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Keeping of books of account.
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202.—(1) Every company shall cause to be kept proper books of account, whether in the form of documents or otherwise, that—
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(a) correctly record and explain the transactions of the company,
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(b) will at any time enable the financial position of the company to be determined with reasonable accuracy,
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(c) will enable the directors to ensure that any balance sheet, profit and loss account or income and expenditure account of the company complies with the requirements of the Companies Acts, and
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(d) will enable the accounts of the company to be readily and properly audited.
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(2) The books of account of a company shall be kept on a continuous and consistent basis, that is to say, the entries therein shall be made in a timely manner and be consistent from one year to the next.
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(3) Without prejudice to the generality of subsections (1) and (2), books of account kept pursuant to those subsections shall contain—
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(a) entries from day to day of all sums of money received and expended by the company and the matters in respect of which the receipt and expenditure takes place,
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(b) a record of the assets and liabilities of the company,
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(c) if the company's business involves dealing in goods—
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(i) a record of all goods purchased, and of all goods sold (except those sold for cash by way of ordinary retail trade), showing the goods and the sellers and buyers in sufficient detail to enable the goods and the sellers and buyers to be identified and a record of all the invoices relating to such purchases and sales,
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(ii) statements of stock held by the company at the end of each financial year and all records of stocktakings from which any such statement of stock has been, or is to be, prepared, and
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(d) if the company's business involves the provision of services, a record of the services provided and of all the invoices relating thereto.
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(4) For the purposes of subsections (1), (2) and (3), proper books of account shall be deemed to be kept if they comply with those subsections and give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company and explain its transactions.
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(5) Subject to subsection (6), the books of account shall be kept at the registered office of the company or at such other place as the directors think fit.
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(6) If books of account are kept at a place outside the State, there shall be sent to and kept at a place in the State and be at all reasonable times open to inspection by the directors such accounts and returns relating to the business dealt with in the books of account so kept as will disclose with reasonable accuracy the financial position of that business at intervals not exceeding 6 months and will enable to be prepared in accordance with the Companies Acts the company's balance sheet, its profit and loss account or income and expenditure account and any document annexed to any of those documents giving information which is required by the said Acts and is thereby allowed to be so given.
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(7) Books of account required by this section to be kept, and accounts and returns referred to in subsection (6), shall be kept either in written form in an official language of the State or so as to enable the books of account and the accounts and returns to be readily accessible and readily convertible into written form in an official language of the State.
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(8) A company shall make its books of account, and any accounts and returns referred to in subsection (6), available in written form in an official language of the State at all reasonable times for inspection without charge by the officers of the company and by other persons entitled pursuant to the Companies Acts to inspect the books of account of the company.
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(9) A record, being a book of account required by this section to be kept or an account or return referred to in subsection (6), shall be preserved by the company concerned for a period of at least 6 years after the latest date to which it relates.
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(10) A company that contravenes this section and a person who, being a director of a company, fails to take all reasonable steps to secure compliance by the company with the requirements of this section, or has by his own wilful act been the cause of any default by the company thereunder, shall be guilty of an offence:
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Provided, however, that—
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(a) in any proceedings against a person in respect of an offence under this section consisting of a failure to take reasonable steps to secure compliance by a company with the requirements of this section, it shall be a defence to prove that he had reasonable grounds for believing and did believe that a competent and reliable person was charged with the duty of ensuring that those requirements were complied with and was in a position to discharge that duty, and
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(b) a person shall not be sentenced to imprisonment for such an offence unless, in the opinion of the court, the offence was committed wilfully.
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