A member of a private holding company has the right to see the accounts of each subsidiary. I wonder is it right that that should be preserved where they have already received consolidated group accounts? In the case of a private holder, it appears that a shareholder has the right to receive the balance sheet of each of the subsidiary companies. Now the holding company may have submitted consolidated group accounts and, that being the case, there should be no need to submit the separate accounts of the subsidiary.
SECTION 154.
Question proposed : " That Section 154 stand part of the Bill."
That point was made to us by the Chartered Accountants. It is one which has some merit we believe and it is being considered.
This section is also new?
It is brand new and there is nothing like it in the laws of neighbouring countries.
Subsection (3) Section 151 may cover that situation : " The group accounts may be wholly or partly incorporated in the company's own balance sheet and profit and loss account". Could it be that, if they were incorporated there one would not get the same detail as one would if they furnished individually?
That is not the point really of subsection (3) of Section 151. The idea behind that subsection is to permit companies to present the group figures on the same sheet, perhaps using the same heading as that on which its own accounts are presented.
But they would be itemised separately, would they? They would have to be.
It might be possible to use the same headings and show the figures on one side for the company itself, and then the group figures on the other side. We were in some doubt as to the meaning of that subsection in British law but we were informed by a very eminent practitioner that that is the idea behind it—it refers to a mechanical process, and no more.
Question put and agreed to.