Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 25:

In page 32, to delete lines 21 to 23 and substitute the following:"(b) to the extent practicable, the impact of the change in accounting policy on the financial statements for the current financial year and on the financial statements of preceding years.".".

The section amends section 321 of the Companies Act 2014. Section 321 relates to the disclosure by companies of the accounting policies they have adopted. The section inserts a new obligation on companies that change their accounting policy to disclose the reason for that change. They are also required to disclose the impact of that change on the financial statements for the current year and, to the extent practicable, for preceding years. The purpose of the amendment is to align the extent of the obligations relating to the current year with those relating to preceding years. In other words, companies will be obliged to disclose the impact on the financial statements to the extent practicable for the current year, as well as for previous years. This is fair. It would be costly for companies such as large financial institutions to go beyond what is practicable.