Delay Companies Act, ICAI urges

THE Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (ICAI) has called on the Government not to consider an early start of the sections of the 2003 Companies Act relating to the establishment of audit committees in certain companies.

In 2003, ICAI supported the decision to establish in law the principle that certain companies would be required to have audit committees. However, it has been critical of the Government decision to include detailed and prescriptive provisions relating to audit committees in primary legislation.

“It is our view that there are now considerable difficulties around any commencement of the audit committee provisions in the next while. These do not arise from a principled objection on our part to any particular provision, but of the practical issues that have arisen since the passage of the original act,” the ICAI’s Aidan Lambe said.