336. (1) The report required by section 391 to be made by the statutory auditors of a company on statutory financial statements to be laid before the company in general meeting shall comply with the requirements of this section.

F233[(2) The statutory auditors’ report shall be in writing and shall—

(a) F234[identify] the entity financial statements, and where appropriate, the group financial statements, that are the subject of the audit and the financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation,

(b) include a description of the scope of the audit identifying the auditing standards in accordance with which the audit was conducted, and

(c) identify the place of establishment of the statutory auditors who made the report.]

(3) The statutory auditors’ report shall state clearly the statutory auditors’ opinion as to—

(a) F235[subject to subsection (3A), whether the statutory financial statements] give a true and fair view—

(i) in the case of an entity balance sheet, of the assets, liabilities and financial position of the company as at the end of the financial year,

(ii) in the case of an entity profit and loss account, of the profit or loss of the company for the financial year,

(iii) in the case of group financial statements, of the assets, liabilities and financial position as at the end of the financial year and of the profit or loss for the financial year of the undertakings included in the consolidation as a whole, so far as concerns the members of the company,

(b) whether the statutory financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with the relevant financial reporting framework and, in particular, with the requirements of this Act (and, where applicable, Article 4 of the IAS Regulation).

F236[(3A) In the case of the statutory financial statements of a company that qualifies for the micro companies regime, compliance with the minimum requirements of this Act (within the meaning of section 324(11)) in relation to its financial statements is presumed to give a true and fair view as required by subsection (3).]

(4) The statutory auditors’ report shall also state—

(a) whether they have obtained all the information and explanations which, to the best of their knowledge and belief, are necessary for the purposes of their audit,

(b) whether, in their opinion, the accounting records of the company were sufficient to permit the financial statements to be readily and properly audited,

(c) whether, in their opinion, information and returns adequate for their audit have been received from branches of the company not visited by them, and

(d) in the case of entity financial statements, whether the company’s balance sheet and, except where the exemption in section 304 is availed of, the profit and loss account are in agreement with the accounting records and returns.

F233[(5) F237[Subject to subsection (5B), the statutory auditors] report shall—

(a) state whether, in their opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit—

(i) the information given in the directors’ report for the financial year for which statutory financial statements are prepared is consistent with the company’s statutory financial statements in respect of the financial year concerned, and

(ii) the directors’ report has been prepared in accordance with F238[applicable legal requirements, excluding the requirements on sustainability reporting in Part 28],

and

(b) state whether, based on their knowledge and understanding of the company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, they have identified material misstatements in the directors’ report and, where they have so identified such misstatements, give an indication of the nature of each of such misstatements.]

F239[(5A) The statutory auditors’ report shall provide a statement on any material uncertainty relating to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt about the entity’s ability to continue as a going concern.]

F240[(5B) Subsection (5) shall not apply in the case of a company that qualifies for the micro companies regime and has availed itself of the exemption, referred to in section 325(1A), from preparing a directors’ report.]

(6) The statutory auditors’ report shall—

(a) in relation to each matter referred to in subsections (3) to (5) contain a statement or opinion, as the case may be, which shall be either—

(i) unqualified, or

(ii) qualified,

and

(b) include a reference to any matters to which the statutory auditors wish to draw attention by way of emphasis without qualifying the report.

(7) For the purposes of subsection (6)(a)(ii), a statement or opinion may be qualified, including to the extent of an adverse opinion or a disclaimer of opinion, where there is a disagreement or limitation in scope of work.

F241[(8) If in the case of any statutory financial statements—

(a) the requirements of any of sections 305 to 312 are not complied with by a company, and

(b) the company is not a company that is entitled to, and has availed itself of, an exemption from providing the information,

the statutory auditors of the company by whom the financial statements are examined shall include in their report, so far as they are reasonably able to do so, a statement giving the required particulars.]

(9) Where the entity financial statements of a holding company are combined with (that is to say, associated with) the group financial statements, the statutory auditors’ report on the group financial statements shall be so combined with the report on the entity financial statements.

F239[(9A)(a) Subject to paragraph (b), where the statutory audit was carried out by more than one statutory auditor, the statutory auditors shall agree on the results of the statutory audit and submit a joint report and opinion.

(b) In the case of disagreement, each statutory auditor shall submit F234[his or her] opinion in a separate paragraph of the audit report and shall state F234[his or her] reason for such disagreement.]

F242[(10) The Supervisory Authority may prescribe additional requirements, by reference to auditing standards within the meaning of section 1461, in relation to the content of the statutory auditors’ report for all undertakings, or a class of undertakings, only—

(a) if those requirements are necessary in order to give effect to legal requirements in the State relating to the scope of statutory audits, or

(b) to the extent necessary to add to the credibility and quality of the report.]