Ireland is one of the best places in the world to do business. International companies are attracted for a variety of reasons, but the facts speak for themselves. Ireland’s tax regime is one of the most favourable in the world for business’. There are many opportunities for your business to reduce its effective tax rate with the favourable corporation tax rate of 12.5% and intellectual property and research and development regimes. The Irish economy grew at 7.8% in 2015, the fastest rate in Europe. Unemployment has fallen down to less than 10% over the past three years. Ireland’s education system ranks in the top ten countries in the world and we have a well-educated workforce, one of the youngest in Europe. Irish labour costs have remained relatively stable Ireland has welcomed international companies from a range of sectors, who have continued to demonstrate confidence in Ireland’s ability to house their overseas operations including their headquarters and European Centres of Excellence. Ireland is best known for development in the following sectors: Technology Pharmaceuticals and life sciences Financial services Internet companies How can we help? Call us to discuss the opportunities Ireland might create for your business as you grow and expand. Contact Gareth Evans, Director garethevans@fdw.ie or Michael Bellew, Director michaelbellew@fdw.ie #2017

In our Spring 2017 issue: Our Spring issue contains various interesting tax articles including: An IHT Escape No-one Wants! Furnished Holiday Lettings: Is Your Property ‘Special’? Entrepreneurs’ Relief – Share And Share Alike! Dormant Periods Inheritance Tax Charge Extraction Or Accumulation? Read the Spring Newsletter #2017

Robin Freestone lists the main characteristics of a great CFO or Finance Director: Be honest Be right Have access to great data and use it to make informed decisions Great Judgement Be Bold Be lucky Be Prepared Trust your own instinct It really is that simple. These work whether you’re dealing with investors, clients, internal customers within your organisation or your own colleagues and staff. Source:  How to be a great CFO  By Robin Freestone Robin Freestone is CFO at Pearson Group and chairman of the Hundred Group of FTSE CFOs.  UHY Farrelly Dawe White can help you today with professional financial advice on your business and business growth strategies. Contact us now to see what we can do for you. #2017

REVENUE AUDIT – HOW TO PREPARE A Revenue Audit can be a daunting experience for a lot of companies, businesses and other taxpayers.  However, this stress and anxiety can be reduced considerably by some preparation before the event. What is a Revenue Audit? A Revenue Audit is a crosscheck or review by Revenue of the Tax Returns that have been submitted by the business or taxpayer, against the business records or back up documentation.  Revenue check to make sure the Tax Return are accurate and that there are no omissions. Revenue can normally review any period within the previous four years, but they are entitled to go back further.  It is important that every taxpayer and business retain his or her books and records for a minimum of six years. A Revenue Audit can arise for several reasons.  Revenue do screen Tax Returns and analyse them in terms of patterns in that particular business.  Their computer systems can therefore throw up anomalies / irregularities that Revenue then decide to examine.  Revenue also do projects on certain sectors of industry – in the past, they have concentrated on the construction industry, locums, the motor trade and jewellers.  This mass review of a certain industry allows them to compare and contract businesses and can help Revenue improve their knowledge on a particular sector.  Lastly, a Revenue Audit can arise randomly, but this represents a very small proportion of Revenue Audits. Revenue must announce their intention to commence a Revenue Audit by issuing a formal letter to the taxpayer.  This normally gives 21 days’ notice of the Audit to allow the taxpayer to pull the books and records together.  The letter must also state the taxheads and years that Revenue will be reviewing, and the date and the time of the Revenue Audit. On receipt of this Revenue Audit letter, it is important that the preparation for this begin immediately in the following ways: Meet with your accountants / tax advisers Your accountants will probably also have received a Revenue Audit letter and a preliminary discussion or meeting with your accountant will help you to understand the Revenue Audit process and ease any anxieties you may have.   Your accountant will also be able to guide you in relation to the information that needs collating, both for the Revenue Audit and to allow your accountants to perform a pre-Revenue Audit review.  It is also important at this stage to consider whether a request should be made to change the date and venue of the Revenue Audit, as requests of this nature should be made as soon as possible after receipt of the Revenue Audit letter. Identify any concerns / problem areas and discuss these with the experts It is important that you discuss any issues that you have concerns about in respect of your taxes or the operation of procedures with your accountant.  For example, if you are anxious about some expenses that cannot be vouched, if you have made payments to workers who were not included on the payroll, or if you had another source of income, however small, that was not included on your Tax Return.    Your accountant has experience in these matters and will be able to guide you in the best ways to prepare for the Revenue Audit with these issues in mind, how and when to discuss these issues with Revenue, and whether a Voluntary Disclosure should be offered. Review all Returns / Linking Documents / e-documentation for all taxheads included in the Revenue Audit, or allow your accountant to do so. Even the most careful and compliant taxpayer can make an unintentional error or omission in their Tax Returns.  A full review of the Tax Returns for the periods stated to come within the Revenue Audit can throw up any errors, omissions or issues.  Your accountant can then prepare for the best way to raise these with Revenue and can prepare a Voluntary Disclosure if this is appropriate. Prepare a Voluntary Disclosure (if required). If there are any issues, omissions or errors resulting in an underpayment of taxes, your accountant can prepare a Qualifying Voluntary Disclosure in the correct format that Revenue require.  Your accountant will identify the taxheads concerned, the periods to which the underpayments relate, the interest arising on the underpayments and any penalties.  This preparation of the Voluntary Disclosure can reduce penalties and remove the threat of publication or prosecution but it is vital that the document is prepared in accordance with Revenue’s requirements and presented to Revenue at the commencement of the Revenue Audit. #2017

