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Amendment of section 194 of Act of 1990 — Duty of auditors if proper books of account not being kept or other offences suspected.
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74.—Section 194 of the Act of 1990 is amended—
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(a) in subsection (1), by the substitution of the following for paragraph (a):
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“(a) as soon as may be, by recorded delivery, serve a notice in writing on the company stating their opinion, and”,
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(b) in subsection (1)(b), by the insertion after “form of the notice” of “and the registrar shall forthwith forward a copy of the notice to the Director”,
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(c) by the insertion of the following after subsection (3):
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“(3A) Where the auditors of a company file a notice pursuant to subsection (1)(b), they shall, if requested by the Director—
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(a) furnish to the Director such information, including an explanation of the reasons for their opinion that the company had contravened section 202, and
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(b) give to the Director such access to documents, including facilities for inspecting and taking copies,
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being information or documents in their possession or control and relating to the matter the subject of the notice, as the Director may require.
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(3B) Any written information given in response to a request of the Director under subsection (3A) shall in all legal proceedings be admissible without further proof, until the contrary is shown, as evidence of the facts stated therein.”,
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(d) in subsection (4), by the substitution for “subsection (1)” of “subsection (1), (3A) or (5)”, and
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(e) by the insertion of the following after subsection (4):
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“(5) Where, in the course of, and by virtue of, their carrying out an audit of the accounts of the company, information comes into the possession of the auditors of a company that leads them to form the opinion that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the company or an officer or agent of it has committed an indictable offence under the Companies Acts, the auditors shall, forthwith after having formed it, notify that opinion to the Director and provide the Director with details of the grounds on which they have formed that opinion.
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(6) No professional or legal duty to which an auditor is subject by virtue of his appointment as an auditor of a company shall be regarded as contravened by, and no liability to the company, its shareholders, creditors or other interested parties shall attach to, an auditor, by reason of his compliance with an obligation imposed on him by or under this section.”.
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