Are your COVID-19 financial statement disclosures appropriate?

Are your COVID-19 financial statement disclosures appropriate?

The Financial Conduct Authority in the UK said in March 2020 that all London listed companies are permitted two extra months to publish their audited financial results, giving them six months in total.

Meanwhile the Irish Companies Registration Office has further extended the filing deadline for all annual returns that are normally due for filing in the coming months. These will be deemed to have been filed on time if all elements of the annual return are completed and filed by 31st October 2020.

The filing arrangements for Industrial & Provident Societies, Friendly Societies and Trade Unions for filing with the Registry of Friendly Societies are extended to 31st December 2020.

Covid-19 disclosures.

Are you wondering what Coronavirus (COVID-19) disclosures companies should be making in the financial statements to achieve a true and fair view?

We have the answer. Our recently published survey of 22 public company financial statements focuses on their Coronavirus (COVID-19) disclosures.
Of the companies that included Coronavirus (COVID-19) somewhere in their annual reports, Coronavirus (COVID-19) was included in the audit reports of all four companies that had January year ends.

Other disclosures addressed in our report include topics such as:

• Emphasis of Matter
• Key Audit Matters in Audit Reports
• Going Concern/Viability
• Post Balance Sheet Events/Subsequent Events

This thirty-page report, is available on our website, and includes more detail of the types of disclosures that are prevalent at the moment and elaborates on the topics below. All this research is available to purchase for just €125+VAT, for immediate download.

For more on the Coronavirus (COVID-19) disclosures, please see our published report on our website here.

In our Publications Store, you will also find many complementary letters of representation
templates that deal with the Coronavirus (COVID-19).

Are you wondering what Coronavirus (COVID-19) disclosures to use in your accounts?

Are you wondering what Coronavirus (COVID-19) disclosures to use in your accounts?

We have recently published a survey of 22 public company financial statements focusing on their Coronavirus (COVID-19) disclosures.

Of those companies surveyed, the John Lewis Partnership plc had some of the greatest level of going concern discussion in the notes to the financial statements, with a prominent note under the ‘Basis of Preparation’ section on page 95.

Our thirty-page report, is available on our website, and includes more detail of the types of disclosures that are prevalent at the moment and elaborates on the topics below. All this research is available to purchase for just €125+VAT, for immediate download.
The various disclosures in the report cover topics such as:

• Emphasis of Matter
• Key Audit Matters in Audit Reports
• Going Concern/Viability
• Post Balance Sheet Events/Subsequent Events

For more on the Coronavirus (COVID-19) disclosures, please see our published report on our website here.

In our Publications Store, you will find many complementary products that deal with the Coronavirus (COVID-19), especially letters of representation that seek written representations from the management of relevant entities about their preparedness for the future impact of the virus on their organisations.

More Coronavirus (COVID-19) disclosures in published financial statements

More Coronavirus (COVID-19) disclosures in published financial statements

Last week we highlighted in our published survey of 22 public company financial statements an example of an Emphasis of Matter audit report.

This week, our blog focuses on an extract from the Irish company Grafton plc (in its 31 December 2019 financial statements) which describes the risk: ‘The Group is exposed to the impact of the recent outbreak of the (COVID-19) virus epidemic in the countries where it operates and also in countries where some of its suppliers are based’.

This thirty-page report, just published on our website, is available to purchase for €125+VAT, for immediate download.

The various disclosures in the report cover topics such as:

• Emphasis of Matter
• Key Audit Matters in Audit Reports
• Going Concern/Viability
• Post Balance Sheet Events/Subsequent Events

For more on this topic please see our published report on our website here.

In our Publications Store, you will find many complimentary product that deal with the Coronavirus (COVID-19), especially letters of representation that seek written representations from the management of relevant entities about their preparedness for the future impact of the virus on their organisations.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) disclosures in published financial statements May 2020

Coronavirus (COVID-19) disclosures in published financial statements May 2020

Coronavirus (COVID-19) disclosures in published financial statements

In our published survey of 22 public company financial statements we highlight several useful examples of disclosure that company directors, auditors, accountants and financial controllers will find of relevance, in the midst of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
This thirty-page report, just published on our website, is available to purchase for €125+VAT, for immediate download.

The various disclosures in the report cover topics such as:

• Emphasis of Matter
• Key Audit Matters in Audit Reports
• Going Concern/Viability
• Post Balance Sheet Events/Subsequent Events

The company with the Emphasis of Matter audit report was Martin Currie Global Portfolio Trust plc (a company that invests in alternative investment instruments) with a 31 January 2020 year end. Its financial statements were signed off by the auditors on 9 April 2020. Note 18 to the accounts states that since the period end up to 7 April 2020, the company’s net assets fell by 6.8%.

For more on this topic please see our published report on our website here.here.

The future of audit

The future of audit

In a rare speech, Sir Donald Brydon, chair of the Future of Audit in the UK, told a packed conference room that he is a little troubled at the current mood that ‘reaches for a shotgun aimed at auditors every time there is a corporate problem’. 

Speaking at the first ICAEW Audit & Assurance Faculty Audit Conference on 4 October 2019, Brydon, former chair of the London Stock Exchange, stressed the importance of balancing the responsibility and the blame for company failures between auditors, audit committees and company boards.

Ultimately, Brydon said it was directors and their actions, not auditors, that should be to blame for recent audit failures. He did not name any names but recent failures like Carillion and BHS have likely triggered this response along with other reviews.

The Brydon Future of Audit review, an independent UK government review, received 120 responses – a total of 2,500 pages of comment, while over 100 meetings and roundtables were also held to gather views. 

Brydon plans to report back to the UK government on his recommendations by the end of December 2019 and all the consultation responses will be published.

In his speech, Brydon revealed that the review would seek ‘to consider how audit can become a more informative process and product whilst not losing its compliance aspect’.  

Brydon insisted that it was not his intention to ‘redesign Western capitalism’, adding that, it was ‘important to note that many people and organisations have expressed their frustrations with what they see as, essentially, a narrow, backward looking and increasingly rules-obsessed approach to audit’.

He said that one of the respondents to the Review ‘compared the audit to a high jump, in which auditors have little incentive to do more than the minimum required to “clear the bar”.  I repeat that there is a hunger for audit to be informative and not just evidencing compliance.’  

But what does this mean for the future of Irish audit practices? Much of the audit standards that are implemented in the UK, soon follow suit here.

As they say, watch this space. 

For more on best practice in Audit , see our up-to-date webinar here.

Also watch out for our new fully updated AML Policies & Procedures Manual June 2019 edition – includes the latest requirements of the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Acts, 2010 to 2018 which came into force on 26 November 2018

For on-demand webinars on AML and developments in Investment Property Accounting, FRS 105 – part of the Company Law Update, Common Errors in FRS 102 Accounting, visit our online webinar training website. Once viewing is completed customers will receive a CPD Certificate confirming their learning.