The Companies (Accounting) Act 2017 (the "Act") came into effect on 9 June 2017, with the majority of the provisions coming into force on that date, and has amended certain provisions of the Companies Act 2014. The main purpose of the Act is to transpose the EU Accounting Directive into Irish law.

The Act will bring about a number of changes to the existing regime for UCITS, RIAIF and QIAIFs which are established as public limited companies ("PLCs") in Ireland. The principal change is that these entities will now be required to file annual financial statements (together with directors' and auditors' reports) with the Irish Companies Registration Office within eleven months of the relevant year end. As this is a public register, these documents will be publicly available once filed.

These new filing requirements regarding financial statements will apply to financial years commencing on or after 1 January 2017.

Irish collective asset-management vehicles ("ICAVs") fall outside the scope of the EU Accounting Directive and therefore are not subject to these requirements. Existing Irish PLCs can convert by way of continuation into an ICAV. This means that the new fund will not be considered a new legal entity and instead can retain its existing corporate identity, track record and performance data upon its conversion into an ICAV.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.