KomSec Limited will close from close of business on 21.12.2022 and open again on 03.01.2023.
Happy Christmas and a Happy New Year to all our clients
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News
Extension of “Covid-19” Act to Q1 2022
Posted in Category(ies): Latest News
The Government has approved the extension of the interim period of the Companies (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Covid-19) Act 2020 to 30th April 2022.
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Director and Member Meetings can continue to hold virtual meetings
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Threshold at which a company is deemed unable to pay its debts remains at €50,000
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Extension of examinership to 150 days remains in place.
Introduction of SCARP (Small Companies Administrative Rescue Process)
This is a practical piece of legislation intended to make the Examinership process more accessible and less expensive. It provides for a tight timeline for the entire process without the company having to go to Court.
Brief highlights of SCARP
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To avail of SCARP a company must be “small” or “micro” – no more than 50 employees, turnover does not exceed €12m, balance sheet does not exceed €6m.
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Company is unable to pay its debts
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The company cannot have appointed an Examiner or Process Advisor (insolvency practitioner) within previous 5 years.
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Process Advisor assesses viability of the company and its ability to trade its way out of current difficulties.
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Entire process should be completed within 70 days.
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Merry Christmas
Posted in Category(ies): Latest News
KomSec Limited will be closed from close of business on Wednesday 21.12.2022 and open again on Tuesday 03.01.2023.
Everyone in KomSec Limited wishes you all a very Happy Christmas, and hope you have a contented time with your family and friends.
We look forward to working with you in 2023.
More Detail...Lobbying
Posted in Category(ies): Latest News
As part of the appointment process every Director acknowledges he/she is responsible for securing their company complies with all relevant obligations. Two examples of “relevant obligations” would include compliance with the Lobbying Act 2015.
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Property companies lobbying for changes in planning law, re-zoning of land.
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Charities advocating for changes in law.
The Lobbying Regulation (Amendment) Bill 2020 seeks to reform the Lobbying Act 2015. One of the proposals in the Bill will be the ability for a Designated Public Official to cease communicating with a lobbyist where they are aware that the person or body carrying on lobbying activities has failed to comply with the Act.
Transparency Ireland carried out a review of disclosure practices of 30 of Ireland’s top companies across a range of indicators including Responsible Political Engagement. Whilst a number showed leadership in the area it is fascinating to note that most of the companies did not disclose a policy on responsible political engagement. Indeed, 28 out of the 30 companies reviewed did not publish rules or policies dealing with “revolving doors” (the movement of staff rom the public sector to companies or vice versa).
For greater detail on this topic take a look at www.lobbying.ie and www.transparency.ie
More Detail...Directors – please produce your PPS number for the Companies Registration Office!
Posted in Category(ies): Companies Registration Office
It looks likely that in 2022 the Companies Registration Office will ask Directors to provide their PPS number when lodging various company documents. These will include an application to incorporate a company, an annual return and even a B10 Form noting a change of director or secretary.
Exact details have yet to be set out, but the principal is contained in the recently published Companies (Corporate Enforcement Authority) Bill which is due to be enacted before the end of this year.
No guidance is available on what will happen if a director has no PPS number but KomSec would expect that a similar regime to the BEN2 Form required for Beneficial Ownership registration will be put in place. This Form must be sworn by a director in front of a Notary Public and in our experience the additional time and cost involved is never welcome!
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White Collar Crime – BEWARE!!
Posted in Category(ies): Latest News
White Collar Crime – Beware!
A new independent statutory agency with increased power and resources to investigate and prosecute white-collar crime is on its way. The Companies (Corporate Enforcement Authority) Bill 2021 is due to be published shortly and will establish the Corporate Enforcement Authority. The CEA will replace (and strengthen) the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement.
Significantly increasing personnel and allowing for more specialised staff will make the CEA, according to the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar “an Irish FBI… [for].. white collar crime”.
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Merry Christmas
Posted in Category(ies): Latest News
KomSec Limited will be closed from midday on 22.12.2020 to 05.01.2021 inclusive.
