The Insurance Accounts Directive (Miscellaneous Insurance Undertakings) Regulations 2008

[^key-ad46a4c1926f194c158072ac09f892f6]: Words in reg. 2(4)(a) inserted (31.12.2020) by The Statutory Auditors and Third Country Auditors (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/177), regs. 2, 47(b); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

[^key-e405e47a21bb0efaa886f6a2a2e8ffe7]: Reg. 3(3)(i) omitted (with effect in relation to financial years beginning on or after 6.4.2025) by virtue of The Companies (Accounts and Reports) (Amendment and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2024 (S.I. 2024/1303), regs. 1(2), 2(2), 6(2)

Registered societies

Offences in connection with auditor’s report and guidance

8A

Sections 507 to 509 of the Companies Act 2006 apply in relation to an auditor’s report on an insurance undertaking’s annual accounts as they apply to an auditor’s report on a private company’s annual accounts, subject to the modification that references in those sections to provisions of the Companies Act 2006 are to be construed as references to those provisions as applied by these Regulations.

Removal of auditors on improper grounds

Application to court to remove auditor from office

9A

• (1) The Financial Reporting Council Limited may apply to the High Court for an order removing an auditor of an insurance undertaking from office if the Council considers that there are proper grounds for removing the auditor from office.

• (2) The members of an insurance undertaking may apply to the High Court for an order removing an auditor of the undertaking from office if the applicant or applicants consider that there are proper grounds for removing the auditor from office.

• (3) If the court is satisfied, on hearing an application under paragraph (1), that there are proper grounds for removing the auditor from office, it may make an order removing the auditor from office.

• (4) If the court is satisfied, on hearing an application under paragraph (2), that—

• (a) the applicants represent in total—

• (i) not less than 5% of the voting rights of all the members for the time being entitled to vote at a general meeting of the insurance undertaking, or

• (ii) not less than 5% in nominal value of any share capital of the insurance undertaking as shown by the latest balance sheet, and

• (b) there are proper grounds for removing the auditor from office,

the court may make an order removing the auditor from office.

• (5) For the purposes of this regulation, divergence of opinions on accounting treatments or audit procedures are not to be taken to be proper grounds for removing an auditor from office.

• (6) In the application of this regulation to an insurance undertaking whose principal place of business is in Scotland or Northern Ireland, references to the High Court are to be read as references to the Court of Session or, as the case may be, the High Court in Northern Ireland.

Duty of auditor to notify appropriate audit authority

Duty of insurance undertaking to notify appropriate audit authority

Penalties for non-compliance (notification of appropriate audit authority)

Review

17

• (1) The Secretary of State must from time to time—

• (a) carry out a review of the regulatory provision contained in these Regulations to which amendments have been made by Schedule 2 to the Statutory Auditors Regulations 2017, and

• (b) publish a report setting out the conclusions of the review.

• (2) The first report must be published before 1st January 2023.

• (3) Subsequent reports must be published at intervals not exceeding 5 years.

• (4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (5) Section 30(4) of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 requires that a report published under this regulation must, in particular—

• (a) set out the objectives intended to be achieved by the regulatory provision referred to in paragraph (1)(a),

• (b) assess the extent to which those objectives are achieved,

• (c) assess whether those objectives remain appropriate, and

• (d) if those objectives remain appropriate, assess the extent to which they could be achieved in another way which involves less onerous regulatory provision.

• (6) In this regulation, “regulatory provision” has the same meaning as in sections 28 to 32 of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 (see section 32 of that Act).