See below for our infographic showing that Employment in Ireland is at its highest since 2008. The infographic shows that Quarter 4 in 2016 which was the 17th success quarter of annual employment growth. This increase was recorded in all 14 sectors measured by the Central Statistics office. #2017

Over the next few weeks, UHY Farrelly Dawe White will be publishing a series of quotes from successful Chief Financial Officers around the world. 23rd February 2017 – We are starting with Anthony Nota, CFO of Twitter: [one_half] [/one_half] [one_half_last] Anthony says great financial leaders dig deep to find the truth: “Great leaders of organizations run after problems, make their footprint bigger than their foot, and always strive to find the truth — because you have to get to the truth” [/one_half_last] Keep an eye on our Facebook over the next few weeks as we add more tips and advice from some of the world’s leading CFO’s. Quote Courtesy of Businessinsider.com 2nd March 2017 [one_half] Bob Shanks, the CFO of Ford, says you have to be grounded in real-time. “Operating a global business in a fast-changing world, you have to be grounded real-time in the external environment, have complete transparency, be fact-based and working with a great, collaborative team” [/one_half] [one_half_last] [/one_half_last] [one_half] [/one_half] [one_half_last]  Olivier Bisserier, CFO of Booking.com, says you need to have a maniacal focus on ROI. “As an organization, we have a maniacal focus on ROI. We built our organization globally by keeping this at the center of every investment and decision and now it’s just part of our DNA. “My best piece of advice is look at what your organization needs and don’t be afraid to take chances, but balance risk with success, only increasing the former when the latter goals are being met.”[/one_half_last] [one_half][one_half_last][/one_half_last] John Stephens, the CFO of AT&T, says it’s critical to remember cash generation. “In this era of ‘free money,’ it’s still critical to remember cash generation — or, rather, consistent and material cash generation. It’s the biggest factor in the long-term success of any business. “This might sound textbook, but that’s because it’s true. Revenue growth and disciplined expense management will generate the cash a business needs to invest, seize growth opportunities, and return consistent value to owners.” [/one_half] [one_half_last]   [/one_half_last] #2017

Having the right financial team in place in your business is the key to your business success. With good financial management and with the right expertise you will Ensure informed business decisions are made in order to grow your business. Have a clear business strategy and financial budgets set out which are aligned with business objectives Monitor and actively manage your finances with weekly/ monthly reviews of management accounts and cash flow Ensure financial input into strategic business issues such as investments, partnerships, restructuring Actively manage relationships with external stakeholders to ensure they are making the right contributions to your business Oversee compliance issues such as year-end accounts completion, Audits, VAT compliance, payroll year end and general Revenue compliance. If you don’t have these skills in house consider hiring in the right people or outsource to trusted partners like UHY Farrelly Dawe White who can offer your business the support you need. Contact us using the form provided or give us a call on +353 42 933 9955 #2017