Everyone in KomSec Limited wishes you all a very Happy Christmas, and hope you have a contented time with your family and friends.
We look forward to working with you in 2022.
More Detail...Irish Charities: Where to donate?
Posted in Category(ies): CharitiesIrish Charities: Where to donate?
Here are some basic steps you can take to help you be sure your donations are going to a registered and well-governed charity.
- Know your cause
- Check Charity Registration
- Review your chosen charity’s data on Benefacts
- Read their Annual Activity Report
- What Governance Regulations are in place?
- Do they recognise they need to be on a Governance Journey?
Know your Cause
What do you care about and then follow your heart and your aspirations – it will mean you are more likely to be generous, and interested in staying engaged. Your chosen charity will also benefit from long term donations from you as (an interested supporter.
Check Charity Registration
First thing’s first – check that your chosen charity is on the Register of Charities before you donate.
Review your chosen Charity on Benefacts
Benefacts, a non-profit social enterprise established in 2014 is transforming accessibility and transparency of the non-profit sector in Ireland. The company provides up-to-date financial and governance data, sourced from a number of regulatory sources including the Companies Registration Office
Check your chosen charity on benefacts here and you can see their sources of funding levels of funding, income/turnover, company information (directors and length of terms), employee numbers etc. The information is presented in a neutral and impartial way and allows you judge the effectiveness of your chosen charity objectively.
Charity’s Annual Activity Report
Normally available to download on a charity’s website – a charity’s Annual Activity Report provides information that’s of interest to a number of stakeholders, including donors. A good report will provide an honest picture of what the charity is set up to do, how they use the resources available to them and their achievements.
What Governance regulations are in place?
At an absolute minimum expect to see compliance with the Charities Governance Code – (all Irish registered charities should have complied by 2020).
Charities that meet compliance in the three areas (Governance Code, Implementation of SORP and adhere to Guidelines for Charitable Organisations on Fundraising from the Public) are awarded the Charities Institute “Triple Lock Award”. This is on the basis that these charities uphold the highest standards in transparent reporting, ethical fundraising and strong governance structures.
Is your chosen Charity on a Governance Journey?
We need to recognise that most charities are on a governance journey, many smaller charities with exceptionally limited resources and other hurdles are slowly implementing these changes. In these cases, look for a thoughtful strategy where the charity’s governance commitment implementation plans are clearly set out.
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No new banking facility without proof of beneficial ownership registration
Posted in Category(ies): Beneficial Ownership
We recently incorporated a new company that found itself unable to open a new banking facility until it had provided proof that it had filed on the Registry of Beneficial Ownership. This was despite the fact that it had another 5 months to file beneficial ownership details (all newly incorporated companies have 5 months from incorporation to file). Increasingly, financial institutions are making beneficial ownership part of their due diligence process so companies shouldn’t neglect to file or neglect to keep their beneficial ownership details up to date. You have been warned!
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Annual Return Date Mismatch
Posted in Category(ies): Annual Returns
ANNUAL RETURN DATE MISMATCH
Be very careful as currently the Annual Return Date for your company does not match the Annual Return Date given on the Companies Registration Office (CRO) website. Confused – you should be!
The Annual Return Date (ARD) of a company is the date up to which a company provides corporate information on itself as at a particular date year. A bit like a corporate snapshot.
Previously the CRO always gave the actual ARD for each company. Unfortunately, since the implementation of its new digital platform the CRO website is now showing the filing deadline date as if it was the actual ARD.
Let’s pretend your company’s ARD is 01.01.2021 that would give it 56 days in which to electronically file everything bringing it to 26.02.2021. Your company’s ARD is 01.01.2021 but the CRO are showing it as 26.02.2021 which is actually the filing deadline date.
Hopefully, this mismatch will be short term as the CRO continues to resolve teething problems surrounding its new system. In the meantime, take care. Failure to file the Annual Return (and accompanying financial statements and signature page) carries, at a minimum, the imposition of a late filing fee and loss of audit exemption.
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