Services > Auditing

After your accounts have been prepared, they have to be the subject of a report by the auditors before getting published. This is intended for the members at the annual general meeting, and is read out formally before the company in general meeting. Primarily this is a report to the meeting and not to individual members, and the auditor must be satisfied that the directors will put it before the members.

It was customary and is now compulsory, therefore, to include the auditors' report with the balance sheet and accounts circulated with the notice of the meeting, which is commonly badly attended, if the company is prospering.

There is no special timetable for submission of accounts to the auditors for the purpose of an audit. There is no duty to disclose communications about the accounts to the shareholders, other than any notes which the auditors may wish to put on the accounts to qualify their report.

Auditors are entitled to request information and explanations from the directors and staff as may be necessary for the performance of their duty.

The directors must bear in mind that the importance of accounts auditing is management accountancy. This does not relate to giving information about the results produced, but rather to the effectiveness of the utilization of the resources of the company in terms assets and management expertise.