IRIS Summer 2021 Full Features v21.2
Release Overview
The IRIS Accountancy Suite Summer release version 21.2 includes all legislative updates to ensure your ongoing compliance, including this year’s Academies Accounts Direction update as well as all the latest tax updates following the latest Budget announcements, including the new Super Deduction allowance. The release also includes some great new features including new data retrieved from HMRC as part of the Pre-population feature in Personal Tax. Plus, we have the official launch of IRIS SmartTax, which provides a live ‘real-time’ tax calculation.
- IRIS Accounts Production
- IRIS Company Secretarial/Company Formations
- IRIS Personal Tax
- IRIS Business Tax
- All Tax
IRIS Accounts Production
Acedemies Accounts Direction 2020 to 2021
Software updates have been made to Academy Account formats, to accommodate the recently released Academies Accounts Direction 2020 to 2021 for accounting periods to support Academy Accounts to 31 August 2021.
Other DfE/ESFA grants
Funding for the academy trust’s educational operations:
Following the new requirement to disclose Sub-analysis of ‘Other DfE/ESFA grants’, the software has been updated to allow for a new note structure in line with the layout presented in Academies Accounts Direction.
To enable this disclosure in the accounts a new default grant (GrntDef2 – Other DfE/ESFA grants) and a new field (Grant sub-analysis) have been added to the grant screen ‘Edit / Grants’ which will facilitate the generation of the new grant heading ‘Other DfE/ESFA grants’ in the note and its sub-analysis accordingly. A new data screen for Guarantees Letter of Comfort and Indemnities has also been introduced in the Notes to Financial Statements/Other Disclosure section to ensure around disclosure is available.
Grant Expenditure
A new disclosure line item has been added to Statement of Financial Activity (SOFA) for ‘Grants’ which is supported by a new note ‘Analysis of grant expenditure’ in the notes to the financial statements.
To enable disclosure of ‘Grant expenditure’ in the SOFA and notes to the financial statements, we have created new chart account codes (188/1-5), a new default charitable activity (CharDef4), both of which need to be used in tandem to ensure the disclosure note is displayed. Finally, a new data screen has been added to the software within the Notes to the Financial Statements /SOFA Items/Expenditure/Analysis of Grant Expenditure.
Restricted Fixed Asset Funds
We have introduced new functionality to allow for the disclosure of Restricted Fixed Asset Funds. When creating funds, we have added a tick option for Fixed asset fund, this only becomes available when using the Restricted Fund Type.
By posting to this new fund type this functionality will then introduce a new column within the Statement of Financial Activities to allow separate disclosure. For the equivalent Balance Sheet and Net Assets – Analysis between funds disclosure we have included a data screen within the Balance Sheet/Net Assets section to allow some additional flexibility in the disclosure of this fund.
Central Services
We have added new data screens to allow for the disclosure of Central Services within the notes to the financial statements, SOFA Items section, Staff Costs.
Long-term Commitments – Operating Leases
We have introduced new data screens to allow for additional disclosure requirements of Operating Leases, which are now required to be shown in a Long-Term Commitments note. This will allow the commitment to be split within one year, between one and five years and more than 5 years. There is also a new section to disclose other contractual commitments.
Academies Model Account – adoption of model standard wording
Each year the Department of Education produce a model set of accounts to provide practical guidance on the application of the Academies Accounts Direction. Following feedback from customers we have adopted more of the standard wording as detailed in model accounts.
The new areas adopted for this release are:
- Members Liability
- Pensions and similar obligation for both the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) and Teachers Pension Scheme (TPS)
- Related Party Transactions
If you would prefer to include additional wording or replace the model wording in the note fully we have included the add replace option within the data screen to enable this flexibility.
International Accounting Standards (IAS) Report – disclosure changes due to Brexit
Following Brexit, all companies applying IAS need to utilise and make reference to UK-adopted IAS, instead of EU-adopted IAS for financial years beginning on or after 1st January 2021. Coincidently both standards were the same on 1st January 2021.
However, where an accounting period begins before 1st January 2021 but ends on or after 1st January 2021, the FRC has issued guidance on appropriate wording referencing the ‘international accounts standards in conformity with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006’.
To cater for this change we have added/updated data screens in the software in three areas being, the statement of Directors Responsibility, Accounting Policy Basis of Preparation, and the Report of the Auditors. The associated disclosure wording will dynamically change depending on the year end in question.
