One-stop shop to tackle new rules

Legal firm McCann FitzGerald has joined forces with KPMG to offer a new one-stop shop for companies struggling to comply with new company law regulations.

The move is designed to anticipate new rules on directors' compliance which are due to come into force over the summer.

The rules, which apply to about 7,000 companies in the Republic, have been criticised by business bodies for creating too heavy a regulatory burden.

Most criticism relates to the requirement that all directors in affected firms confirm in writing that they have put in place effective legal and tax compliance procedures. In practice, this means that directors must draw up a compliance statement that will be included in their company's annual report.

This requirement will apply to all public limited companies and to those with a balance sheet of more than €7.6 million or a turnover greater than €15.3 million.

The rule will apply regardless of whether the company in question is listed or not.

McCann FitzGerald's partner David Byers points out that the new requirement is "not objectionable" in principle. He says, however, that the level of formality under the new system will be difficult, or costly, for some companies to handle. "The bottom line is that, for affected companies, it will no longer be possible to have informal procedures to ensure legal and tax compliance," Mr Byers says.