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Farmers will be able to see the profits of meat factory groups, live shippers and many well-known agri supply companies under new accounting requirements just signed into Irish law.
ABP, Dawn and Kepak are among the companies that farmers sell to every day but who don’t disclose their yearly profits, despite slaughtering 65% of the cattle produced by Irish farmers.
They can do so because they operate as unlimited companies. But the EU believes there has been misuse of unlimited status – and is now clamping down.
From 1 January, unlimited companies registered in Ireland but which have a limited liability company anywhere within their group structure – including offshore – must publish accounts.
The first information about their profits should flow from April 2018 onwards, depending on their end-of-year dates.
New legislation
The new legislation was signed into law last week on foot of an EU accounting directive.
Limited liability protects a company owner’s home and personal assets if the company runs into trouble. In return, to protect suppliers and other creditors, the company must show its accounts.
An unlimited company need not do so because the owners’ personal assets are at risk.
But many agribusinesses operating here as unlimited companies have moved ownership to limited companies based outside Ireland.
Listen to a discussion of the new legislation in our podcast below:
Listen to "Beef barons forced to reveal company profits" on Spreaker.
That gives the owners the best of both worlds, with protection for their personal assets while their profits or losses remain hidden from suppliers, customers and competitors.
This secrecy has long fuelled farmer suspicion that meat companies are accumulating huge profits while the incomes of cattle farmers remain low.
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