by John McCarthy Consulting Ltd. | Oct 6, 2025 | Blog, News
The Government have been promoting the setting up of innovation hubs around the country in recent years with a 2019 report focusing on the numbers of such hubs available in the Greater Dublin area.
With a significant portion of these innovation hubs now located outside of Dublin, there are over 300 split between
- co-working facilities for life sciences, MedTech, and digital industries; and
- research centres including digital innovation hubs.
These are located in major regional areas such as:
- Cork
- Galway, and
- Limerick
One aspect of these hubs that accountants/auditors may need to make note of is that where these hubs operate as ‘company service providers’ they may need to register as TCSPs (Trust or Company Service Providers) with the Department of Justice AML Unit.
Among other things, the definition of a TCSP includes ‘providing a registered office, business address, correspondence or administrative address or other related services for a body corporate or partnership.’ This will often include the renting of office/desk space and/or meeting rooms.
The latest (1 October 2025) version of the TCSP register is accessible on the AML Compliance Unit’s website here .
For audit cold file reviews and tailored training sessions explaining more about various topics like AML, Audit, FRS 102, please send a mail to john@jmcc.ie.
For more on engagement and representation letter templates and a variety of CPD webinars on money laundering and other accounting/audit related topics, please go to our website for:
ISQM TOOLKIT, or if you prefer to chat through the different audit risks and potential appropriate responses presented by this new standard. We typically tailor ISQM training and brainstorming sessions to suit your firm’s unique requirements. Please contact John McCarthy FCA by email at john@jmcc.ie.
by John McCarthy Consulting Ltd. | Sep 12, 2025 | Blog, News
Irish auditors may find some publications of interest on the US Public Company Oversight Board website. They have a section of the website that is focused on supporting smaller audit firms to enhance audit quality which may be found here.
Thera is a series of Staff Publications (including videos) for smaller audit firms called ‘Audit Focus’. Although some of these may have US applicability only, others will be of more general interest to auditors.
For example, there is a January 2025 publication on the audit of Journal Entries arising from staff observations which identify a large number of deficiencies related to the examination of journal entries and other adjustments for evidence of possible material misstatement due to fraud.
Audit Focus highlights key reminders for auditors about testing of journal entries including:
- Obtaining an understanding of the financial reporting process and controls over journal entries and other adjustments.
- Identifying and selecting journal entries and other adjustments for testing to address the potential for material misstatement due to fraud.
- Testing the completeness of the population of journal entries.
- Limiting the testing of Journal entries to meet the fraud criteria set at the planning stage of the assignment.
- Considering the fraud risk potential of manual versus automated journal entries.
- Considering an entity’s controls over journal entries excluding the effectiveness of an entities controls over the general entry process.
- The characteristics of fraudulent entries or adjustments.
- The nature and complexity of the accounts.
- Journal entries or other adjustments processed outside the normal course of business.
For more on engagement and representation letter templates and a variety of CPD webinars on money laundering and other accounting/audit related topics, please go to our website for:
ISQM TOOLKIT, or if you prefer to chat through the different audit risks and potential appropriate responses presented by this new standard. We typically tailor ISQM training and brainstorming sessions to suit your firm’s unique requirements. Please contact John McCarthy FCA by email at john@jmcc.ie.
by John McCarthy Consulting Ltd. | Sep 12, 2025 | Blog, News
As originally reported by Accountancy Daily in August 2025, the UK audit firm Moore Kingston Smith (MKS) resigned as auditor of listed fintech GSTechnologies (GST). This happened after the firm carried out a risk review where they said they were no longer going to work with clients involved with cryptocurrency trading and assets. The total audit fees for the last financial year to 31 March 2024 were $67,000, up from $42,000 in 2023.
GST had adopted a Bitcoin treasury reserve policy where a significant proportion of the cash resources of the company are held in Bitcoin.
The news serves as a warning to all audit firms to ensure they carefully document their consideration of their risk appetite as regards cryptocurrency trading and crypto assets generally which are essentially intangible assets.
For audit cold file reviews and tailored training sessions explaining more about various topics like AML, Audit, FRS 102, please send a mail to john@jmcc.ie.
For more on engagement and representation letter templates and a variety of CPD webinars on money laundering and other accounting/audit related topics, please go to our website for:
ISQM TOOLKIT, or if you prefer to chat through the different audit risks and potential appropriate responses presented by this new standard. We typically tailor ISQM training and brainstorming sessions to suit your firm’s unique requirements. Please contact John McCarthy FCA by email at john@jmcc.ie.
by John McCarthy Consulting Ltd. | Sep 12, 2025 | Blog, News
As part of the UK HMRC’s plan to raise standards in the tax advice market and protect taxpayers from tax advisers who are unable to meet the eligibility conditions/minimum standards, accountants and tax advisers will have to register with HMRC from 1 April 2026.
