Companies Act 2014 section 935D

Publication of relevant sanction imposed, etc.

Section 935D deals with the requirement to publish details of sanctions that have been imposed on statutory auditors or audit firms, including the circumstances under which such publication may be delayed, anonymised, or withheld.

• When a sanction is imposed on a statutory auditor or audit firm, details of the sanction — including the identity of the person sanctioned and the nature of the breach — must be published on the relevant supervisory authority's website without undue delay.
• Publication may be made on an anonymous basis where publishing the identity of the person would cause disproportionate damage, where publication would jeopardise an ongoing investigation, or where publication would threaten the stability of the financial markets.
• Where there is a risk of any of those adverse consequences, publication may also be deferred for a reasonable period if the circumstances giving rise to the risk are expected to cease.
• The section was introduced by the European Union (Statutory Audits) Regulations 2016 and subsequently amended by the Companies (Statutory Audits) Act 2018.

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