The Statutory Auditors and Third Country Auditors Regulations 2016

4.—(1) An officer of the competent authority may, for the purposes of inspecting or investigating the statutory audit of a public interest entity, enter relevant premises at any reasonable time if— U.K.

(a) the requirements of sub-paragraph (3) are satisfied, or

(b) the occupier of the premises has waived those requirements.

(2) In this paragraph “relevant premises” means premises—

(a) in which a statutory auditor is carrying out a statutory audit, or

(b) where documents related to a statutory audit are kept,

and does not include premises used wholly or mainly as a dwelling.

(3) The requirements of this sub-paragraph are that—

(a) a notice in writing is given to the occupier of the premises by an officer of the competent authority,

(b) the notice sets out why entry is necessary and gives details of the statutory audit work subject to inspection (including the name of the audited person and the accounting years in question) and indicates the nature of the offence under paragraph 5, and

(c) there are at least two working days between the date the occupier of the premises receives the notice and the date of entry.

(4) An officer of the competent authority who enters premises under this paragraph must produce evidence of the officer's identity and authority to the occupier of the premises.

(5) An officer of the competent authority entering premises under this paragraph may—

(a) be accompanied by such persons and may take onto the premises such equipment as the officer thinks necessary,

(b) require a statutory auditor or any person acting on behalf of a statutory auditor to produce any documents relating to the statutory audit of the annual or consolidated accounts of a public interest entity to which the statutory auditor has access,

(c) require a statutory auditor or any person acting on behalf of a statutory auditor to give an explanation of any document produced under paragraph (b).

(6) Where a document required to be produced under sub-paragraph (5)(b) contains information recorded electronically, the power in that sub-paragraph includes power to require the production of a copy of the document in a form in which it can easily be taken away and in which it is visible and legible.

(7) This paragraph does not permit an officer of the competent authority to require a person to produce any document which the person would be entitled to refuse to produce—

(a) in proceedings in the High Court on the grounds of legal professional privilege, or

(b) in proceedings in the Court of Session on grounds of confidentiality of communications.

(8) In this paragraph—

“communications” means—

(a)

communications between a professional legal adviser and the adviser's client, or

(b)

communications made in connection with or in contemplation of legal proceedings or for the purposes of those proceedings.

“give”, in relation to the giving of a notice to the occupier of premises, includes delivering it or leaving it at the premises or sending it there by post;

“working day” means a day other than—

(a)

Saturday or Sunday,

(b)

Christmas Day or Good Friday, or

(c)

a day which is a bank holiday under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 M1 in that part of the United Kingdom in which the premises are situated.

Marginal Citations

M1 1971 c. 80.