Powers of the Authority

The Authority’s principal powers include:

the power to adopt rules and issue guidelines concerning any matter that relates to its functions or powers;
the right to apply to the High Court for an order compelling:
- a prescribed accountancy body to comply with a rule adopted or guideline issued; or
- a recognised accountancy body to comply with a term or condition attached to its audit recognition
the right to require access to prescribed bodies’ records and to require explanations about the performance of their regulatory and monitoring duties;
the power to impose sanctions on prescribed accountancy bodies in circumstances where the Authority is not satisfied that their approved investigation and disciplinary procedures have been complied with. Sanctions available to the Authority in such circumstances include:
- annulling all, or part, of a prescribed body’s decision relating to an enquiry performed by it;
- directing a prescribed body to conduct an investigation or a fresh investigation into a matter;
- imposing a fine not exceeding €125,000 (or such other amount as may be prescribed by the Minister) on a prescribed body;
the power to require a relevant person to attend before the Authority and the power to examine a relevant person on oath in the context of an investigation into a possible breach of the standards of a prescribed body;
the right to certify a refusal to co-operate with the Authority’s investigations into a possible breach of the standards of a prescribed body to the High Court;
the power to impose sanctions on a member of a prescribed body where the member in question is found to have committed a breach of the body’s standards;
the power, where not satisfied that a company’s, or other undertaking’s, financial statements are in compliance with the Companies Acts, to apply to the High Court for a declaration of non-compliance and for an Order for one or more of the following:
- the revision of the financial statements;
- directions regarding the auditing of the revised financial statements;
- the revision of any Directors’ Report;
- the steps to be taken by the directors to bring the Court Order to the notice of persons likely to rely on the annual financial statements that were the subject of the declaration of non-compliance.