Seanad debates

Wednesday, 16 April 2003

Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Bill 2003: Second Stage.

 

Let me take some aspects of the Oxley Act which makes things far less onerous than they are in Ireland. The legislation before us provides that all the non-executive directors must sign up to compliance and may not be on the audit committee. In the US, the only people not allowed to be on the audit committee are the chief executive officer and chief financial officer. In the US, this applies to all public companies, but under the proposed regime in Ireland all private companies will be included as well. This means that Intel and Hewlett Packard and others who operate in Ireland will have to find Irish directors who have not worked in these companies in the last five years and who are going to have to sign up to compliance. Where will they find them? How many such directors are there? I am thinking of the companies that I know. Where will we find people who will sign up to compliance, knowing that if they make a mistake, and do not get in consultants to check on everything, they will be guilty and will suffer the penalties?

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