Content of the auditors' report
5.—(1) Section 73 of the 1992 Act (auditors' report) is amended as follows.
(2) For subsection (4) substitute—
“(4A) The auditors shall, in their report,—
(a)state whether in their opinion the information given in the report of the committee of management for the financial year for which the annual accounts are prepared is consistent with those accounts; and
(b)state whether in their opinion that report has been prepared in accordance with this Act and the regulations made under it.”
(3) For subsection (5) substitute—
“(5A) The auditors shall, in their report, include—
(a)an introduction identifying the annual accounts that are the subject of the audit and the financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation;
(b)a description of the scope of the audit identifying the auditing standards in accordance with which the audit was conducted.
(5B) The auditors shall, in their report, state clearly whether in the auditors' opinion the annual accounts have been properly prepared in accordance with the requirements of this Act (and, where applicable, Article 4 of the IAS Regulation).
(5C) The auditors shall, in their report, state in particular whether the annual accounts give a true and fair view in accordance with the relevant financial reporting framework—
(a)in the case of an individual balance sheet, of the state of affairs of the society or branch as at the end of the financial year;
(b)in the case of an individual income and expenditure account, of the income and expenditure of the society or branch for the financial year;
(c)in the case of the group accounts of an incorporated friendly society, of the state of affairs as at the end of the financial year and of the income and expenditure for the financial year of the society and the subsidiary undertakings dealt with in the group accounts, so far as concerns members of the society.
(5D) The auditors' report—
(a)shall be either unqualified or qualified, and
(b)shall include a reference to any matters to which the auditors wish to draw attention by way of emphasis without qualifying the report.”.
(4) Omit subsections (6) and (7).