Technical Round-up – June 2020

26 June 2020: The must-read technical content from ICAEW that was published in the past month include information on CJRS changes, SEISS eligibility, going concern and the law around dividends.

Need to know

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) is changing from 1 July. ICAEW’s Tax Faculty has outlined all of the changes, including flexible furlough. Read the guide here.

ICAEW has published guidance on the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS), including details of the eligibility criteria. The guide can be found here.

ICAEW’s Tax Faculty is calling on members to share their views on raising standards in the tax advice market, tackling abuse of tax relief and improving HMRC’s charter. Take part here.

In the current climate of uncertainty, ICAEW wants to make sure that audit reports and ‘going concern’ are properly understood. A range of resources are now available on the Institute’s going concern hub and ICAEW Chief Executive Michael Izza has urged members to refresh their understanding of going concern in the current environment. Visit the Going Concern Hub here.

Directors face particularly difficult decisions this year in making distributions. For some companies, dividend payments will be restricted while they are in receipt of funds from government-backed loan schemes. ICAEW’s guidance on distributable profits helps members apply dividends law. ICAEW has also published an introduction to the law on dividends.

Other technical news

The CityUK published a report on 8 June looking at options for recapitalising ‘unsustainable debt’. It will be making recommendations to the UK government and ICAEW has provided input. Read the report here.

It was good to see £10bn of government support announced on 3 June for trade credit insurance. Many businesses rely on this insurance. There have been concerns about its availability, which ICAEW has raised with government. Read about it here.

The Financial Reporting Faculty has published updated guidance on filing deadlines, including how the automatic three month extension can be applied for from Companies House. Read the guidance here.

Investors expect clear and timely disclosures on uncertainties. To help preparers make these the FRC’s Financial Reporting Lab has issued guidance on reporting in times of uncertainty. Guidance has also been issued by ESMA and IOSCO. Read the FRC guidance here, the guidance from ESMA here, and the IOSCO guidance here.

In its latest report exploring the future of audit, the Audit and Assurance Faculty looks at the scope of a possible future UK internal controls reporting framework. Read it here.

ICAEW CEO Michael Izza explains the new IASB guidance on climate-related disclosures. Read it here.

ICAEW has added its voice to renewed calls for a separate auditing standard for ‘less complex’ entities. Read its views here.