Building Societies Act, 1989

Annual accounts.

77.—(1) The directors of a building society shall prepare in respect of each financial year of the society—

(a) an income and expenditure account giving a true and fair view of its income and expenditure for that year,

(b) a balance sheet giving a true and fair view of the state of its affairs as at the end of that year, and

(c) a statement of the source and application of funds giving a true and fair view of the manner in which its business has been financed and in which its financial resources have been used during that year,

and each of these shall be in such form and shall contain such particulars as the Central Bank may direct.

(2) Subject to subsection (5), if, at the end of its financial year, a society has subsidiaries, the directors shall also prepare, with respect to that year, group accounts dealing respectively with the income and expenditure, the state of the affairs and the source and application of the funds, of the society and the subsidiaries.

(3) The directors of a society which has subsidiaries shall secure that, in so far as it is practicable, the financial year of each of its subsidiaries coincides with the society's own financial year.

(4) Where the directors prepare a statement of the source and application of funds of the society and its subsidiaries under subsection (2), they need not also prepare such a statement as to the society's funds under subsection (1).

(5) The Central Bank may, as it thinks proper, on application by a society—

(a) grant a dispensation from the requirement—

(i) to prepare group accounts,

(ii) to deal with all subsidiaries in group accounts, and

(b) permit group accounts to be prepared in other than consolidated form.

(6) Unless the Central Bank otherwise allows, the income and expenditure account, the balance sheet and the statement of the source and application of funds of a society for any financial year shall, where applicable, include corresponding particulars for the preceding financial year.

(7) The annual accounts shall also contain, whether in the form of notes or otherwise, such supplementary information as is required by or under this Act.

(8) The Central Bank may, by regulations, make further provision with respect to the annual accounts of a society and, without prejudice to the generality of this subsection, the regulations may—

(a) add to the documents to be comprised in a society's accounts to be prepared for each financial year under subsection (1) or (2),

(b) make provision as to the matters to be included in any document comprised in a society's accounts,

(c) prescribe accounting principles and rules for the preparation of annual accounts, and

(d) require the annual accounts of societies to deal also with bodies associated with them to a prescribed extent.

(9) (a) Where a director or a chief executive of a society fails to take all reasonable steps to secure compliance with this section he shall be guilty of an offence.

(b) In any proceedings against a person in respect of an offence under this section, it shall be a defence to prove that he had reasonable grounds for believing and did believe that a competent and reliable person was charged with the duty of seeing that this section was complied with and was in a position to discharge that duty.

(10) The accounts prepared with respect to a society's financial year under this section, whether as individual accounts or group accounts, together with the notes to them, are referred to in this Act as “the annual accounts”.