MKO (now EisnerAmper Ireland) attends GAIMOps Ireland Conference

Senior members of MKO (now EisnerAmper Ireland) and EisnerApmer LLP’s Financial Services teams attended the GAIMOps Ireland conference in Powerscourt from 8 – 10 October, 2014.  GAIMOps is Europe’s preeminent Hedge Fund event for Compliance level operations, Risk Compliance and Due Diligence Executives to share best practices. The conference presented opportunities for hedge fund executives and industry experts to cement formidable business partnerships, engage in valuable and strategic networking and share what’s top of mind with peers.

Ronan Murphy, Partner Designate from MKO (now EisnerAmper Ireland) and Nick Tsafos, Partner at EisnerAmper LLP, attended seminars on topics including:

• Keynote speech from John Bruton, President of IFSC Ireland and former Irish Prime Minister which included topics such as the success of Irish Funds industry to date and future directions for the industry.

• AIFMD 2.0 The AIMA Debrief – Interpreting, prioritising and deciphering the most important elements of the sweeping reform. From remuneration to investor disclosure; accessing outside help with AIFMD authorisation and reporting and the impact of the Directive on non-EU fund managers.

• How A Manager Is Handling And Adapting To AIFMD – How a firm implemented AIFMD and lessons along the way. How compliance is monitoring the reverse solicitation. What should investors be asking and looking for from managers? As depositories seek to transfer or discharge their liability, what are the implications?

These seminars also included panel discussions comprising experts from the Irish, European and US hedge funds industry.

Irish Funds Industry Association Seminar – San Francisco

Senior members of MKO’s (now EisnerAmper Ireland’s) Financial Services team travelled to San Francisco on 8th October, 2014 to attend seminars hosted by The Irish Funds Industry Association highlighting Ireland as fund domicile of choice for investment funds.

Diarmaid O’Keeffe, Partner and Head of Financial Services, and Ray Kelly, Partner Designate, Financial Services, attended seminars on topics including:

• Why Ireland for investment products which included detail on the flexibility of fund structures and success of Irish Funds industry to date.
• Ireland’s solutions for US Managers with alternative products under the AIFM Directive.
• Opportunities presented to US Managers from the introduction of the new Irish Collective Asset-management Vehicle (ICAV) and Ireland’s proposals to allow Loan Origination within Irish domiciled funds.

These seminars also included panel discussions comprising experts from the Irish and European funds industry.

To learn more about the services offered by MKO (now EisnerAmper Ireland) to companies and service providers in the Financial Services sector, click here.

Chartered Accountants Ireland – Credit Union Forum

Diarmaid O’Keeffe (Head of Financial Services at MKO (now EisnerAmper Ireland)) and Dean Roche (Senior Manager, Financial Services at MKO (now EisnerAmper Ireland)) were guest speakers at Chartered Accountants Ireland Credit Union Forum. The forum was aimed at auditors of credit unions and took place on Friday, 26 September, in Chartered Accountants House, Dublin.  Diarmaid and Dean addressed an audience comprising credit unions representatives and auditors.  Their presentation “Audit of Credit Unions – Risks for consideration in planning your audit” covered the following topics:

• Legal & regulatory framework and risk factors;
• Business model – risks for consideration in planning your audit;
• External audit file reviews – recurring themes; and
• Using the work of internal auditors.

The forum allowed attendees to ask questions, gain insights and discuss matters relating to the risks to be considered when planning an audit of a credit union.

Funds Audit Secondment Programme

Patrick Thornton, a member of EisnerAmper LLP Financial Services Team, is currently in Dublin to partake in a 3 month Funds Audit Secondment Programme with MKO (now EisnerAmper Ireland). Patrick will be working with EisnerAmper’s Financial Services team providing audit, accounting, advisory and forensic accounting services to the Firm’s International and Irish clients. Patrick will work with a portfolio of clients including securitisation companies, treasury companies, section 110 companies, aircraft leasing companies, regulatory authorities, and financial services companies.

MKO (now EisnerAmper Ireland) attends Matheson’s annual International Business Forum

Diarmaid O’Keeffe, Partner  and Head of Financial Services at MKO (now EisnerAmper Ireland), attended Matheson’s annual International Business Forum that took place on the 10^th September in UCD. Matheson’s International Business Forum aims to bring together the key stakeholders of international business in Ireland including policy makers, professional advisers, business leaders and academics to exchange thoughts, perspectives and visions for the future of international business activity in Ireland. One of the keynote speakers was Lord Peter Mandelson, British Labour Party politician and President of the international think tank Policy Network. The Q&A and discussion session was facilitated by Mr Quentin Peel of the Financial Times.

MKO (now EisnerAmper Ireland) Trade Tour to India

Senior members of MKO’s (now EisnerAmper Ireland’s) International Business team travelled to India on a trade tour from 24 August to 29 August.  Frank Keane, Partner and Head of International Business, and Cormac Doyle, Partner and Head of Tax, visited Mumbai, Pune and Delhi during the week-long trade tour.