HELP TO BUY (HTB) INCENTIVE – First Time Buyers The HTB incentive has been introduced in Finance Act 2016 to assist first-time buyers with obtaining the deposit required to purchase or self-build a new house or apartment, which they wish to live in as their home. One of the conditions of this relief is that the contract for the purchase or self-build is entered into with a “qualifying contractor”. Where qualifying residences are being sold, purchasers who have applied for the HTB scheme may only wish to enter into contracts with a qualifying contractor where they are relying on the HTB scheme to purchase the residence. Where you are building qualifying residences, obtaining qualifying contractor status in advance can assist in ensuring contracts can be entered into with HTB applicants in respect of those properties. Read our Individuals FAQs Download for further information. Contact Kelly O’Brien on our Tax Team now if you wish to discuss this further kellyobrien@fdw.ie #2017

HELP TO BUY (HTB) INCENTIVE The HTB incentive has been introduced in Finance Act 2016 to assist first-time buyers with obtaining the deposit required to purchase or self-build a new house or apartment, which they wish to live in as their home. One of the conditions of this relief is that the contract for the purchase or self-build is entered into with a “qualifying contractor”. Where qualifying residences are being sold, purchasers who have applied for the HTB scheme may only wish to enter into contracts with a qualifying contractor where they are relying on the HTB scheme to purchase the residence. Where you are building qualifying residences, obtaining qualifying contractor status in advance can assist in ensuring contracts can be entered into with HTB applicants in respect of those properties. Read our Contractors FAQs Download for further information. We can help get you registered as a relevant contractor for the HTB scheme so that you are ready to enter into contracts with HTB claimants on properties you are developing. Contact Kelly O’Brien on our Tax Team now if you wish to discuss this further kellyobrien@fdw.ie #2017

This free download contains the most up to date and comprehensive tax advice in areas such as Income Tax, Corporation Tax and VAT. If you have any queries please feel free to contact a member of our Tax Team . Download #2017 #BusinessGuide #TAX #Tax2017

INDEPENDENT BUSINESS REVIEWS – BANK REQUIREMENTS In recent years as more companies consider expansion opportunities and turn to financial institutions for funding, we have seen a rise in the number of requests for Independent Business Reviews (IBRs). IBRs are often required by banks and financial institutions before finalising a funding or investment decision. UHY Farrelly Dawe White Limited carry out IBRs on behalf of interested parties including company directors, shareholders and financial institutions. The aim of the IBR is to provide independent and relevant information that the stakeholders can use to make vital decisions. It is crucial for companies to be aware of the areas that banks and financial institutions require information and analysis. Bank requirements checklist: Current trading and financial position Profit and cash flow projections Sensitivity analysis Management and systems Bank security cover We offer a business-focused approach to IBRs with a highly qualified team of professionals. Our previous experience in undertaking IBRs suggests that stakeholders have acted on our recommendations in making their financial decisions. If you would like to discuss an independent business review in more detail, please contact Alan Farrelly at alanfarrelly@fdw.ie or +353 42 933 9955 . Alternatively you can  Contact Us Here #2017

LAST MONTH WAS THE STRONGEST JANUARY FOR COMPANY START-UPS SINCE THE YEAR 2000. New report from Vision Net shows best January for Start-ups in 17 years Last month was the strongest January for company start-ups since the year 2000. 1,768 new companies were formed in January which is an average of 57 per day. This is 288 more companies than were formed in Jan 2016. Professional services remains the most popular industry for Irish start-ups with 317 (18%) new companies operating in this sector – these companies would typically be associated with Accounting/Auditing, Administration Activities, Advertising/Marketing, Architecture, Consultancy, Engineering, HR, Investigation, Legal Services etc. The finance and construction sectors were the second and third most popular industries for start-ups and accounted for just over 426 new companies between them. Wholesale & retail and IT companies round out the top 5 most popular industries with 154 and 118 start-ups respectively. Approximately 40% of this January’s start-ups are based in Dublin with just over another 10% based in Cork. Galway, Kildare and Limerick are next on the list and account for just over 12% of new companies between them. #2017