Companies Act 2014

Right to information and explanations concerning company

387. (1) Statutory auditors of a company may require from the officers of the company such information and explanations as appear to the auditors to be within the officers' knowledge or can be procured by them and which the statutory auditors think necessary for the performance of their duties.

(2) Without limiting subsection (1), an officer of a company shall be guilty of a category 2 offence if the officer fails to comply—

(a) within 2 days after the date on which it is made, with a requirement made of him or her by the statutory auditors of the company to provide to those auditors any information or explanations that those auditors require as statutory auditors of the company, or

(b) within 2 days after the date on which it is made, with a requirement made of him or her by the statutory auditors of the holding company of that company to provide to those auditors any information or explanations that those auditors require as statutory auditors of the holding company,

being, in either case, information or explanations that is or are within the knowledge of, or can be procured by, the officer.

(3) In any proceedings against a person in respect of an offence under subsection (2), it shall be a defence to prove that it was not reasonably possible for the person to comply with the requirement under subsection (2)(a) or (b) to which the offence relates within the time specified in that provision but that he or she complied with it as soon as was reasonably possible after the expiration of such time.

(4) In this section “officer”, in relation to a company, includes any employee of the company and any shadow director and de facto director of it.