Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 26:

In page 94, line 23, to delete “may” and substitute “shall”.

This amendment is intended to clarify the obligation on an audit committee of a public interest entity in new section 1529. Section 1529 provides that the auditor of a public interest entity prepares a report that is additional to the usual audit report. This "additional report" is submitted to the audit committee and directors of the entity and its purpose is to give greater detail on the audit. The contents of this additional report are set out in Article 11 of the audit regulation. The report must include, for example, descriptions of the scope and timing of the audit, methodologies used and judgements made in the course of carrying out the audit.

Section 1529 goes on to exercise a member state option at Article 11.1 of the EU directive which permits the audit committee to disclose the additional report to such third parties as specified in national law. There are six bodies set out in this section who may request this report. They are the Central Bank, the Revenue Commissioners, Director of Corporate Enforcement, the IAASA, the Workplace Relations Commission and any body responsible for the regulation of a public interest entity.

This amendment clarifies that the additional report "shall" be disclosed by the audit committee of a public interest entity to certain public bodies on request. This is a clearer obligation on the audit committee than the original word "may".