341. (1) The directors of a company shall, in respect of each financial year, lay before the company in general meeting copies of—

(a) the statutory financial statements of the company for the financial year,

(b) F222[subject to subsection (1A), the directors’ report], including any group directors’ report, for the financial year,

(c) the statutory auditors’ report on those financial statements and that directors’ report.

F223[(1A) Subsection (1)(b) shall not apply to a company that qualifies for the micro companies regime and has availed itself of the exemption, under section 325(1A), from preparing a directors’ report.]

(2) Those financial statements and those reports of the directors and the statutory auditors for a financial year shall be so laid not later than 9 months after the financial year end date.

(3) The statutory auditors’ report shall be open to inspection by any member at the general meeting.

(4) Where section 175(3) (dispensing with the holding of an annual general meeting) is availed of, then subsections (1) and (3) shall be disregarded and subsection (2) shall apply as if the reference in it to the laying of financial statements by the time referred to in that subsection were a reference to those statements being provided, by that time, to all the members (entitled to attend and vote at an annual general meeting) for the purpose of their signing the written resolution referred to in section 175(3).