Dear Reader

Welcome to the most recent issue of our newsletter. 

In October Quintas were named Cork Accountancy Firm of the Year 2016 by the Cork Business Awards. 

At Quintas we are very proud of this award and we would like to thank the Cork business community, our clients, colleagues, partners and dedicated staff for the support in winning such an award.

We are driving ahead with our expansion of services for the new demands of todays business world and we are very pleased to announce that through our graduate program we have taken on 7 new trainee accountants namely, Cian Baker, Chloe Higgins, Kevin O’Riordan,  Louise O’Sullivan, Jennifer Kelly, Aoife King and Elaine Cremin.  I'm delighted to welcome them all to Quintas and I'm sure the experience they obtain here will prove to be invaluable to their future careers.

I hope you enjoy the various articles we have featured in this newsletter and as always we look forward to receiving your feedback.

Tim McCarthy
Managing Partner

The deadline for converting to a Designated Activity Company (DAC) has passed (31^st August 2016).

The deadline for converting to a private limited company is the 30^th November 2016.

Since the introduction of the Companies Act 2014, I find I am being asked two questions regularly:

1. What happens if I do not convert and
2. Would you recommend automatic conversion?

The answer to question 1 is: -

Included in the Budget last week was the reduction in the Capital Gains Tax (“CGT”) rate for disposals of businesses from 20% to 10%. This is known as entrepreneur relief and it is something that business owners will come across more and more over the coming years. From people I have spoken to it’s a tax rate that they don’t mind paying. The lower rate becomes live on 1 January 2017.

The entrepreneur relief is modelled on UK legislation, however as of yet it is not nearly as beneficial as the UK equivalent. In the UK the cap on gains for this 10% rate is at €10m whereas in Ireland the cap is €1m. However, during the Budget speech Minister Noonan said that he would revisit the cap on an annual basis with a view to it increasing.

WINNERS - Cork Accountancy Firm of the Year, 2016


We were delighted and proud to recently announce that we won the prestigious title of Cork Accountancy Firm of the Year as awarded by The Cork Business Awards 2016.   The awards ceremony will take place at The Clayton Hotel Silver Springs on Friday 25th November 2016 and we look forward to celebrating the achievement with the other award winners.

Insolvency and Bankruptcy Seminar

Earlier this month we hosted a seminar for solicitiors on Insolvency and Bankruptcy. Thank you to Keith Farry, Barrister-at-Law who co presented with Mark Ryan the Quintas Personal Insolvency Practitioner (PIP).  Both Keith and Mark are pictured below. 




Special Olympics Inaugural Golf Classic at Fota Island Golf Club

Quintas were proud to be one of the sponsors of the Special Olympics Inaugural Golf Classic which was held in May.  A very special guest, Irelands Captain, Robbie Keane dropped by to show his support and is pictured below with Special Olympics volunteers including Mark Ryan of Quintas.



Congrats to Denis Healy

Earlier this year Denis Healy passed his final exams with the CPA Institute.  You can read an article by Denis in this newsletter where he shares details of the career path he took which lead to his accountancy qualification.

Denis is pictured below with Tim McCarthy, Managing Partner and Pat Kearney, Partner of Quintas.



CBC Bath Tour 2016

Quintas sponsored the CBC rugby teams tour to Bath earlier this year.  A great trip was had by all.



New Arrivals



Congrats to Jennifer Brosnan and her husband Paul and the arrival of Baby Ryan who was born in May & also congrats to Dave O'Brien and his wife Orla on the birth of Bill O'Brien in August.


Ring of Kerry Cycle



Well done to Fergal O'Sullivan who completed the 180km Ring of Kerry Cycle on the 2nd July 2016.  Fergal was raising funds for St Francis Special School in Beaufort. 

After completing my leaving cert in the mid '90s and at the time as I was more interested in driving than continuing my education I commenced a career in truck driving. With ten years experience as a driver an opportunity arose for me to set up a business as a haulier which continued for five years.

Are you a recently Qualified Accountant looking for Career Progression?  



Due to ongoing expansion we are seeking applications for a position that has arisen within our SME Department.

The ideal candidate would be:

- Recently Qualified with 3 years practice experience
- Capable of assuming responsibility and accountability. 
- Capable of working on their own initiative and show flexibility when faced with new challenges.

The candidate would also need to possess strong analytical ability and have excellent attention to detail.

Salary negotiable depending on experience.

Apply by email to julie.murray@quintas.ie

Graduate/Trainee Accountant Opportunities

Are you interested in training to become an accountant?  If so click here to find out about opportunities available in Quintas.

With effect from 1 September 2016, new parents (other than the mother of the child) are entitled to paternity leave from employment or self-employment following birth or adoption of a child. Paternity Leave and Benefit Act 2016 provides for statutory paternity leave of 2 weeks. The provisions apply to births and adoptions on or after 1st September 2016. You can start paternity leave at any time within the first 6 months following the birth or adoption placement.

Payment during paternity leave

Your entitlement to pay and superannuation during paternity leave depends on the terms of your contract of employment. Employers are not obliged to pay employees who are on paternity leave. You may qualify for Paternity Benefit from the Department of Social Protection if you have sufficient PRSI contributions. However an employee’s contract could provide for additional rights to payment by the employer during the leave period, so that, for example, the employee could receive full pay less the amount of Paternity Benefit payable.

Cancer remains the leading cause of death and illness in Cork as Irish Life pays out over €12.7 million in claims during 2015

• Over €7.4 million was paid out by Irish Life Insurance for families of 140 people who died;
  
  
• €5.3 million paid to Specified Illness Cover claimants;
  
  
• Cancer was the biggest cause of claims in Cork accounting for 49% of all claims.

The average age of death claims in Cork was 67 years and 54 years for Specified Illness claims.

In March 2016 Irish Life published its annual claims report which shows that cancer remained the leading cause of death and illness in County Cork during 2015. Over €12.7 million was paid out in Life Insurance and Specified Illness claims in the county with cancer accounting for 49% of the claims. These figures are part of an overall national analysis of the illnesses and conditions that led to payments of over €204 million for 5,500 customers and their families affected by illness and death during 2015.