Companies Act 2014 section 393

Report to Corporate Enforcement Authority: category 1 and 2 offences

Section 393 sets out the obligation on statutory auditors to report suspected serious offences (category 1 or 2) discovered during an audit to the Corporate Enforcement Authority, and to cooperate with the Authority's subsequent requests for information.

• Auditors who discover reasonable grounds to believe a category 1 or 2 offence has been committed by the company, its officers or agents must immediately notify the Corporate Enforcement Authority and provide details of the grounds for their opinion.
• Once notified, the Authority may request further information, access to relevant books and documents, and certified copies or extracts, all of which the auditors must provide.
• Auditors are protected from liability and will not be considered to have breached any professional or legal duty by complying with these reporting obligations; however, legal professional privilege is preserved and cannot be overridden.
• Failure to notify the Authority of suspected offences or to comply with the Authority's requests is itself a criminal offence (category 3).