The latest issue of Finance Dublin contains the Finance Dublin Annual Accountancy Survey 2023. It is shows a year of strong fee income growth amongst Ireland's leading firms and big changes at the top of the table. The figures for this year's survey, listing figures for latest year ends ending in 2022 and 2023, show aggregate Republic of Ireland fee income growth of 17% for 2022-3 for the top 20 firms in total with all of the Big Four firms switching places in terms of their size and growth rankings at the top.

The industry has successfully surmounted the challenges of the pandemic, now, as it moves on to the new and exciting challenges addressed by the Managing Partners who share their perspectives on the year.

Working within global frameworks, and playing on global playing fields is a good place to build excellence, and the perspectives of Irish Stock Exchange executives Daryl Byrne and Nigel Jones in a wide ranging interview in this issue provide a valuable perspective on the evolution of the Exchange as a platform of publicly quoted securities, not just for large international plcs, but for publicly traded assets of all kinds.

Vigilance as to maintaining a competitive environment for the Irish economy must remain to the fore in areas that include tax policy, and financial services and banking regulation, a topic that receives a timely reminder in the article by FIBI chairman, Fernando Vicario.

The Irish Tax Monitor this month continues to provide a wide overview of the Irish tax landscape, supplementing the individual insights by Roundtable members including a valuable overview of the implications of the delayed Unshell Directive at EU level.

The latest issue of Finance Dublin has a special focus on Ireland's forthcoming Budget, which has the potential of being one of the most important for many years. The cover feature surveys major Budget submissions published during the summer, which point to a consensus that there are opportunities to capitalise on the world-leading success of the Irish economy, and to seize new opportunities for fundamental reforms of the tax system to make Ireland more competitive, both for indigenous businesses and FDI.

One of the FDI jewels in the crown of Ireland's economy is the investment funds industry, the central focus of the latest issue of the Finance Dublin Funds Monitor where contributors focus on the challenges and opportunities arising from technology and AI in funds management, and write on as to how to deepen and develop the quality of servicing of asset management.

Alongside this, however, there are concerns being expressed by the industry about the unnecessary over-reach potentially arising from EU proposals to extend macroprudential regulatory requirements for the investment funds industry. These have been aired by EFAMA and commented upon by Irish Funds' CEO Pat Lardner, as detailed in this month's issue here. These concerns in the funds industry are paralleled by separate concerns arising in other sectors of the industry around potential regulatory over-reach in the areas of personal accountability by senior executives in financial services.

The Irish Tax Monitor this month provides its monthly wide overview of the Irish tax landscape, supplementing in individual insights by Roundtable members critical themes regarding tax administration brought out in our cover feature focus on the 2024 Budget Submissions, themes regularly addressed in the monthly editions of the Tax Monitor, such as the case for a Territorial Tax System.

July saw the publication by the Department of Finance of data on the background to the 2024 Budget, in the Tax Strategy Group papers. This article puts forward a hypothesis positing why, after 2016, there has been an acceleration of the growth in the Corporation Tax yield.

The latest issue of Finance Dublin analyses momentous developments in several areas - such as on tax, where the latest clarifications from the OECD on the details of the future BEPS corporation tax framework were issued in July. Also these include aviation finance, aircraft leasing, and its potentials, as well as insurtech , life assurance, asset management, and corporate finance - for example in relation to the new EU-wide mergers and acquisitions rules.

This sense of momentous change is also reflected in the Editorial entitled "The history of finance", and in the suggestions from a number of contributors to the Irish Tax Monitor, where they point to the opportunity that is developing for fundamental reforms to the regime of corporation taxation in Ireland, for example by moving to a Territorial tax system and the development of a domestic consolidated tax regime.

The 2023 edition of the Finance Dublin Yearbook, the annual print & E paper snapshot of Ireland's financial services centre - including the world's 3rd largest funds centre, the 6th largest financial services exporter, and with our updates of the significant developments in the profiles of the top 500+ financial services companies and institutions in Ireland.

The Yearbook's 2023 Review & Outlook provides an overview of the 'state of the centre' - reflecting a year of exceptional progress as IFS industry in the jurisdiction of Ireland deepened and strengthened, despite the headwinds caused by monetary tightening in global financial markets. This is covered in a series of analytical articles in the publication, featured here.

The Yearbook contains the 2023 Finance Dublin Yearbook's Professional Services Guide, with its Who's Who of advisers and practitioners in the jurisdiction.

The full E-Paper edition can be accessed by subscribers HERE.

The June issue has Ireland's investment funds industry as a central theme at its core. This follows the Government's announcement in April that is is undertaking a major Review of the industry starting with a public consultation this summer, with publication in the summer of 2024. In relation to the Review, 'Funds Sector 2030', the Minister for Finance, Michael Mc Grath TD, writing in this issue of Finance Dublin says : 'As a recognised global leader Ireland must seek both to shape and deliver best practice. This involves considerable work both domestically and also at EU level where the development of frameworks have been central to our growth but also globally where reflecting our success to date we are playing an increasing important role in shaping the future of the sector'.

This month's issue includes the quarterly Finance Dublin Funds Monitor, where the Government Review is discussed, and an article which features comments relevant to the Review from a number of leading industry figures. Elsewhere there is analysis by McCann Fitzgerald partners Judith Lawless and Josh Hogan of the significance of the MOU signed in the final week of June between the UK and the EU on financial services, an important analysis of the Individual Accountability Framework by EY thought leaders and the Irish Tax Monitor's latest issue.

The Minister's sentiments in relation to the 'Funds Sector 2030' Review is consistent with an overall economics strategy that has to take account of security and climate issues as well, including the issue of marine security as a North Atlantic jurisdiction. Some of the economic potentials of this for Ireland are explored in an article in the issue by the global head of sustainable finance at Danske Bank, citing the experiences of the Nordic countries in exploiting their offshore resources.