Companies Act 2014
Right to information and explanations concerning company
387. (1) Statutory auditors of a company may require from the officers of the company such information and explanations as appear to the auditors to be within the officers’ knowledge or can be procured by them and which the statutory auditors think necessary for the performance of their duties.
(2) Without limiting subsection (1), an officer of a company shall be guilty of a category 2 offence if the officer fails to comply—
(a) within 2 days after the date on which it is made, with a requirement made of him or her by the statutory auditors of the company to provide to those auditors any information or explanations that those auditors require as statutory auditors of the company, or
(b) within 2 days after the date on which it is made, with a requirement made of him or her by the statutory auditors of the holding company of that company to provide to those auditors any information or explanations that those auditors require as statutory auditors of the holding company,
being, in either case, information or explanations that is or are within the knowledge of, or can be procured by, the officer.
(3) In any proceedings against a person in respect of an offence under subsection (2), it shall be a defence to prove that it was not reasonably possible for the person to comply with the requirement under subsection (2)(a) or (b) to which the offence relates within the time specified in that provision but that he or she complied with it as soon as was reasonably possible after the expiration of such time.
(4) In this section “officer”, in relation to a company, includes any employee of the company and any shadow director and de facto director of it.
Annotations
Modifications (not altering text):
C112
Subs. (4) applied with modifications (1.01.2020) by European Union (Qualifying Partnerships: Accounting and Auditing) Regulations 2019 (S.I. No. 597 of 2019), reg. 28, in effect as per reg. 1(2), (3).
Application of section 387 of Principal Act
28. Notwithstanding Regulation 8(2), the reference in section 387(4) of the Principal Act to “an officer, in relation to a company” shall, in relation to a qualifying partnership, be construed as including a reference to any employee of the partnership.
C113
Application of section extended (1.01.2020) by European Union (Qualifying Partnerships: Accounting and Auditing) Regulations 2019 (S.I. No. 597 of 2019), reg. 42(7), (9), in effect as per reg. 1(2), (3).
Offences
42. ...
(7) If any person who is a -
(a) partner in a qualifying partnership,
(b) employee of a qualifying partnership, or
(c) director of a member of a qualifying partnership,
fails to comply with a requirement referred to in section 387 of the Principal Act as applied by these Regulations, that person commits an offence and shall be liable -
(i) on summary conviction, to a class A fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both, or
(ii) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding €50,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both.
...
(9) In any proceedings against a person in respect of an offence referred to in section 387 or 388 of the Principal Act as applied by these Regulations, it shall be a defence to prove -
(a) that it was not reasonably possible for the person to comply with the requirement to which the offence relates within the time specified in the relevant provision of the Principal Act, and
(b) that the person complied with the requirement to which the offence relates as soon as was reasonably possible after the expiration of such time.
...