Mark was elected to the Council of CPA Ireland in April 2016. He is a graduate of Dublin Business School and qualified as a CPA in 1999, also gaining fellowship in 2018. Mark is a partner at Niall Byrne and Co. and holds a wealth of knowledge in the finance and accounting space.
Speaking at the AGM, Mark spoke about the significant risk currently facing SME's due to pandemic tax debts and said without proper planning Ireland is likely to see a large number of SME liquidations in early 2024 as a result of the expiration of the so-called debt warehousing scheme. This follows the release of figures earlier in the week which shows a 22% increase in insolvencies so far this year.
“Debt warehousing was a pandemic support that allowed for businesses to defer certain tax liabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic,” he explained. “Businesses were able to continue trading with the debt stored in a metaphorical warehouse to be repaid at a later date. This facilitated cashflow at a time of great need and was exceptionally successful. The majority of warehoused debt has now been repaid. However, there is still a worryingly high level of warehoused debt, the majority of it coming from SMEs.”
“According to figures revealed by the Minister for Finance, small and medium enterprises account for 2003 of 2,257 that still have warehoused debt.” Mark is calling on government and the Revenue Commissioners to review the Small Companies Administrative Rescue Process (SCARP) to ensure it will support business survival.”
Separately Mark warned that an outdated education syllabus is putting people off a career in accounting. “Ireland’s Leaving Cert syllabus for accounting dates back to the 1990’s. It is closer to a history lesson than a depiction of 21
st century accounting. The misconception it creates is leading to the growing shortage of accountants in this country. This is becoming a real pressure, particularly for smaller practices, and will begin to impact on industry at a time when the role of accountants is expanding to include vital tasks like sustainability reporting.”
Mark Gargan, CPA Ireland President