Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I move amendment No. 3:

In page 28, lines 37 and 38, to delete “there has been no enquiry under section 933 into the non-compliance;”and substitute “no enquiry under section 933 into the non-compliance has been commenced;”.

The amendments are clarifications and all connected with a power the Bill gives to the Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority, IAASA, and the Director of Corporate Enforcement.

It is the power to impose sanctions by way of agreements. There are three types of such an agreement, as provided for in sections 33, 35 and 45 . Section 33 provides that the IAASA may enter into such agreements with a prescribed accountancy body or a recognised accountancy body. These are agreements to settle cases of non-compliance by a body in respect of the application of the disciplinary process by a prescribed accountancy body and how a recognised accountancy body is performing the audit oversight tasks for which it is responsible. Section 35 provides that the IAASA may enter into such agreements directly with a member of a prescribed accountancy body, a statutory auditor or an audit firm. These are agreements to settle cases of breaches of the standards of a prescribed accountancy body or of the rules governing statutory audit. Section 45 provides that the Director of Corporate Enforcement may enter into such an agreement with a director of a public interest entity where that director has contributed to a breach of the rules of statutory audit by a statutory auditor or audit firm.

All these agreements share some characteristics. For a start, the terms of this type of agreement are binding on the IAASA or the Director of Corporate Enforcement on the one hand and on the accountancy body, auditor or director concerned on the other. They may include sanctions, such as a financial penalty. Depending on the circumstances, an agreement may be entered into without an investigation or inquiry having first been initiated. They are at the absolute discretion of the parties concerned. The IAASA or the director, as appropriate, shall publish the details of any agreement on its website as soon as is practicable. The purpose of these agreements is to avoid lengthy and costly proceedings while ensuring the appropriate regulatory outcomes.

The purpose of amendments Nos. 3, 7 and 18 is to clarify that these agreements may be reached without the need to initiate an inquiry under section 933, or an investigation under section 934 or an investigation under Part 15 of the Companies Act 2014, as appropriate. Amendments Nos. 4, 8 and 19 clarify that while the terms of these agreements may include the imposition of sanctions and the payment of costs, they are not limited to these terms. Amendments Nos. 5, 9 and 20 are purely technical to allow for amendments Nos. 6, 10 and 21, respectively. Amendments Nos. 6, 10 and 21 clarify that this type of agreement does not require the confirmation of the court, as provided for in section 941 of the Companies Act 2014 and in new section 957I, which is inserted by this Bill. This is because the agreements are at the absolute discretion of both parties to them. Amendments Nos. 10 and 21 also insert new subsections into sections 934E and 957E, respectively, to the effect that the IAASA or the Director of Corporate Enforcement, as appropriate, shall publish the details of these agreements on its website as soon as practicable.