IRIS Elements Financial Performance Review
Now available via IRIS Elements, a graphical dashboard reporting up to five years of a client’s key business KPIs. Using the data already in Accounts Production, graphs can quickly and simply be generated to provide to clients, enhancing your conversations when discussing the financial statements and business performance. To find out more click here.
IRIS Company Secretarial/Company Formations
Sensitive name update to Annex A
The software now includes the updated list from 29 March 2021 of sensitive names to reflect recent changes made in Annex A, this affects both entities changing name and newly incorporated entities.
IRIS Personal Tax
IRIS SmartTax – general availability
IRIS SmartTax has finally arrived! We will be switching SmartTax on in a phased approach, as you update to the summer release, we will iteratively switch SmartTax on for your practice over the coming weeks. However, if you would like this process accelerated for your practice you may email Beta@IRIS.co.uk stating your practice name and CRN.
SmartTax is the first of many features to enhance the desktop products powered by IRIS Elements. This first feature to be implemented into SmartTax is the live “real-time” calculation which will return instant results from the data entered for the selected client without the need to run any additional reports.
SmartTax is available to any existing Personal Tax user and can be displayed on any workstation setup, however, please note that SmartTax will only automatically appear if your hardware is set to the supported criteria (1680 x 1050 or higher). Resolutions below this will trigger a warning that the SmartTax window could interfere with the data entry for Personal Tax and you will have the option to enable it if you choose. (SmartTax can be switched on or off via the Setup menu and selecting the ‘Enable SmartTax’ option).
Pre-pop updates
Updates have been made to the Pre-pop APIs within Personal Tax to cater for the additional information that can now be retrieved from HMRC.
It is now possible to retrieve the amount of SEISS grants claimed by an individual for a specific tax year, as well as whether an individual falls within ‘off payroll working’.
The software will automatically update an individual’s corresponding employment record where they are classed as falling within ‘off payroll working’. The SEISS grant will appear as an entry on the exception report.
Personal Tax resolved issues
- SEISS not considered when calculating farmers averaging for Partnerships.
- Capital gains validation error: “There is an entry in [SA108]. Please complete at least one of [SA108: Gains in the return year before losses]
- Property income: Income and Expenses tabs disappeared.
- Transfer of personal allowances showing as £1257 on the tax computation when claiming marriage allowance
IRIS Business Tax
Super deduction
Updates have been made to the capital allowances feature within the Business Tax module. These changes have been made to cater for the announcement of the Super Deduction Allowance in the recent Budget.
It is now possible to claim 130% first year allowances on qualifying plant & machinery assets, as well as claiming 50% first year allowances on qualifying special rate assets which have been purchased between the 1st April 2021 – 31st March 2023.
IRIS will track these assets through their life and apply the specific disposal rules that apply to assets which have had the new Super Deduction FYA allowances applied.
Capital allowances
The capital allowance module has been updated to allow you to identify as asset as a ‘Zero emission Car’, IRIS will automatically select the corresponding allowance, where the asset is added as a motor vehicle with zero Co2 emissions. This will be reflected on the computation and mapped to the new fields on the CT600.
Share Loss Relief
Recently HMRC extended the scope for share loss relief to cover newly issued shares in small and medium unlisted trading companies outside of the UK which are subsequently disposed of for a loss.
To cater for the extended scope in the share loss relief legislation, we have enhanced the share loss relief feature within IRIS Business tax, allowing for a more comprehensive memo to appear on the computation to be submitted to the HMRC.
SME Tax Credit – prevention abuse
We have enhanced the SME R&D tax credit feature in business tax to take into consideration the recently announced ‘preventing abuse of R&D tax credit relief for SME enterprises’, this change will take affect for accounting periods starting on or after 1st April 2021.
IRIS will automatically restrict the amount of SME tax credit that can be claimed for the selected accounting period. We have taken into consideration where companies are exempt from this condition and therefore can advise the software to lift this restriction.
Resolved issues:
- Printing issue on Computations in BTAX/FAR, percentages appearing as 2e+01%
- Box 2.14 on the SA802 being incorrectly populated for tax year 2020
- R&D: HMRC validation ‘L55 must not be less than box L15 multiplied by the lowest rate’
- R&D: Altering the addback to profits field for RDEC will only impact the computation
- R&D: R&D adjustment incorrect on the tax computation
- R&D: Box 855 incorrect when claiming Creative tax credits and RDEC
- Non trading allowance/charges not being taken into account for Income from land and buildings for a limited company
All Tax
Tax legislation and annual updates
- Updated Dividends databases
- Form 50(Fs) updates
- Updated drill down CT600 and CT600(L)
