What are Technical Releases?
Throughout its existence ICAEW 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 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’ on 26 January 1972.
Technical Releases have also been issued on behalf of the Accountants Joint Parliamentary Committee (AJPC) and Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies (CCAB) – see below for more details.
Since 1999 there has been a move to separate these guidance documents from the representations published by ICAEW and its faculties. 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?
Since October 2005, ICAEW has issued responses to consultation documents from government, accounting standard setters and other bodies through the ICAEW REP series. Between 1999 and 2015, representations from the Tax Faculty were issued through the TAX REP series; since 2016 tax representations have been issued in the main ICAEW REP series. Prior to these dates, representations were issued as Technical Releases along with guidance in their respective series.
Further information on ICAEW's representations can be found on the consultations and representations page.
How do all the different series fit together?
Technical Releases were issued in a single numerical sequence until 1992. Since then, they have been split into a number of named series. Technical Releases are currently issued in a numerical sequence within a year; for example, AUDIT 2/03 was the second Technical Release in the AUDIT series in 2003.
The simplified table below shows the main sequences and named series from 1972 to date:
| Series/sequence | Date range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Numbered Sequence (101-862) | 1972-1991 | Single sequence covering releases on all topics. |
| FRAG | 1992-1994 | The first named series of Technical Releases on on business law, financial reporting and other technical matters. Stands for 'Financial Reporting and Auditing Group'. |
| FIT | 1992-1996 | Series of Technical Releases from the Faculty of Information Technology. |
| TAX | 1992-1998 | The first named series of Technical Releases on taxation issues. |
| AUDIT | 1995-2005 | Series of Technical Releases on audit matters. Some releases were assigned both 'AUDIT' and 'TECH' series references - eg, 'Receipt of information in confidence by auditors' (February 1998) is designated both 'AUDIT 1/98' and 'TECH 5/98'. |
| TECH | 1995- | General series of Technical Releases. Some releases in this series are also designated as entries in one of the faculty- or department-specific series - eg, 'TECH 02/14 FSF'. |
| TAXREP | 1999-2015 | Series of representations from the Tax Faculty. Tax representations are now issued in the main ICAEW REP series. |
| TAXGUIDE | 1999- | Series of Technical Releases published by the Tax Faculty, providing guidance and practical advice. |
| ICAEW REP | 2005- | General series of ICAEW representations. |
| AAF | 2006- | Series of Technical Releases from the Audit and Assurance Faculty. Some releases in this series are also designated as entries in the 'TECH' series - eg, 'TECH 10/14 AAF'. |
| ITF | 2007 | Series of Technical Releases from the IT Faculty. Only one entry. |
| ITF REP | 2007 | Series of representations from the IT Faculty. |
| FSF | 2007- | Series of Technical Releases from the Financial Services Faculty. Some releases in this series are also designated as entries in the 'TECH' series - eg, 'TECH 03/17 FSF'. |
| FRF | 2011-2022 | Series of Technical Releases from the Financial Reporting Faculty. Some releases in this series are also designated as entries in the 'TECH' series - eg, 'TECH 01/22 FRF'. |
| BL | 2013- | Series of Technical Releases from the Business Law department. Some releases in this series are also designated as entries in the 'TECH' series - eg, 'TECH 01/17 BL'. |
| CFF | 2013- | Series of Technical Releases from the Corporate Finance Faculty. Some releases in this series are also designated as entries in the 'TECH' series - eg, 'TECH 04/20 CFF'. |
Where can I find Technical Releases and representations?
Having originally been available by way of a subscription service, Technical Releases have been published on the ICAEW website since the mid-to-late 1990s. New Technical Releases and representations, as well as some historical ones, are published in full text on the ICAEW website and can be downloaded free of charge. The exact coverage varies from series-to-series.
Single copies of any historical Technical Releases or representations not available to download from the website may be ordered from the ICAEW Library & Information Service. The Library acts as the archive for ICAEW publications. As part of this archive, we maintain a complete collection of Technical Releases from 1972 onwards and all representations published in the TAX REP and ICAEW REP series.
To request copies, contact us by telephone on +44 (0)20 7920 8620 or email library@icaew.com. Please give a contact telephone number in your email so we can call you back. Our standard document supply charges apply when ordering Technical Releases.
Some Technical Releases have also been reproduced in the Auditing and Reporting and Accounting Standards volumes published by Croner-i (look for the sections headed ‘ICAEW Accounting Recommendations’ and ‘ICAEW Guidance on Auditing and Reporting’ in the respective volumes).
Find Technical Releases and representations by topic
Technical Releases and representations have been issued by faculties and groups over the years under different series titles and numbering sequences. Use the links below to access timelines by topic and browse each series.
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