The Act is a practical and proportionate response to the needs of business
9th June, 2017
Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Mary Mitchell O’Connor, has today welcomed the enactment of the Companies (Amendment) Act 2017.
This Act prolongs an important cost saving measure, used by companies that are based in Ireland while listed in the US, for an additional 10 years. This measure exempts certain companies from having to prepare two separate sets of financial statements, based on the same financial information but according to two different accounting standards.
The exemption was first introduced in 2009 and is currently set out in section 279 of the Companies Act 2014. It is time bound and was due to end on 31 December 2020. Last summer, the Minister asked the Department to review the exemption and the deadline. Subsequently, in April of this year, the Minister introduced draft legislation in the Seanad to extend the deadline by an extra 10 years. As a result of the enactment of that legislation this week, the deadline will now be 31 December 2030.
Welcoming the enactment of the Companies (Amendment) Act 2017, the Minister said “This Act is a practical and proportionate response to the needs of business. It will ensure that the affected companies will not have to introduce new accounting systems or prepare 2 sets of financial statements, using 2 different accounting standards, but based on the same financial information. I believe that would be unnecessary duplication and could be expensive. At the same time, the Act recognises the need for appropriate transparency of corporate financial information by providing that only companies that have been using US accounting standards for their financial statements up to now can continue to do so. This ability to compare annual information over time is important for users of financial statements.
I would like to acknowledge the cooperation of my Oireachtas colleagues, both independent and across parties, who worked with me in getting this Act through in just under 2 months. As a result, we have been able to give legal certainty to the businesses affected in good time, so that they can plan appropriately and avoid unnecessary expense. ”
ENDS
For further information please contact Press Office D/Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation ph. 6312200 or press.office@djei.ie
