In this issue

Editor’s welcome

Hello and welcome to the latest issue of International Accountant magazine. AIA will shortly be launching its new professional qualification which will be examinable from November 2021. Offering a streamlined structure, optional papers and a dedicated Ethics paper, the qualification teaches and tests the skills and knowledge needed by today’s accountants, auditors and finance professionals. Working alongside a highly experienced academic team, its regulators and the wider business community, AIA have structured the qualification to meet the needs of employers, whilst maintaining the high standards and requirements of a body operating in the regulated sector. You can read more about the new qualification on page 6. In this issue we have a guide to the key tax announcements made in the Budget, including details on the new super-deduction providing allowances of 130%, or the first year allowance of 50%, on new plant and machinery. Continuing the tax theme, we look at global tax complexities. Corporate taxation has become a highly contentious topic in recent years and there has been increasing scrutiny on corporate approaches to international taxation, particularly in tech and e-commerce (see page 24). Covid-19 continues to impact accountants and financial services and we consider the new financial reporting issues for charities following the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP), such as some aspects which the SORP does not address or where it provides little guidance (see page 19). Likewise, we look at the impact which the Covid-19 pandemic may have on the future of Islamic finance (see page 21). It will no doubt pose a challenge on the industry’s profitability, liquidity, asset quality and capital, just like its conventional counterparts.

And we also consider the themes for 2021. Recent events have changed the face of financial services regulation, but the future is still following the same charted course, especially with the publication of the long awaited Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) consultation “Restoring trust in audit and corporate governance” which sets out proposals to strengthen the UK’s framework for major companies and the way they are audited.

Contributors to this issue

Rachel Rutherford Editor, IA

JILL HALFORD

Jill Halford is a Business Assurance Partner and leads the national charities team within BDO’s Not for Profit (NFP) team. She has over 20 years’ experience working in the charity sector. She has extensive knowledge of reporting under UK GAAP and Charities SORP, and sits on the ICAEW charity technical committee.

EMINE CONStANtIN

Emine Constantin is the Global Solutions Director, Accounting and Tax at TMF Group. She has extensive experience and application in the business financial services field. She is currently managing the activity of over 100 employees, as well as the statutory and management accounting systems for a very large number of clients within the Romanian subsidiary of TMF Group. Emine has extensive experience in IFRS/US GAAP reporting.

GAVIN StEWARt

Gavin Stewart is Head of Strategy Execution for the Grant Thornton’s Financial Services Group (FSG). His focus lies in bringing together the wide range of skills the company offers across its various service lines in ways that help fix clients problems and build trust and integrity in the financial services industry.

DR ROSZAINI HANIFFA

Dr Roszaini Haniffa is Professor of Accountancy at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh and Chief Editor of Journal of Islamic Accounting and Business Research. She is AIA’s moderator for Islamic Auditing and Governance paper.