During the trip, MKO (now EisnerAmper Ireland’s) team, alongside representatives of IDA Ireland, met hundreds of Indian enterprises at various stages of development to share their expertise and promote Ireland as a location to do business and as a gateway to Europe.  Frank and Cormac explained why Ireland is a favoured location for foreign investment in sectors such as ICT, Medical Technology and Pharmaceuticals.

EisnerAmper Partners also met with the Director General and members of Mahatma Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (MCCIA) prior to hosting an event in Pune on 26 August aimed at tech firms, entrepreneurs, business owners and those seeking entry to the European market.

MKO (now EisnerAmper Ireland) is a financial services and international trade focussed firm of accountants and advisors that uses its specialist skills and experience to advise financial services and trading entities setting up in, operating from, and using Ireland as a gateway to Europe. To learn more about how MKO (now EisnerAmper Ireland) can assist your company or your clients, please visit http://www.eisneramper.ie/international-trade/.

Certificate in Irish and UK GAAP (FRS 100-102)

Jennifer Kelly, Director of MKO’s (now EisnerAmper Ireland’s) International Business Department, has been awarded with a Certificate in Irish and UK GAAP (FRS 100-102) from the Institute of Chartered Accountants Ireland. The course, which was delivered by financial experts including Professor  Robert Kirk, provided participants with a detailed understanding and knowledge of how companies will switch from adopting local SSAPs and FRSs to applying FRS 102, which is based on International Financial Reporting Standards and the principal accounting issues surrounding the transition to the new FRS.

For further information on how the changes to Irish GAAP and transition to FRS 100-102 will affect your company, please contact Jennifer Kelly.

MKO’s (now EisnerAmper Ireland’s) Learn, Dine & Connect Series

The fourth instalment of MKO’s (now EisnerAmper Ireland’s) series of Financial Services focused industry updates, “Financial Reporting, Audit and Tax update for SPV Professionals”, took place on Thursday, 26 June 2014.

The objective of the evening was to provide industry specific insights on recent technical developments in the Debt Securities and Airfinance sectors. Following a brief overview by the Managing Partner, Alastair MacDonald, on EisnerAmper’s role in the Financial Services and International Business sectors, members of MKO’s (now EisnerAmper Ireland’s) Financial Services team provided specific industry updates:

• Diarmaid O’Keeffe, Partner and Head of Financial Services at MKO, provided an overview of trends identified at the recent Global ABS Conference held in Barcelona.
• Kilian Doyle, Senior Manager, focused on Financial Reporting options for SPVs & the impact of FRS 102 (new Irish GAAP).
• Ronan Murphy, Director of Financial Services, focused on audit report changes.
• Cormac Doyle, Partner and Head of Tax, provided an overview of iXBRL and tax impact of developments in financial reporting.

For more information, please contact Diarmaid O’Keeffe.

Global ABS 2014

MKO’s (now EisnerAmper Ireland’s) Financial Services team will be represented at Global ABS 2014, taking place 10-12 June 2014, in Barcelona, Spain.

This event offers the opportunity to engage with the regulatory community, participate in key policy and client networking discussions, and continue to focus on ways to rebuild the European securitisation market for sound growth and performance in the future. In addition, the conference will explore and discuss other current issues concerning the state of the securitisation market and the financial sector as a whole. The event, organised by IMN, an industry leader for securitisation events around the world, offers securitisation professionals access to the most current financial information to all sectors of the international structured finance community. Keynote speakers for the event include Adam Farkas, Executive Director of the European Banking Authority and Yves Mersch, Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank.

The conference schedule includes discussions on:

• Assessing The Effectiveness of Global Regulations
• Outlook for the European RMBS Market
• European Auto Loan and Lease Sector Review
• Market Transparency: Loan Level Data and Disclosure Developments
• Credit Ratings Agency Regulatory Developments
• Outlook for the Peripheral Economies (Spain, Italy, Ireland, Greece)
• Risk Based Capital Regulatory Developments
• Solvency II
• The PCS Initiative

Commenting on the upcoming event, Diarmaid O’Keeffe, Partner and Head of Financial Services at MKO (now EisnerAmper Ireland) said:

“MKO (now EisnerAmper Ireland) are delighted to attend Global ABS 2014 and reaffirm Dublin and Ireland’s position as the leading worldwide centre for the securitisation industry, and ensure the continued success of the industry in Ireland. Ireland is well placed to service the this industry with experienced lawyers, tax advisors, administrators and auditing firms. Within this network of advisors, MKO (now EisnerAmper Ireland) is a boutique provider of audit and tax services.”

April 2012 – Book Club

In keeping with the “Dublin: One City, One Book” initiative, MKO’s (now EisnerAmper Ireland’s) Book of the Month for April, 2012 was “The Dubliners” by James Joyce. This collection of short stories will hopefully spark lively debate at the next book club meeting!