This will apply to those who represent clients and is based on a UK Government Policy Paper published in July 2025 where the announcement was made. There will be a transitional period of three months with an online registration system – yet to be set up.
The HMRC plan this tougher oversight of anyone providing tax advice and services to clients as part of plans to improve service standards and stamp out abuse of the tax system.
Overseas tax advisers will be required to provide additional evidence when registering including the requirement to provide annual assurance of matters like anti-money laundering (AML) supervision status and may incur additional costs, including the certification and translation of documents.
More details are available in the Policy Paper entitled Modernising and mandating tax adviser registration with HMRC here
For audit cold file reviews and tailored training sessions explaining more about various topics like AML, Audit, FRS 102, please send a mail to john@jmcc.ie.
For more on engagement and representation letter templates and a variety of CPD webinars on money laundering and other accounting/audit related topics, please go to our website for:
ISQM TOOLKIT, or if you prefer to chat through the different audit risks and potential appropriate responses presented by this new standard. We typically tailor ISQM training and brainstorming sessions to suit your firm’s unique requirements. Please contact John McCarthy FCA by email at john@jmcc.ie.
by John McCarthy Consulting Ltd. | Sep 3, 2025 | Blog, News
From 1 June 2025 all public/private organisations in Ireland, with 50 employees or more must report their gender pay gap (GPG) for the first time on their websites. The reporting deadline is the end of November 2025. The definition of the gender pay gap is the difference in the average hourly wage between men and women across a workforce. In Ireland, the relevant legislation is called the Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021 (2021 Act).
The latest amendments to the 2021 Act were made earlier in 2025 with Statutory Instrument SI 212 of 2025.
The purpose of GPG reporting is to promote transparency and address pay disparities related to gender. There are two key dates that companies need to be aware of.
- The first one is called the snapshot date, which is any date in June 2025 chosen by the organization to capture employee data. – Let’s say 30 June 2025.
- The next definition is called the reporting deadline, so that is set at five months after the snapshot date, in other words 30 November 2025.
The Government is creating a searchable online portal to open in the Autumn where different businesses can be compared to enhance the transparency of their gender pay gap reporting.
More information is available from the website of the Department of Children Disability and Equality here.
For audit cold file reviews and tailored training sessions explaining more about various topics like AML, Audit, FRS 102, please send a mail to john@jmcc.ie.
For more on engagement and representation letter templates and a variety of CPD webinars on money laundering and other accounting/audit related topics, please go to our website for:
ISQM TOOLKIT, or if you prefer to chat through the different audit risks and potential appropriate responses presented by this new standard. We typically tailor ISQM training and brainstorming sessions to suit your firm’s unique requirements. Please contact John McCarthy FCA by email at john@jmcc.ie.
by John McCarthy Consulting Ltd. | Aug 13, 2025 | Blog, News
In this second of two blogs, we look at the impact of the leasing changes to FRS 102 coming soon. Last week we looked at the main balance sheet impact. This week we look at the P&L impact.
The familiar rent expense in the P&L will largely disappear and will be replaced by:
- Depreciation of the ROU asset, along with an
- Interest expense for the lease liability.
The impact of these changes will often result in a higher EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation, and Amortisation) as lease costs move from operating expenses to depreciation and finance costs.
The other impacts will be:
- Businesses, not for profit entities and charities with loan agreements tied to financial covenants (e.g., debt-to-EBITDA ratios, interest cover) will need to carefully assess the potential impact of these changes. The sooner they start having conversations with lenders the better.
- An increase in reported assets could push some businesses over the audit exemption size thresholds, potentially triggering the requirement for a statutory audit.
Work to be done:
The preparatory work to be done in advance of 1 January 2026 will include:
- Identifying all affected lease contracts
- Identifying leases ‘hidden’ within service agreements
- Obtaining detailed information from lease agreements so as to have an accurate calculation of the ROU asset and lease liability along with the payment schedules, extension options, and an appropriate discount rate.
This change in Irish GAAP lease accounting is a significant one, promising more transparency but also requiring advance preparation. The sooner the changes are understood, the sooner businesses and charities/not for profit entities can plan to ensure effective compliance by the application date.
For audit cold file reviews and tailored training sessions explaining more about various topics like AML, Audit, FRS 102, please send a mail to john@jmcc.ie.
For more on engagement and representation letter templates and a variety of CPD webinars on money laundering and other accounting/audit related topics, please go to our website for:
ISQM TOOLKIT, or if you prefer to chat through the different audit risks and potential appropriate responses presented by this new standard. We typically tailor ISQM training and brainstorming sessions to suit your firm’s unique requirements. Please contact John McCarthy FCA by email at john@jmcc.ie.
