; Some issues, such as valuation and disclosure of risks surrounding pooled investment vehicles, and the valuation of annuities require further clarification.

Feb 4, 2014

Eight Key Principles of Succession

Baker Tilly International member firms in Ireland, Baker Tilly Ryan Glennon and Baker Tilly Mooney Moore have participated in a global research study which takes a closer look to both the sociological and economic implications for the family business succession process. The results from 1,650 business owners across 55 countries provide businesses with a common sense, practical guide on how they should view and conduct the succession process.

Jan 7, 2014

Pension Trustees - Training Deadline Fast Approaching

Whether you conduct your business as a sole-trader, in partnership, or through a company, if you operate an occupational pension scheme for the benefit of your employees, then you, your partners, members of your staff, or company directors may have assumed a role as pension scheme trustee. According to Yann Harrison, Wealth Management Director with Russell Brennan Keane, “the role of trustee is an important one and one which carries significant legal duties and responsibilities of which all trustees should be fully aware”.

Jan 7, 2014

How to Improve What Matters Most With the 80/20 Rule

A problem many of us have is too many measures and, consequently, too much to improve. We need to prioritise, but we somehow don’t do it well enough. Here’s a method to focus on what really matters most, that has over 116 years of proof that it works…

In 1897, over a century ago, an Italian economist called Vilfredo Pareto made the discovery that 80% of the wealth of a population was owned by 20% of that population. The Pareto Principle, or 80/20 rule, is a pattern of predictable imbalance that keeps popping up in all kinds of contexts ever since. For example, the Quality Movement certainly grabbed onto it, coining phrases like “80% of the problem is caused by 20% of the causes.”

Nov 26, 2013

87% of small firms see no reduction in the administrative burden of employment law

SFA Acting Director Avine McNally said “As an employer, there are over 40 pieces of primary legislation relating to employment, that must be dealt with, irrespective of whether the company employs 1 or 1,000 staff. Employment law really is a “minefield” for small business”.

Nov 12, 2013

Observations on Selected Financial Reporting Issues 2013

IAASA, Ireland’s accounting enforcer, has published its annual Observations document which highlights some key topics that should be considered by those preparing, approving and auditing 2013 financial statements. During 2014, IAASA will examine how companies implement recommendations that are set out in this Observations document. IAASA’s remit extends only to Irish companies trading on regulated markets. However, this Observations document should be of interest to a wider range of companies when preparing their 2013 year end financial statements.

Oct 24, 2013

Why Relationships Go Bad - and Nine Ways to Revitalize Them

What percentage of the time you devote to marketing and sales is directed towards growing existing clients versus winning new prospects? If you’re like many professionals, you get an adrenaline rush when you are in pursuit of an attractive new client prospect. You probably feel that new business naturally flows from existing relationships on the basis of doing good work, but that it’s with new prospects that you really have to raise your game, put your best foot forward, and make investments to gain a foothold.

Oct 8, 2013

Audit Exemption - A Time to be Speak and be Heard

We have previously highlighted our thoughts in relation to removing late filing as one of the key criteria for availing of the audit exemption. The Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation was undertaking a consultation in relation changing the criteria of audit exemption so that companies only had to satisfy 2 out of the 3 size criteria rather than 3 out of the 3 size criteria. You can find a copy of our submission here.
To support that submission we also set up an online petition for accountants. Over 800 accountants throughout the country representing in excess of 25% of all regulated practices signed up to that petition. This demonstrated that the accountants of Ireland clearly want this legislation changed.

Sep 24, 2013

Ethics Board Clarifies Definition of "Those Charged With Governance

The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA, the Ethics Board) today released final changes to the definition of “those charged with governance” in its Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (the Code). The changes are intended to more closely align the definition of “those charged with governance” in the Code with that in the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB)’s International Standard on Auditing (ISA) 260, Communication with Those Charged with Governance, thereby eliminating any potential confusion. The Ethics Board does not expect any changes will be necessary to accounting firms’ systems and methodologies or common practice.

Sep 24, 2013

Changes to the Audit Exemption - What is the real cost to Businesses and their Accountants for Late Filing?

Changes to the Audit Exemption - What is the real cost to Businesses and their Accountants for Late Filing? Recently the Department of Jobs Enterprise and Innovation undertook a national consultation in relation to Audit Exemption Thresholds. While we welcomed the consultation and what it was trying to achieve in our opinion the Department were consulting on the wrong matter. Under S.I. 308 of 2012 and Section 32 of Companies (Amendment) (No. 2) Act, 1999 to avail of the audit exemption a company currently must meet 3 of following 3 criteria (i) The turnover of the Company does not exceed €8,800,000 (ii) The balance sheet total does not exceed €4,400,000 (iii) Average employees does not exceed 50

Sep 4, 2013

Investments for Credit Unions - No Favour Goes Unpunished

As the saying goes ‘No favour goes unpunished!’ However, does the saying have particular resonance for the many who give their time so generously to help their Credit Unions, with particular respect to the investment strategy? Credit Union Boards are being asked to undertake investment duties which hitherto may have been considered routine. But do these duties now involve significantly greater responsibilities and consequences? Was routine practice ever, in hindsight, truly adequate? If so, is it now adequate, in the wake of the financial crisis, to give comfort in future to Boards pursuing the best investment outcome?

Sep 4, 2013

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