I requested that the matter of loss of audit exemption due to late filing of annual returns be examined by the Company Law Review Group (CLRG) in 2011. This request was with a view to receiving a recommendation on whether any change should be made to the combined regime of late filing penalties and loss of audit exemption for qualifying companies in the case of late filing. The CLRG, which is composed of many company law practitioners and members of the accounting profession, recommended no change to the present regime.
Section 53 of the Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Act 2003 sets out that a company, having met the conditions in section 32 (3) of the Companies (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1999, is not entitled to the exemption from the requirement to have its accounts audited in a financial year unless it has made its annual return on time for that year and the previous year. While I support reducing burdens on business where warranted by circumstances, in the present case it is in the public interest that companies comply with filing requirements with the Companies Registration Office so that stakeholders and other interested parties have timely access to this essential information.
