Companies Amendment Bill 2009

20th November, 2009

At the end of the debate on this bill yesterday the Minister thanked us for our contribution. He pointed out that we’re unlikely to gain any votes on this bill.

He’s right but not because this is a vote loser but because the general public tend not to be focused on a bill that provides a concession on accounting regulations and a change in the appointment of company inspectors. I spent a fair bit of time getting ready for the debate as I think it’s important that people who have a background in this area do make an effort to contribute.

In the debate I made the point that a convergence to global accounting standards is a good thing. It provides a fairer measure of economic activity. My points on the legislation included making sure that we don’t encourage ‘brass plate’ companies and asking why we were changing guidelines for company inspector costs now.

Minister Lenihan asked me after the debate if I was an accountant. Nope, but this is a decent bill and I wanted to voice my approval of it.