The Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Ireland (CPA) is one of the main Irish accountancy bodies with in excess of 5,000 members and students. The CPA designation is the most commonly used designation worldwide for professional accountants and the Institute’s qualification enjoys wide international recognition.
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Friday, February 25, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
February's StudyCpa.ie newsletter issued
| Hi Folks! Welcome to Study CPA's newsletter for February 2011. My name is Ciara Murphy and I will be your contact at CPA. This month's newsletter as always provides lots of helpful advice on kick starting your career as a CPA with helpful information in our Careers Corner item. You will also find links to CPA's various social networking sites, where you can join our growing CPA community. Of course we are interested in hearing from you! What items do you want to see covered on our site? What are your career aspirations, concerns for 2011? Let us know and we will do our best to cover them here. You can get in touch at hello@studycpa.ie
CPA has a full calendar of college and work place events over 2011. During the month of February we will be presenting on the CPA route to professional qualification in UCD, Limerick College of Further Education, the IPA and in Adamstown, Co. Wexford. CPA will also be attending the gradIreland Post Graduate Fair in the RDS on Wednesday 16th February. Details can be found on www.studycpa.ie Interested in getting career advice? Feel like a change? Want to kick start that job search? Whether you want to update your CV or prepare for interview, Careers Corner is packed full of useful advice, hints and tips. For those of you who haven't seen it yet check out our new student brochure for all you need to know about becoming a CPA. Great news to for anyone who plans to register as a CPA student during 2011. CPA has waived the registration fee. We understand that students are facing a serious debt burden in the current climate and we don’t want to add to that pressure. CPA will also launch an exciting new competition in March. One lucky winner will have their CPA education paid for in full! More details to follow. Do you tweet, facebook, want to check out the latest CPA photos? Join us on Facebook, Twitter and Flickr. That’s all for this month’s edition. I hope you find it useful and feel free to spread the word or forward to anyone you think may be interested Bye for now!
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Thanks for the coverage!
Thanks to the Independent for coverage in last week's Accountancy Supplement
See page 7.
Much appreciated!
Learning is at the tips of your fingers
Furthering your education can become another thing to juggle particularly if you work full-time. Griffith College is one of several third-level institutions helping students to overcome time pressures by offering lectures online.
Very often, people attending evening or part-time courses finish work in the evening and make a make dash through the traffic to get to lectures on time. If they get held up or the babysitter lets them down, they miss out. If they live or work outside Dublin or travel with work, things are even more difficult.
‘By providing online access to the lectures, we would save people travelling time, make further education accessible to people in remote locations and give people the flexibility to attend at times and in places that suit them’, says Gavin McCullagh an IT systems developer with Griffith College Dublin.
So how does it work? ‘The lectures happen on the Griffith College campus at the usual time for those students who can attend in person. A professional cameraman in the theatre records the lectures. For those who can’t attend, lecture videos go online that evening – usually an hour or so after- so people studying at home can watch. The videos stay online for the full term.’
Griffith College has a number of courses aimed at professionals studying in the evening or at weekends. Other courses prepare people for professional accountancy exams such as CPA. McCullough explains that to help revision, lectures are indexed by the topics covered. ‘So at a glace you can see that certain material was covered in a certain week, at X minutes into the lecture. If you want to listen back to that topic, one click and you immediately see that part of the lecture’, he says.
Alongside the lecture video, Griffith College also provides online access to the relevant pages of the textbook being covered, any handouts the lecturer provides, the homework for that weekend a homework solution and explanation video. ‘You submit homework online and it’s marked for you’, says McCullough. There are also online discussion forums for asking questions, debating issues and chatting in general. The system has been set up and running for three years now and so far it has worked well. ‘The feedback has been really positive’, says McCullough. ‘We see people watching lectures at all times of the day and from all over Ireland and abroad. People study at home, in work, hotels, cafes or any where there’s a reliable internet connection. ‘We’ve even noticed one or two people watching lectures on mobile phones. Support for iPad’s is next on our list.
Metroherald January 31st 2011 - eLearning with Griffith College Dublin
Find out more about CPA eLearning
New professional taxes 'not a luxury', warn industry bodies
New taxes on subscriptions to professional organisations are "sending the wrong signal" about Ireland's commitment to the highest business standards, industry groups have warned. The measures introduced in the Budget mean thousands of professionals will have to pay benefit-in-kind tax on their annual fees to organisations like accountants' bodies and the Institute of Directors.
The annual fees, which can run to more than €1,000 for some bodies, are typically paid for by employers and were traditionally exempt from tax. Under the new rules the fees are treated as a benefit-in-kind (BIK), triggering taxes of up to 52pc for individuals and PRSI of 10.5pc for companies.
The changes are being vigorously opposed by a range of professional organisations including Chartered Accountants Ireland, the Society of Actuaries and the Institute of Taxation.
"It's very counter-productive in terms of promoting Ireland as a safe place to do business," said Eamonn Siggins, who heads up the Institute of Certified Public Accountants (CPA).
"Professional competence is something that should be encouraged, not taxed."
Brian Keegan, who heads up fellow accountants body Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland, said while he didn't expect much slippage in his organisation's 20,000-strong membership, other areas could be hit. "We'd have a lot of people with us who are also in other organisations like the Institute of Taxation," he said.
Concerns
"They could be less likely to maintain those two memberships if they have to pay for it, particularly when those same employees are also paying higher taxes generally."
A spokesman for the Institute of Taxation said he had "strong concerns" which were "counterproductive for Ireland and its services".
"It is not a luxury or optional subscription for professionals but is a necessary educational and professional development requirement so they can practice and advise to the highest possible standards," he stressed.
