The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (ICAI) has said it will consider proposals published by Britain's Accounting Standards Board regarding deferred tax and will provide a detailed response.

The proposals, published yesterday, did not come as a surprise to the accountancy industry here. Despite fears in Britain that the changes will significantly affect big companies, most accountants believe the impact in the Republic will not be severe.

"We have been expecting this to come and gradually building up to full provision," said one Dublin-based accountant. Many publicly-quoted Irish companies already provide in full for their deferred tax liability while others make partial provision.

In addition, Irish companies with a US listing must provide fully for their tax liability in order to comply with US accounting standards.

"It may have a dramatic effect in one or two cases but in general it's not likely to have a profound effect," said Mr David Devlin of PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Ireland's falling corporation tax rate should also help to offset the impact of the changes while capital allowances are also lower than they once were so the effect of the changes will be a lot less severe than it would have been in the 1980s.

At present, British and Irish accounting standards on deferred tax differ from those applying internationally and the current proposals are designed to bring them into line with the rest of the world.