Accountants body wants companies Bill split up

THE country’s largest accounting body is urging the Government to split the new companies Bill in two by parking the corporate governance issues contained in the law and implementing the new auditing requirements immediately.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (ICAI) says that the Companies Bill has two distinct elements - one relating with auditing requirements for companies and the other deals with corporate governance - and it wants the issues “de-coupled” as the accounting end of the Bill is an urgent piece of legislation.

The Bill, which establishes the Irish Accounting and Auditing Standards Authority (IAASA) on a statutory basis, is due for a second reading in the Dáil later this week.

ICAI deputy president Terence O’Rourke, said the Government should proceed immediately to establish only the supervisory authority but revisit the corporate governance issues contained in the bill at a later stage.

He said the IAASA needs to be established on a statutory basis soon to allow it and the professional bodies to begin their new working relationship.

“The areas that deal with corporate governance however have been the subject of considerable controversy in recent months. In particular the compliance statement to be made by directors has given rise to particular concern within the business community.”

He added that ICAI has always argued that corporate governance issues should not be addressed in primary legislation except at a very high level.

“Legislation is simply too inflexible to deal with the pace of developments.”

Last week, the IAASA began its search for a chief executive. The body is chaired by Senator Joe O’Toole.