STATE SPENDING WATCHDOG WARNED OF STAFF SHORTAGES - The state's public spending watchdog warned the Department of Public Expenditure last year that it was so badly resourced, it could progress less than a tenth of the reporting topics it had identified, the Irish Independent has learned.
In a submission to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER), the Comptroller and Auditor General's office said its staff numbers had fallen by 14% since 2008, with the number assigned to reporting work falling by more than 40%. The C&AG's office gives opinions on the financial accounts of state bodies, but also reports on matters relating to value for money and the administration of public funds. In documents released under Freedom of Information, the C&AG's office pointed out that as its financial audit remit is statutorily mandated and subject to international standards the reporting side of its remit had been worst hit by the staff cuts. In a letter to DPER secretary general Robert Watt in May of last year, the C&AG's office said its ability to do its reporting work had been "severely constrained". "The office has identified over 130 potential reporting topics which warrant consideration as matters that might require additional examination outside of the financial audit frame. With current resources, less than one-tenth of potential topics can be progressed," the letter to Mr Watt read. "Resourcing levels are such that the office's ability to highlight issues regarding effectiveness, efficiency and economy is severely constrained."
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IRISH ADDRESS TOPS US TAX FRAUD LIST - An address in Kilkenny topped a table of addresses used for multiple potentially fraudulent tax return applications submitted to the Internal Revenue Service in 2012, a study by the US treasury has found. The address in Kilkenny was used for 580 returns in 2012, which led to “refunds” totalling $218,974 being issued, according to the study by the treasury inspector general for tax administration in the United States, says the Irish Times. The details of the address in Kilkenny are not given in the report. An address in Kaunas, Lithuania, was used for 525 applications that prompted the payment of $156,274, while an address in Miami, Florida, came third on the list, with 417 applications leading to the payment of $221,806. Addresses in Bulgaria were fourth, fifth and 10th on the list, while all the other address in the top 10 were in the US. The report found that while efforts were being made to reduce the level of tax returns using identity theft leading to fraudulent payments, the issue was still a huge one for the IRS. The report identified 787,343 undetected potentially fraudulent tax returns prompting tax “refunds” totalling more than $2.1 billion for 2012.
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€8.5m SHOW OF FAITH IN IRELAND ENERGY EFFICIENCY FUND - The Ireland Energy Efficiency Fund (IEEF) has landed an €8.5m investment as it moves further towards being fully invested by the end of 2016. The Representative Church Body (RCB), the investment manager and trustee of the Church of Ireland Pension Fund, is the latest to invest in the fund designed to help companies improve energy efficiency, says the Irish Examiner. RCB joins Glen Dimplex, London & Regional Properties, and the Government as investors in the €70m fund, which invests in energy efficiency projects on commercial terms, providing stable returns. The investment is the latest show of faith in energy efficient assets from pension funds, according to David Hourihane, managing director of Sustainable Development Capital LLP, the IEEF’s investment advisor. “This investment is welcome evidence of the increasing interest that we are generating from domestic and international pension funds in energy efficiency as a new investment asset class,” said Mr Hourihane. “Energy efficiency investments produce stable risk-adjusted returns, while delivering value for money to the end client, along with substantial environmental returns through funding infrastructure that reduces energy consumption,” he added.
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US DEALMAKING SMASHES RECORDS SET IN DOTCOM AND DEBT BOOMS - US dealmaking hit an all-time monthly record in May, surpassing the previous highs seen during the peak of the dotcom bubble and the zenith of the debt boom that led to the 2008 financial crisis, says the Financial Times. The overall value of deals in US-bound mergers and acquisitions activity amounted to $243 billion in May compared to $226 billion during the same month in 2007 and $213 billion in January 2000, the previous biggest and second biggest months respectively, according to Dealogic data. The data underline how frenzied US dealmaking has become as cheap debt and bullish boardrooms fuel an M&A boom of a size not seen since just before the last two equity market crashes. The main drivers were mega-transactions such as Charter’s three-way $90 billion acquisition of cable companies Time Warner Cable and Bright House and Avago’s $37 billion deal to acquire Broadcom, the largest tech deal since the dotcom boom. Bankers and lawyers said they expected 2015 to be a record year with chief executives under pressure to expand their businesses and deals constituting the fastest and easiest way to achieve that growth.
