Concerns about your OMC financial accounts

Most Owners' Management Companies in Ireland are incorporated as a Company Limited by Guarantee, a CLG. The shareholders or members of these companies do not hold shares but guanratee the company debts for a specific sum usually €1. As a member of a CLG company you have rights under Company Law. One such Right is the right to have the company audited. This means that the company will appoint an independent person - an accountant - who will review all of the financial information of the company and prepare a Report for the members of the company which will be provided at the AGM.

The use of Auditors is a key governance protection in company management. It provides a check and balance on company directors and managers.

Section 334 and 1218 of the Companies Act 2014 addresses the Notice provided to the company to request an Audit. While Section 338 of the Companies Act, 2014, confirms the required content of an Auditor's Report. The main issues which the OMC Auditor is required to include:

(a) give a true and fair view— of the assets, liabilities and financial position of the company as at the end of the financial year,

(b) The statutory auditors’ report shall also state—

- whether they have obtained all the information and explanations which, to the best of their knowledge and belief, are necessary for the purposes of their audit,

- whether, in their opinion, the accounting records of the company were sufficient to permit the financial statements to be readily and properly audited,

- whether, in their opinion, information and returns adequate for their audit have been received from branches of the company not visited by them, 

(c) state whether, in their opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit—

- the information given in the directors’ report for the financial year for which statutory financial statements are prepared is consistent with the company’s statutory financial statements in respect of the financial year concerned, and

- the directors’ report has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements, and

- state whether, based on their knowledge and understanding of the company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, they have identified material misstatements in the directors’ report and, where they have so identified such misstatements, give an indication of the nature of each of such misstatements.

(d) The statutory auditors’ report shall provide a statement on any material uncertainty relating to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt about the entity’s ability to continue as a going concern.

This issue was raised as part of the Public Webinar on Apartment Owners' Rights. Click here and register for our next public webinar.

This summary is for information purposes only and arises from question and answer discussion. It is not legal or financial advice nor should it be used as such. Please consult your legal and / or financial advisor for any such advise.