Section 46 Audit.

England, Wales and Scotland

(1)

F1The accounts of each new AgencyF2, with the exception of those accounts of the Agency that relate to a financial year ending on or after 31st March 2004, shall be audited by an auditor appointed for each accounting year by the Secretary of State.

(2)

A person shall not be qualified for appointment under subsection (1) above unless—

(a)

he is eligible for appointment as a F3statutory auditor under Part 42 of the Companies Act 2006 ; and

(b)

F4if the appointment were an appointment as a statutory auditor, he would not be prohibited from acting by virtue of section 1214 of that Act (independence requirement).

(3)

A copy of—

(a)

any accounts of a new Agency which are audited under subsection (1) above, and

(b)

the report made on those accounts by the auditor,

shall be sent to each of the appropriate Ministers as soon as reasonably practicable after the report is received by the new Agency; and the Secretary of State shall lay before each House of Parliament a copy of those accounts and that report.

(3A)

F5The Agency shall send a copy of its accounts in respect of each financial year ending on or after 31st March 2004 to the Comptroller and Auditor General as soon as reasonably practicable after the end of the financial year to which the accounts relate.

(3B)

The Comptroller and Auditor General shall examine, certify and report on any accounts sent to him by the Agency under subsection (3A) and shall lay before each House of Parliament a copy of those accounts and his report on them.

(4)

The Comptroller and Auditor General—

(a)

shall be entitled to inspect the contents of all accounts and accounting records of a new Agency; and

(b)

may report to the House of Commons the results of any inspection carried out by him under paragraph (a) above;

and section 6 of the M1National Audit Act 1983 (examinations of economy, efficiency and effectiveness) accordingly applies to each new Agency.

(5)

In this section—

“ accounting records ” has the same meaning as in section 45 above;
“ accounting year ” has the same meaning as in section 45 above;
“ accounts ”, in relation to the Agency, includes any statement under section 45 above.

Annotations

Textual amendments

F1: S. 46 ceases to have effect so far as relating to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (S.) (1.4.2000) by 2000 asp 1, s. 26, Sch. 4 para. 13(2); S.S.I. 2000/10, art. 2(3)
F2: Words in s. 46(1) inserted (23.5.2003) by Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 (Audit of Public Bodies) Order 2003 (S.I. 2003/1326), arts. 1, 19(2)
F3: Words in s. 46(2)(a) substituted (6.4.2008) by virtue of The Companies Act 2006 (Consequential Amendments etc) Order 2008 (S.I. 2008/948), art. 2(2), Sch. 1 para. 1(ss) (with arts. 6, 11, 12)
F4: S. 46(2)(b) substituted (6.4.2008) by The Companies Act 2006 (Consequential Amendments etc) Order 2008 (S.I. 2008/948), art. 2(2), Sch. 1 para. 19 (with arts. 6, 11, 12)
F5: S. 46(3A)(3B) inserted (23.5.2003) by Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 (Audit of Public Bodies) Order 2003 (S.I. 2003/1326), arts. 1, 19(3)

Marginal citations

M1: 1983 c. 44.

Modifications

C1: S. 46(3) modified (1.7.1999) by S.I. 1999/672, art. 2, Sch. 1
C2: S. 46(4) functions cease to be exercisable (with effect in accordance with art. 1(3) of the amending S.I.) by The Natural Resources Body for Wales (Consequential Provision) Order 2013 (S.I. 2013/1821), arts. 1(2), 10 (with arts. 24, 26)