Comptroller and Auditor General (Amendment) Act, 1993

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Conferral of additional audit functions on Comptroller and Auditor General.

5.—(1) (a) The Comptroller and Auditor General shall, in addition to the accounts which he is required by other sections of this Act or by or under any other enactment to audit, audit—

(i) the accounts for each financial year of the persons specified in the First Schedule ,

(ii) the accounts for each financial year of any fund owned, or operated or controlled by or for, or held in trust by or for, a Minister of the Government or a Department (other than a fund under the control of the Courts),

(iii) the accounts for each financial year of any fund owned, or operated or controlled by or for, or held in trust by or for, a person (other than a person specified in the Second Schedule or a subsidiary of such a person) whose accounts are audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General under this Act (other than subsection (2)) or any other enactment, being a fund which includes—

(I) moneys paid directly or indirectly to the fund out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas, or the Central Fund or the growing produce thereof, or

(II) moneys which have been collected or received on behalf of the Exchequer, a Department or a fund specified in sub-paragraph (ii),

(iv) the accounts of the transactions in the State in each financial year of the Guarantee section of the European Guidance and Guarantee Fund set up under Article 40 of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, signed at Rome on the 25th day of March, 1957, and

(v) the accounts for each financial year of a subsidiary if it is so determined by the Minister and any other Minister of the Government upon whom functions in relation to the person or a person who is a member of the subsidiary stand conferred by or under an Act of the Oireachtas by specific reference to the person or persons.

(b) The Comptroller and Auditor General may, if he so thinks fit, audit or inspect the accounts for any financial year of any fund owned, or operated or controlled by or for, or held in trust by or for, a person (other than a person specified in the Second Schedule or a subsidiary of such a person) whose accounts are audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General under this Act (other than subsection (2)) or any other enactment, being a fund which includes money paid into it by that person.

(c) In this subsection “subsidiary” means a subsidiary of a person (other than of a person specified in the Second Schedule or a subsidiary of such a person) whose accounts are audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General under this Act (other than subsection (2)) or under any other enactment (referred to subsequently in this paragraph as “a specified person”) and includes a company of which more than one specified person are members if the specified persons—

(i) control the composition of its board of directors,

(ii) hold more than half in nominal value of its equity share capital, or

(iii) hold more than half in nominal value of its shares carrying voting rights (other than voting rights which arise only in specified circumstances),

and subsection (2) of section 155 of the Act of 1963 shall apply for the purpose of determining whether the specified persons control the composition of the board of directors of the company.

(2) (a) In addition to auditing the accounts of the persons referred to in subsection (1), the Comptroller and Auditor General may, in pursuance of an agreement in that behalf made between the Comptroller and Auditor General and any other person and with the consent of the Minister, audit the accounts of such person and the accounts of any fund the auditor of which is appointed by such person.

(b) Subsection (1) shall not apply to a fund of a funded scheme (within the meaning of the Pensions Act, 1990 ), but the Comptroller and Auditor General may, in pursuance of an agreement in that behalf made between him and the person by whom the auditor of such a scheme is appointed and with the consent of the Minister, audit the accounts of that scheme.

(3) Subsection (1) shall not apply to the accounts of a person, fund or subsidiary referred to in subsection (1) for a financial year of the person, fund or subsidiary beginning less than 3 months after the commencement of this section unless, immediately before such commencement, those accounts fell to be audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General.