Professional Accounting

Individual Assignment for BU5850 Professional Accounting, 2019

This essay forms 50% of your course assessment.

Essay question

‘Country-by-Country Reporting (CbCR) is a form of annual reporting that suggests multinational companies (MNCs) disclose profits, revenues, taxes, transfer pricing, borrowings, employees, and so on as a part of their annual financial statements for each country where they operate.’ NGOs and campaign groups such as Tax Justice Network (https://www.taxjustice.net/), Publish What You Pay (https://www.pwyp.org/) have been campaigning for transparency of MNCs regarding their foreign operations and lobbying international governmental organisations including OECD, country level governments including EU countries and accounting standard setting bodies including IASB to come up with CbCR rules. NGOs were also seen to lobby IASB to conclude a CbCR provision under IFRS 8 (Operating Segments).

In response to the wider community expectations (including expectations of NGOs and transparency campaign groups), the UK government has already imposed obligation on MNCs to follow its rules on Country-by-Country Reporting that reflect recent OECD and EU developments (please see the recent development in the UK on this link: . https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/country-by-country-reporting-updated/country- by-country-reporting-updated).

Question:

Discuss how NGOs and campaign groups such as Tax Justice Network, Publish What You Pay react to UK government’s rules on Country-by-Country Reporting that reflect recent OECD and EU developments

Useful links: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/country-by-country-reporting- updated/country-by-country-reporting-updated

https://www.taxjustice.net/2018/07/17/country-by-country-reports-why-automatic-is-no- replacement-for-public/

https://www.taxjustice.net/2018/07/27/blacklist-whitewashed-how-the-oecd-bent-its- rules-to-help-tax-haven-usa/

https://www.taxjustice.net/2018/12/12/the-us-can-be-blacklisted-under-the-oecds-new- rules-due-to-a-forgotten-commitment/

https://www.taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/MeinzerTrautvetter2018- AccountingTaxCBCR.pdf

Submission Guideline:

The assignment should be 1,500 words excluding appendices, reference list and tables. You should use at least 3 academic references focussing on Country-by-Country Reporting and related matter.

Part of the purpose behind this essay is to help you re-adjust back from professional study and be mentally prepared for the dissertation challenge which comes next.

Prof Islam will provide a one hour lecture on Friday 29 March (10am to 11am, NK14) explaining the background to the question.