Professionals who can demonstrate a legal need to be members of certain bodies, for instance auditors who need to be in accountants' organisations, can be exempted from the tax.
But Mr Keegan stressed that it would be up to employees and firms to make their case for an exemption to the Revenue -- "there's going to be a large administration burden".
Jim Murphy, secretary of the Society of Actuaries, said his organisation was "hoping" there might be some changes to the measures in a second Finance Act later in the year.
"Michael Noonan (Fine Gael's finance spokesman) tabled an amendment (when the bill was going through), so that bodes well," he said, in a reference to the anticipated change in government.
Failing a change, the Society of Actuaries is considering remodelling its charges so that the annual fee of €850 is broken into a subscription figure and fees for seminars throughout the year. This would trigger less tax, since BIK is only payable on membership fees.
"We'll keep lobbying for a return to the status quo," said Mr Keegan. "We're not going to stop."
Source: Independent, By Laura Noonan , Wednesday February 02 2011
The annual fees, which can run to more than €1,000 for some bodies, are typically paid for by employers and were traditionally exempt from tax. Under the new rules the fees are treated as a benefit-in-kind (BIK), triggering taxes of up to 52pc for individuals and PRSI of 10.5pc for companies.
The changes are being vigorously opposed by a range of professional organisations including Chartered Accountants Ireland, the Society of Actuaries and the Institute of Taxation.
"It's very counter-productive in terms of promoting Ireland as a safe place to do business," said Eamonn Siggins, who heads up the Institute of Certified Public Accountants (CPA).
"Professional competence is something that should be encouraged, not taxed."
Brian Keegan, who heads up fellow accountants body Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland, said while he didn't expect much slippage in his organisation's 20,000-strong membership, other areas could be hit. "We'd have a lot of people with us who are also in other organisations like the Institute of Taxation," he said.
Concerns
"They could be less likely to maintain those two memberships if they have to pay for it, particularly when those same employees are also paying higher taxes generally."
A spokesman for the Institute of Taxation said he had "strong concerns" which were "counterproductive for Ireland and its services".
"It is not a luxury or optional subscription for professionals but is a necessary educational and professional development requirement so they can practice and advise to the highest possible standards," he stressed.
Professionals who can demonstrate a legal need to be members of certain bodies, for instance auditors who need to be in accountants' organisations, can be exempted from the tax.
But Mr Keegan stressed that it would be up to employees and firms to make their case for an exemption to the Revenue -- "there's going to be a large administration burden".
Jim Murphy, secretary of the Society of Actuaries, said his organisation was "hoping" there might be some changes to the measures in a second Finance Act later in the year.
"Michael Noonan (Fine Gael's finance spokesman) tabled an amendment (when the bill was going through), so that bodes well," he said, in a reference to the anticipated change in government.
Failing a change, the Society of Actuaries is considering remodelling its charges so that the annual fee of €850 is broken into a subscription figure and fees for seminars throughout the year. This would trigger less tax, since BIK is only payable on membership fees.
"We'll keep lobbying for a return to the status quo," said Mr Keegan. "We're not going to stop."
Source: Independent, By Laura Noonan , Wednesday February 02 2011
CPA has welcomed the decision not to bring forward tax deadline for self employed
'The decision was unworkable and would have placed many self employed under financial stress.'
The Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Ireland (CPA) has welcomed the announcement that the Government will not proceed with the proposal to bring forward the tax deadline for the self employed from 31st October to 30th September. The Institute had lobbied extensively against the proposed change saying it was unworkable and would have placed an additional unnecessary burden on the self-employed.
Eamonn Siggins, chief executive of the CPA said; “There was no prior consultation and it is clear that no impact analysis was undertaken before deciding to bring forward the tax deadline for the self employed. Many self employed are struggling in the current economic environment. Delays in getting paid and a severe drop in trade have impacted on revenue streams. There is considerable concern around the ability of many self-employed taxpayers to actually pay their tax bill and bringing forward the payment date would have put many under even more financial stress.
“There was also the issue of the availability of staff in accountancy practices to process tax returns. Much of the work would have had to be undertaken during of July and August to meet the new deadline. These are the prime months for study leave and examinations and the additional work would have caused severe pressure on small and medium practices throughout the country.
“We are delighted that reason has prevailed in this regard and would ask the Department of Finance to consult with the CPA and other accountancy bodies before introducing such measures in future finance bills”.
He added; “This is but one measure that concerns CPAs within an extensive Finance Bill, where issues are not been properly debated, and we are tracking progress on amendments as the process continues”.
The Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Ireland (CPA) has welcomed the announcement that the Government will not proceed with the proposal to bring forward the tax deadline for the self employed from 31st October to 30th September. The Institute had lobbied extensively against the proposed change saying it was unworkable and would have placed an additional unnecessary burden on the self-employed.
Eamonn Siggins, chief executive of the CPA said; “There was no prior consultation and it is clear that no impact analysis was undertaken before deciding to bring forward the tax deadline for the self employed. Many self employed are struggling in the current economic environment. Delays in getting paid and a severe drop in trade have impacted on revenue streams. There is considerable concern around the ability of many self-employed taxpayers to actually pay their tax bill and bringing forward the payment date would have put many under even more financial stress.
“There was also the issue of the availability of staff in accountancy practices to process tax returns. Much of the work would have had to be undertaken during of July and August to meet the new deadline. These are the prime months for study leave and examinations and the additional work would have caused severe pressure on small and medium practices throughout the country.
“We are delighted that reason has prevailed in this regard and would ask the Department of Finance to consult with the CPA and other accountancy bodies before introducing such measures in future finance bills”.
He added; “This is but one measure that concerns CPAs within an extensive Finance Bill, where issues are not been properly debated, and we are tracking progress on amendments as the process continues”.
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