The Companies Registration Office ("CRO") in Ireland, published form FS1 on 10 July 2018. This form should be used by certain investment companies when filing financial statements with the CRO.
This new requirement relates to investment companies established as public limited companies1 ("PLCs") and Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities2 constituted as investment companies that are registered as PLCs ("UCITS") in Ireland only and does not concern Irish Collective Asset-management Vehicles ("ICAVs").
Such PLCs and UCITS are now required to deliver to the CRO not later than 11 months after the end of the company’s financial year:
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the statutory financial statements of the company for the financial year;
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the directors’ report for the financial year; and
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the statutory auditors’ report on those financial statements and that directors’ report.
Should a company fail to comply with this requirement it can result in the company and any of its officers who are in default being prosecuted, and if found guilty, a term of imprisonment of up to six months or a fine not exceeding €5,000 may be imposed.
It is important to note that these filed accounts will be of public record, and will be available for inspection in the same manner in which company submissions / filings are currently accessed via the CRO website.
The CRO has confirmed that the new requirements regarding financial statements described above will apply to financial years commencing on or after 1 January 2017, and thus a company with a financial year-end of 31 December 2017 will be required to make the filing on or before 30 November 2018.
UCITS registered as a PLC and non-UCITS investment companies established as a PLC in Ireland will need to ensure this filing is included in their annual compliance calendar.
The form can be accessed on the CRO website.
