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The COVID-19 pandemic has decimated revenues at many Irish small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) but it could also prove a crucial period in the embrace of digital technology by firms. Irish SMEs are facing a collective annual revenue shortfall (where income fell below expenditure) of between EUR10.3 and EUR11.7 billion in 2020 due to the virus, according to research by the Central Bank of Ireland.…

Matthew Lamport could have been an auditor at a big accounting firm in his native Mauritius. However, he chose an academic career at the University of Mauritius, teaching for the past 18 years as a senior lecturer at the university’s finance and accounting department.…

The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has released a white paper saying that the accounting profession needs to learn from the challenges of Covid-19, investing in boosting communication skills. This will enable accountants to be more effective pro-active trusted partners with their clients, able to adapt to flexible and remote working even after the pandemic subsides.…

COVID-19 and the expansion of home-based working it has forged has posed significant challenges to AML/CFT training and mentoring. As a result, vendors, AML bodies and experts have been developing new services and strategies to ensure that AML officers keep their skills honed during the pandemic.…

A SURVEY has concluded that 23% of inspected products imported into the European Union (EU) made with chemicals, including paints and coatings are breaking EU REACH and CLP (classification, labelling and packaging) rules. A European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) probe has concluded: “Some imports contained illegal amounts of hazardous substances that are restricted in the EU, while others had incorrect hazard labelling.”…

AUSTRALIA has chosen an unorthodox path in transitioning to a low carbon economy. Its centre-right government has advised the country’s clean energy agencies to decrease investment in renewables such as solar and wind and instead increase investment in hydrogen, carbon capture and storage, microgrids and energy efficiency.…

The Covid-19 pandemic is set to drive a near threefold surge in the antiviral coatings market as researchers and developers say they now realise how little they know about effective materials combatting such threats.

The search for more universal antiviral materials “should be continued with even higher intensity”, said Professors Ken Ostrikov and Ziqi Sun from Queensland University of Technology, in Australia, in their September (2020) report, ‘Future antiviral surfaces: Lessons from COVID-19 pandemic’, featured in the publication ‘Sustainable Materials and Technologies’.…

THE NEW campus of the University of Cape Verde (Uni-CV), which has cost almost USD60 million to build and should open next March (2021), is expected to attract more national and international students and researchers to this island country. The launch of this modern facility has been delayed from July (2020) because of Covid-19, but it is hoped the March opening will stick.…

Taiwan’s government seems determined to push ahead with an aggressive stance against tobacco and nicotine products, pushing a control law that would, for instance, ban e-cigarettes, which have never been formally authorised for sale on the island.

The ministry of health and welfare’s Health Promotion Administration (HPA) is pushing amendments to Taiwan’s Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act (THPA), which would also ban flavoured tobacco products, enlarge pictorial warnings to 85% of packaging area and raise the legal age to buy tobacco from 18 to 20.…

The Islamic insurgency experienced in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique’s northernmost province, since 2017, which has already displaced more than 250,000 people and killed more than 1,500, is damaging operations within the region’s higher education institutions.

While confirmed casualties have yet to include academics and students at the region’s higher education institutions, local higher education leaders are concerned about the risks.…