2001 No. 2587
The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Communications by Auditors) Regulations 2001
Made
Laid before Parliament
Coming into force
The Treasury, in exercise of the powers conferred on them by sections 342(5), 343(5) and 428(3) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 20001, hereby make the following Regulations:
Citation, commencement and interpretation1
1
These Regulations may be cited as the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Communications by Auditors) Regulations 2001 and come into force on the day on which section 19 of the Act (the general prohibition) comes into force.
2
In these Regulations—
“the Act” means the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000;
“the person concerned” means—
- a
in relation to an auditor of an authorised person, that authorised person;
- b
in relation to an auditor of a person who has close links (within the meaning of section 343 of the Act) with an authorised person, that authorised person;
- a
“relevant requirement” means—
- a
a requirement which is imposed by or under any provision of the Act other than Part VI (listing) and which relates to authorisation under the Act (whether by way of permission under Part IV of the Act or otherwise) or to the carrying on of any regulated activity; or
- b
a requirement which is imposed by or under any other Act and whose contravention constitutes an offence which the Authority has power to prosecute under the Act2.
- a
Circumstances in which an auditor is to communicate2
1
An auditor to whom section 342 or 343 of the Act applies must communicate to the Authority information on, or his opinion on, matters mentioned in section 342(3)(a) or 343(3)(a) of the Act (matters of which he has, or had, become aware in his capacity as auditor of an authorised person or as auditor of a person who has close links with an authorised person) in the following circumstances.
2
The circumstances are that—
a
the auditor reasonably believes that, as regards the person concerned—
i
there is or has been, or may be or may have been, a contravention of any relevant requirement that applies to the person concerned; and
ii
that contravention may be of material significance to the Authority in determining whether to exercise, in relation to the person concerned, any functions conferred on the Authority by or under any provision of the Act other than Part VI;
b
the auditor reasonably believes that the information on, or his opinion on, those matters may be of material significance to the Authority in determining whether the person concerned satisfies and will continue to satisfy the threshold conditions;
c
the auditor reasonably believes that the person concerned is not, may not be or may cease to be a going concern;
d
the auditor is precluded from stating in his report that the annual accounts or, where they are required to be made by any of the following provisions, other financial reports of the person concerned—
i
have been properly prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 19853 or, where applicable, give a true and fair view of the matters referred to in section 235(2) of that Act;
ii
iii
have been prepared so as to conform with the Friendly Societies Act 19926 and the regulations made under it or, where applicable, give a true and fair view of the matters referred to in section 73(5) of that Act;
iv
have been prepared so as to conform with the requirements of the Friendly and Industrial and Provident Societies Act 19687 or, where applicable, give a true and fair view of the matters referred to in section 9(2) and (3) of that Act; or
v
have been prepared so as to conform with the requirements of rules made under the Act where the auditor is, by rules made under section 340 of the Act, required to make such a statement;
as the case may be; or
e
where applicable, the auditor is required to state in his report in relation to the person concerned any of the facts referred to in subsection (2), (3) or (4A) of section 237 of the Companies Act 19858.
(This note is not part of the Regulations)