This Knowledge Guide provides information about Technical Releases and Representations issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
What are Technical Releases?
Throughout its existence the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales has provided guidance to members on issues of importance and given the considered response of the Institute on consultation papers, legislation and exposure drafts from government, accounting standard setters and a variety of professional bodies.
At first this material was published as memoranda which were then reproduced in publications such as 'The Accountant' and 'The Accountant Tax Supplement'. From 1972 this material was published in a numbered series and given the label of 'Technical Releases'.
The first Technical Release issued by the ICAEW was TR 101 'Memorandum on behalf of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland regarding the rights and duties of auditors and changes in their appointment' which was issued on 26th January 1972.
Technical Releases were also issued on behalf of the Accountants Joint Parliamentary Committee (AJPC) and Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies (CCAB) - see the AJPC/CCAB Technical Releases page in our Knowledge Guide for more details.
Since 1999 there has been a move to separate guidance from Institute and Faculty Representations, as illustrated in the diagram below. Representations from the Tax Faculty were first published as a separate series in 1999 whilst representations that would previously have been published in the TECH series (covering business law, corporate governance, financial reporting, accountancy markets and ethics, SME issues and international affairs) were first published as a separate series of ICAEW Representations in October 2005.
What are Representations?
The Institute now issues responses made to consultation documents from government, accounting standard setters and other bodies through the ICAEW REP series (since October 2005) and TAX REP series (since 1999). Prior to these dates, representations were issued as Technical Releases along with guidance in their respective series.
Representations are also published by the other Faculties. Further information can be found on the consultations and representations page.
How do all the different series fit together?
Technical Releases were issued in a numerical sequence until 1992, when the series was split into a number of named series. Technical Releases are currently issued in a numerical sequence within a year (e.g. AUDIT 2/03 was the second Technical Release in the AUDIT series in 2003).
The newest series to be added are the Technical Releases of the Financial Services Faculty (which launched in January 2007). Their first Technical Release, FSF 01/07 'Accounting implications of changes to the Financial Services Authority rules for calculating technical provisions' was issued in February 2007.
The simplified diagram below shows the main sequences and named series from 1972 to date, including the divisions made between guidance and representations:
Where can I find Technical Releases and Representations?
The Library & Information Service acts as the archive for Institute publications and should have all publicly available books and journals published by the ICAEW. As part of this function, the LIS maintains a complete collection of Technical Releases (TRs) from 1972 to date and all representations published in the TAX REP and ICAEW REP series.
From the mid to late 1990s Technical Releases have been published on the Institute website. The exact coverage varies from series to series. If a Technical Release or Representation is available in full text you will find a hyperlink in the entry in our search and browse tools. Alternatively, you can take a look at the online archive of Technical Releases and Representations on the website.
Some Technical Releases have also been reproduced in the Auditing and Reporting and Accounting Standards volumes which are published by CCH (look for the sections headed 'ICAEW Accounting Recommendations' and 'ICAEW Guidance on Auditing and Reporting' in the respective volumes).
How can I get a copy of a Technical Release or Representation?
New Technical Releases and Representations are published in full text on the Institute website and can be downloaded free of charge.
Single copies of any historical Technical Releases not available to download from this website may be ordered from the Institute Library and Information Service:
Phone: +44 (0)20 7920 8620
Email: library@icaew.com (please include a contact phone number so we can ring you back)
The standard charge for a copy of a Technical Release is £5.00+VAT for delivery by 1st class post or £8.50+VAT for delivery by Fax. Non-members of the ICAEW should note that we require a credit card payment at the time of order.