Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 12:

In page 14, between lines 9 and 10, to insert the following:“Certain companies may apply provisions of Act to certain earlier financial years

15. The Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 280:

“280A. (1) Subject to this section, the directors of a company may opt to prepare (and approve) statutory financial statements for the company in accordance with the provisions of the Act of 2016 specified in subsection (4) (the ‘specified provisions of the Act of 2016’) before the operative date of those provisions for any financial year which commences on or after 1 January 2015 and ends on or before 24 December 2016.

(2) All obligations and rights that arise under this Act consequent on or in respect of financial statements having been approved by directors of a company shall likewise arise in relation to financial statements approved by directors in a case falling within subsection (1).

(3) In determining whether a company or group qualifies as—

(a) a medium company under section 280F or 280G, as the case may be,

(b) a small company under section 280A or 280B, as the case may be,

or

(c) a micro company under section 280D,

in relation to a financial year to which the specified provisions of the Act of 2016 have effect, the company or group, as may be appropriate shall be treated as having qualified as a medium company, small company or micro company, as the case may be, in any previous year in which it would have so qualified if the qualifying conditions applicable to that company or group, as the case may be, had had effect in relation to that previous year.

(4) Each of the following is a specified provision of the Act of 2016:

(a) section 3;

(b) section 5;

(c) sections 11 to 13;

(d) sections 15 to 25;

(e) paragraphs (a), (b) and (d) of section 26;

(f) sections 29 to 57;

(g) section 59;

(h) sections 62 to 64;

(i) sections 79 and 80;

(j) section 82;

(k) section 85;

(l) section 87;

(m) paragraphs (a)(v), (b) and (c) of section 90.

(5) In this section—

‘Act of 2016’ means the Companies (Accounting) Act 2016;

‘operative date’ means the date on which the specified provision comes into operation pursuant to an order under section 1(3) of the Act of 2016;

‘qualifying conditions’ has the same meaning as it has—

(a) in relation to a medium company, in section 280F(7) or 280G(10), as the case may be,

(b) in relation to a small company, in section 280A(7) or 280B(10), as the case may be, and

(c) in relation to a micro company, in section 280D(7).”.”.