The Companies (Northern Ireland) Order 1986 (revoked)

Removal, resignation, &c. of auditorsF21N.I.

Removal of auditorsN.I.

399.—(1 )F1 A company may by ordinary resolution at any time remove an auditor from office, notwithstanding anything in any agreement between it and him.

(2 )F2 Where a resolution removing an auditor is passed at a general meeting of a company, the company shall within 14 days give notice of that fact in the prescribed form to the registrar.

If a company fails to give the notice required by this paragraph, the company and every officer of it who is in default is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine and, for continued contravention, to a daily default fine.

(3) Nothing in this Article shall be taken as depriving a person removed under it of compensation or damages payable to him in respect of the termination of his appointment as auditor or of any appointment terminating with that as auditor.

(4 )F3 An auditor of a company who has been removed has, notwithstanding his removal, the rights conferred by Article 398 in relation to any general meeting of the company—

(a)at which his term of office would otherwise have expired, or

(b)at which it is proposed to fill the vacancy caused by his removal.

In such a case the references in that Article to matters concerning the auditors as auditors shall be construed as references to matters concerning him as a former auditor.

Rights of auditors who are removed or not re-appointedN.I.

399A.—(1 )F4 Special notice is required for a resolution at a general meeting of a company—

(a)removing an auditor before the expiration of his term of office, or

(b)appointing as auditor a person other than a retiring auditor.

(2 )F5 On receipt of notice of such an intended resolution the company shall forthwith send a copy of it to the person proposed to be removed or, as the case may be, to the person proposed to be appointed and to the retiring auditor.

(3 )F6 The auditor proposed to be removed or (as the case may be) the retiring auditor may make with respect to the intended resolution representations in writing to the company (not exceeding a reasonable length) and request their notification to members of the company.

(4 )F7 The company shall (unless the representations are received by it too late for it to do so)—

(a )F8in any notice of the resolution given to members of the company, state the fact of the representations having been made, and

(b )F9send a copy of the representations to every member of the company to whom notice of the meeting is or has been sent.

(5 )F10 If a copy of any such representations is not sent out as required because received too late or because of the company's default, the auditor may (without prejudice to his right to be heard orally) require that the representations be read out at the meeting.

(6 )F11 Copies of the representations need not be sent out and the representations need not be read at the meeting if, on the application either of the company or of any other person claiming to be aggrieved, the court is satisfied that the rights conferred by this Article are being abused to secure needless publicity for defamatory matter; and the court may order the company's costs on the application to be paid in whole or in part by the auditor, notwithstanding that he is not a party to the application.

Resignation of auditorsN.I.

400.—(1) An auditor of a company may resign his office by depositing a notice in writing to that effect at the company's registered office.

The notice is not effective unless it is accompanied by the statement required by Article 401A.

(2) An effective notice of resignation operates to bring the auditor's term of office to an end as of the date on which the notice is deposited or on such later date as may be specified in it.

(3 )F12 The company shall within 14 days of the deposit of a notice of resignation send a copy of the notice to the registrar.

If default is made in complying with this paragraph, the company and every officer of it who is in default is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine and, for continued contravention, a daily default fine.

Rights of resigning auditorsN.I.

400A.—(1) This Article applies where an auditor's notice of resignation is accompanied by a statement of circumstances which he considers should be brought to the attention of members or creditors of the company.

(2 )F13 He may deposit with the notice a signed requisition calling on the directors of the company forthwith duly to convene an extraordinary general meeting of the company for the purpose of receiving and considering such explanation of the circumstances connected with his resignation as he may wish to place before the meeting.

(3) He may request the company to circulate to its members—

(a )F14before the meeting convened on his requisition, or

(b )F15before any general meeting at which his term of office would otherwise have expired or at which it is proposed to fill the vacancy caused by his resignation,

a statement in writing (not exceeding a reasonable length) of the circumstances connected with his resignation.

(4) The company shall (unless the statement is received too late for it to comply)—

(a)in any notice of the meeting given to members of the company, state the fact of the statement having been made, and

(b)send a copy of the statement to every member of thecompany to whom notice of the meeting is or has been sent.

(5 )F16 If the directors do not within 21 days from the date of the deposit of a requisition under this Article proceed duly to convene a meeting for a day not more than 28 days after the date on which the notice convening the meeting is given, every director who failed to take all reasonable steps to secure that a meeting was convened as mentioned above is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine.

(6) If a copy of the statement mentioned above is not sent out as required because received too late or because of the company's default, the auditor may (without prejudice to his right to be heard orally) require that the statement be read out at the meeting.

(7) Copies of a statement need not be sent out and the statement need not be read out at the meeting if, on the application either of the company or of any other person who claims to be aggrieved, the court is satisfied that the rights conferred by this Article are being abused to secure needless publicity for defamatory matter; and the court may order the company's costs on such an application to be paid in whole or in part by the auditor, notwithstanding that he is not a party to the application.

(8 )F17 An auditor who has resigned has, notwithstanding his resignation, the rights conferred by Article 398 in relation to any such general meeting of the company as is mentioned in paragraph (3)(a) or (b).

Termination of appointment of auditors not appointed annuallyN.I.

401.  F18. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Statement by person ceasing to hold office as auditorN.I.

401A .F19—(1) Where an auditor ceases for any reason to hold office, he shall deposit at the company's registered office a statement of any circumstances connected with his ceasing to hold office which he considers should be brought to the attention of the members or creditors of the company or, if he considers that there are no such circumstances, a statement that there are none.

(2) In the case of resignation, the statement shall be deposited along with the notice of resignation; in the case of failure to seek re-appointment, the statement shall be deposited not less than 14 days before the end of the time allowed for next appointing auditors; in any other case, the statement shall be deposited not later than the end of the period of 14 days beginning with the date on which he ceases to hold office.

(3) If the statement is of circumstances which the auditor considers should be brought to the attention of the members or creditors of the company, the company shall within 14 days of the deposit of the statement either—

(a)send a copy of it to every person who under Article 246 is entitled to be sent copies of the accounts, or

(b)apply to the court.

(4) The company shall if it applies to the court notify the auditor of the application.

(5) Unless the auditor receives notice of such an application before the end of the period of 21 days beginning with the day on which he deposited the statement, he shall within a further seven days send a copy of the statement to the registrar.

(6) If the court is satisfied that the auditor is using the statement to secure needless publicity for defamatory matter—

(a)it shall direct that copies of the statement need not be sent out, and

(b)it may further order the company's costs on the application to be paid in whole or in part by the auditor, notwithstanding that he is not a party to the application;

and the company shall within 14 days of the court's decision send to the persons mentioned in paragraph (3)(a) a statement setting out the effect of the order.

(7) If the court is not so satisfied, the company shall within 14 days of the court's decision—

(a)send copies of the statement to the persons mentioned in paragraph (3)(a), and

(b)notify the auditor of the court's decision;

and the auditor shall within seven days of receiving such notice send a copy of the statement to the registrar.

Offences of failing to comply with Article 401AN.I.

401B .F20—(1) If a person ceasing to hold office as auditor fails to comply with Article 401A he is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine.

(2) In proceedings for an offence under paragraph (1) it is a defence for the person charged to show that he took all reasonable steps and exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of the offence.

(3) Articles 680A (liability of individuals for corporate default) and 680B (criminal proceedings against unincorporated bodies) apply to an offence under paragraph (1).

(4) If a company makes default in complying with Article 401A, the company and every officer of it who is in default is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine and, for continued contravention, to a daily default fine.