Part VIII Accounts and Audit
Procedure on completion of accounts
80 Signing of balance sheet: documents to be annexed.
(1)
Every balance sheet of a building society shall be signed by two directors on behalf of the board of directors and by the chief executive of the society.
(2)
The income and expenditure account, F1. . . and the annual business statement shall be annexed to the balance sheet, and so shall any group accounts; and the auditor’s report shall be attached to it.
(3)
The income and expenditure account, F2. . . and the annual business statement shall be approved by the board of directors before the balance sheet is signed on their behalf, and so shall any group accounts; and the date of their approval of those documents shall be endorsed on the balance sheet.
(4)
The directors’ report shall be attached to the balance sheet.
(5)
If a balance sheet has not been signed as required by subsection (1) above, and a copy of it is issued, circulated or published, the building society shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale and so shall any officer who is also guilty of the offence.
(6)
If any copy of a balance sheet is issued, circulated or published—
(a)
without having annexed to it a copy of the income and expenditure account, or
F3(b)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(c)
without having annexed to it a copy of the annual business statement, or
(d)
without having attached to it a copy of the auditors’ report, or
(e)
without having attached to it a copy of the directors’ report,
the building society shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale and so shall any officer who is also guilty of the offence.
81 Laying and furnishing accounts, etc., to F4members and the Authority.
(1)
The directors of every building society shall lay before the society at the annual general meeting the annual accounts for the last financial year.
(2)
(3)
Every building society shall, as from the date by which at the latest its directors are required to send them to the F7Authority, make copies of the annual accounts available free of charge to members of and depositors with the society at every office of the society and, free of charge, shall send copies of those documents to any member or depositor who demands it.
(4)
If default is made in complying with subsection (1) or (2) above, every person who was a director at any time during the relevant period shall be liable on summary conviction—
(a)
to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale; and
(b)
in the case of a continuing offence, to an additional fine not exceeding £200 for every day during which the offence continues.
(5)
If, on demand made of it under subsection (3) above, a building society fails, in accordance with that subsection, to make available or, as the case may be, within seven days of the demand, to send, to a person a copy of the annual accounts the society shall be liable on summary conviction—
(a)
to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale; and
(b)
in the case of a continuing offence, to an additional fine not exceeding £40 for every day during which the offence continues,
and so shall any officer who is also guilty of the offence.
(6)
In subsection (4) above “the relevant period” means the period beginning at the end of the last financial year and ending with the date which falls 14 days before the annual general meeting following the end of that year.
(7)
The F8Authority shall keep one of the copies of the annual accounts of a building society received by it under subsection (2) above in the public file of the society.
(8)
In this section any reference to the annual accounts includes a reference to the documents annexed or attached to them under section 80.