Companies Act 2014
Special report of the statutory auditors on abridged financial statements
356. (1) There shall accompany abridged financial statements annexed to the annual return and delivered to the Registrar a copy of a special report of the statutory auditors of the company to the directors of it containing—
(a) a statement of the statutory auditors with respect to the matters set out in subsection (2) on those abridged financial statements, and
(b) a copy of the statutory auditors’ report under section 391 in the form required by section 336.
(2) Where—
(a) the directors of a company propose to annex to the annual return abridged financial statements for any financial year prepared pursuant to section 353 F249[…], and
(b) the statutory auditors of the company are of opinion that the directors of the company are entitled, for that purpose, to rely on the exemption contained in section 352 and the abridged financial statements have been properly prepared pursuant to section 353 F250[…],
it shall be the duty of the statutory auditors of the company to state in the special report referred to in subsection (1) that, in the opinion of those auditors—
(i) the directors of the company are entitled to annex those abridged financial statements to the annual return, and
(ii) the abridged financial statements so annexed are properly so prepared.
(3) With respect to the statutory auditors’ special report referred to in subsection (1) (a copy (as that expression is to be read in accordance with F251[section 352(4)]) of which is to be delivered to the Registrar), the original of that report shall be signed by the statutory auditors and bear the date of such signing; the requirements of section 337(2) with respect to the signing of the report there referred to shall also apply with respect to the signing of the special report.
(4) Every copy of the special report of the statutory auditors prepared in accordance with subsection (1) that is circulated, published or issued shall state the name of the statutory auditors providing the report and, if different, the names of the statutory auditors who provided the report under section 391.
(5) If a company fails to comply with subsection (1) or (4), the company and any officer of it who is in default shall be guilty of a category 2 offence.
(6) In subsection (5) “officer” includes any shadow director and de facto director.
Annotations
Amendments:
F249
Deleted (9.06.2017) by Companies (Accounting) Act 2017 (9/2017), s. 54(a), S.I. No. 246 of 2017, art. 3, subject to transitional provision in art. 4.
F250
Deleted (9.06.2017) by Companies (Accounting) Act 2017 (9/2017), s. 54(b), S.I. No. 246 of 2017, art. 3, subject to transitional provision in art. 4.
F251
Substituted (9.06.2017) by Companies (Accounting) Act 2017 (9/2017), s. 54(c), S.I. No. 246 of 2017, art. 3, subject to transitional provision in art. 4.
Modifications (not altering text):
C90
Application of subs. (5) extended (1.01.2020) by European Union (Qualifying Partnerships: Accounting and Auditing) Regulations 2019 (S.I. No. 597 of 2019), reg. 42(1), (2), in effect as per reg. 1(2), (3).
Offences
42. (1) A qualifying partnership that fails to comply with any provision referred to in sections 291(9), 292(3), 294(9), 295(3), 324(6), 324(8), 355(7), 355(9), 356(5) or 1458(4) of the Principal Act as applied by these Regulations commits an offence.
(2) Where an offence under paragraph (1) is committed by a qualifying partnership and it is proved that the offence was committed with the consent or connivance, or was attributable to any wilful neglect, of a person who was -
(a) a member of the qualifying partnership,
(b) a director of such a member, or (c) a person purporting to act in either such capacity,
that person shall, as well as the qualifying partnership, be guilty of an offence and may be proceeded against and punished as if he or she were guilty of the first-mentioned offence.
...