New companies ordinance offence in relation to auditors - new
circular issued by the companies registry and technical bulletin
issued by the HKICPA
4 March 2014
The new law
The new Companies Ordinance (Cap 622) (the "new CO")
came into force on 3 March 2014. Amongst other things, it
introduced a new offence in relation to certain omissions in
auditors' reports.
The Companies Registry has recently published a circular to set
out the general principles that apply in determining whether an
offence relating to the contents of an auditor's report should
be prosecuted under section 408 of the new CO or section 16 of the
Companies (Revision of Financial Statements and Reports) Regulation
(Cap 622F) (the "Circular"). The Hong Kong Institute of
Certified Public Accountants also issued a Technical Bulletin on
section 408 of the new CO on 24 February 2014 (the "Technical
Bulletin").
