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Europe steps up its fight against fraud
European watchdogs have long been focusing on enforcement against corporate crime with a great focus on anti-corruption, economic sanctions and money laundering.
United Kingdom | Publication | May 2022
On May 16, 2022 the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) published a report which summarises the key findings in relation to discounting in financial reporting arising from both a thematic review conducted by the FRC and its routine monitoring of corporate reporting.
The report notes that while discounted cash flows, and discount rates themselves, are commonly used when applying International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), determining an appropriate discount rate is a complex area of financial reporting, which can also be a source of significant estimation uncertainty. This is partly because the reporting requirements relating to discount rates differ across IFRS Accounting Standards, some do not include any explicit requirements, and many require judgement to be applied in determining the construction of the appropriate discount rate.
As a result, discount rates can be a source of errors which the FRC believes could have been avoided if companies had sought specialist third party advice at an appropriate point in their reporting cycle and so the FRC encourages companies to make a point of including this in their annual planning process, where no internal expertise exists. The FRC also believes that there is general scope for improvement in the usefulness of the disclosures provided by many companies, particularly in the current interest rate environment of low nominal interest rates and relatively high inflation, which may impact reporting by many companies.
The FRC states that the report aims to help preparers, auditors and investors better appreciate the reporting implications of sustained negative real interest rates. Its findings include the following:
A number of examples of better disclosure and opportunities for improvement are included in the report, together with some case studies, based on issues the FRC sees in routine reviews, to illustrate some of the challenges which companies may face in the area.
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European watchdogs have long been focusing on enforcement against corporate crime with a great focus on anti-corruption, economic sanctions and money laundering.
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The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCC Act) received Royal Assent on 24 May 2024 and is generally expected to come into force in autumn this year.
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Head of Legal Operations, Stephanie Hamon, will be joining the panel discussion on "Simplifying Legal Tech Adoption and Implementation" at the Legal Tech Talk conference on June 13th (3:30 - 4:15 PM).
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