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An Tánaiste and Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Frances Fitzgerald, has today announced the commencement of the Companies (Amendment) Act 2017.
This Act maintains an important cost saving facility, first introduced in 2009 and used by companies that are based in Ireland while listed in the US. This is a measure that 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.
Following the commencement of the new Act, this facility, which was due to end in December 2020, will stay in place for an additional 10 years. As a result, under the new Act, companies will be able to qualify for this facility up to 31 December 2030.
Welcoming the commencement of the Companies (Amendment) Act 2017, the Tánaiste said I am pleased to have brought this important and practical Act into operation. This new Act, which comes into force on 18 July next, will prolong a significant cost saving measure for some of our larger companies, who have been preparing their financial statements up to now using the American accounting standard. Before this Act, those companies were facing the prospect of having to produce a second set of financial statements, each year, according to a separate and different standard. This would be a significant and costly undertaking, requiring the introduction of new accounting systems within the next year or so.
In the circumstances, I believe that would have been an unwarranted and disproportionate requirement.
The efficiency with which this Act was brought from a proposal, through enactment and now to commencement shows that the Government is responsive to the needs of business. 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.”