- Latest available (Revised)
- Original (As enacted)
There are outstanding changes not yet made by the legislation.gov.uk editorial team to Companies Act 2006. Any changes that have already been made by the team appear in the content and are referenced with annotations.![]()
Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. Changes and effects are recorded by our editorial team in lists which can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area. Where those effects have yet to be applied to the text of the legislation by the editorial team they are also listed alongside the legislation in the affected provisions. Use the ‘more’ link to open the changes and effects relevant to the provision you are viewing.
This section lists the changes and effects yet to be applied to the whole Act, associated Parts and Chapters where applicable. This includes any insertions of whole new Parts, Chapters or provisions yet to be inserted into this Act. These effects are included in this view as they may be (but won’t necessarily be) relevant to the specific provision that you are viewing.
Whole provisions yet to be inserted into this Act (including any effects on those provisions):
(1)In this Part “associate”, in relation to a person, is to be construed as follows.
(2)In relation to an individual, “associate” means—
(a)that individual's spouse, civil partner or minor child or step-child,
(b)any body corporate of which that individual is a director, and
(c)any employee or partner of that individual.
(3)In relation to a body corporate, “associate” means—
(a)any body corporate of which that body is a director,
(b)any body corporate in the same group as that body, and
(c)any employee or partner of that body or of any body corporate in the same group.
(4)In relation to a partnership constituted under the law of Scotland, or any other country or territory in which a partnership is a legal person, “associate” means—
(a)any body corporate of which that partnership is a director,
(b)any employee of or partner in that partnership, and
(c)any person who is an associate of a partner in that partnership.
(5)In relation to a partnership constituted under the law of England and Wales or Northern Ireland, or the law of any other country or territory in which a partnership is not a legal person, “associate” means any person who is an associate of any of the partners.
(6)In subsections (2)(b), (3)(a) and (4)(a), in the case of a body corporate which is a limited liability partnership, “director” is to be read as “member”.
(1)In this Part, unless a contrary intention appears—
“address” means—
in relation to an individual, his usual residential or business address;
in relation to a firm, its registered or principal office in the United Kingdom;
[F1“the Audit Directive” means Directive 2006/43/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on statutory audits of annual accounts and consolidated accounts, amending Council Directives 78/660/EEC and 83/349/EEC and repealing Council Directive 84/253/EEC, as amended at any time before 1st January 2009;]
[F2“audit working papers” means any documents which—
are or have been held by a statutory auditor [F3, an EEA auditor] or a third country auditor, and
are related to the conduct of an audit conducted by that auditor;]
“company” means any company or other body the accounts of which must be audited in accordance with Part 16;
“director”, in relation to a body corporate, includes any person occupying in relation to it the position of a director (by whatever name called) and any person in accordance with whose directions or instructions (not being advice given in a professional capacity) the directors of the body are accustomed to act;
[F4“EEA auditor” means an individual or firm approved in accordance with the Audit Directive by an EEA competent authority to carry out audits of annual accounts or consolidated accounts required by European Union law;]
[F5“EEA competent authority” means a competent authority within the meaning of Article 2.10 of the Audit Directive of an EEA State other than the United Kingdom;]
“firm” means any entity, whether or not a legal person, which is not an individual and includes a body corporate, a corporation sole and a partnership or other unincorporated association;
“group”, in relation to a body corporate, means the body corporate, any other body corporate which is its holding company or subsidiary and any other body corporate which is a subsidiary of that holding company;
“holding company” and “subsidiary” are to be read in accordance with section 1159 and Schedule 6;
“officer”, in relation to a body corporate, includes a director, a manager, a secretary or, where the affairs of the body are managed by its members, a member;
“parent undertaking” and “subsidiary undertaking” are to be read in accordance with section 1162 and Schedule 7.
[F6“third country” means a country or territory that is not an EEA State or part of an EEA State;]
[F7“third country auditor” means a person, other than a person eligible for appointment as a statutory auditor, who is eligible to conduct audits of the accounts of bodies corporate incorporated or formed under the law of a third country in accordance with the law of that country;]
[F8“third country competent authority” means a body established in a third country exercising functions related to the regulation or oversight of auditors;]
[F9“transfer”, in relation to audit working papers, includes physical and electronic transfer and allowing access to such papers;]
(2)For the purposes of this Part a body is to be regarded as “established in the United Kingdom” if and only if—
(a)it is incorporated or formed under the law of the United Kingdom or a part of the United Kingdom, or
(b)its central management and control are exercised in the United Kingdom;
and any reference to a qualification “obtained in the United Kingdom” is to a qualification obtained from such a body.
[F10(2A)For the purposes of this Part, Gibraltar shall be treated as if it were an EEA State.]
(3)The Secretary of State may by regulations make such modifications of this Part as appear to him to be necessary or appropriate for the purposes of its application in relation to any firm, or description of firm, which is not a body corporate or a partnership.
(4)Regulations under subsection (3) are subject to negative resolution procedure.
Annotations are used to give authority for changes and other effects on the legislation you are viewing and to convey editorial information. They appear at the foot of the relevant provision or under the associated heading. Annotations are categorised by annotation type, such as F-notes for textual amendments and I-notes for commencement information (a full list can be found in the Editorial Practice Guide). Each annotation is identified by a sequential reference number. For F-notes, M-notes and X-notes, the number also appears in bold superscript at the relevant location in the text. All annotations contain links to the affecting legislation.
Amendments (Textual)
F1S. 1261(1): definition inserted (6.4.2008) by The Statutory Auditors and Third Country Auditors Regulations 2007 (S.I. 2007/3494), reg. 2(2)
F2S. 1261(1): definition inserted (6.4.2008) by The Statutory Auditors and Third Country Auditors Regulations 2007 (S.I. 2007/3494), reg. 2(2)
F3S. 1261(1): words in definition of "audit working papers" inserted (15.11.2010) by The Companies Act 2006 (Transfer of Audit Working Papers to Third Countries) Regulations 2010 (S.I. 2010/2537), regs. 1(2), 6(2)
F4S. 1261(1): definition of "EEA auditor" substituted (15.11.2010) by The Companies Act 2006 (Transfer of Audit Working Papers to Third Countries) Regulations 2010 (S.I. 2010/2537), regs. 1(2), 6(3)
F5S. 1261(1): definition inserted (6.4.2008) by The Statutory Auditors and Third Country Auditors Regulations 2007 (S.I. 2007/3494), reg. 2(2)
F6S. 1261(1): definition inserted (6.4.2008) by The Statutory Auditors and Third Country Auditors Regulations 2007 (S.I. 2007/3494), reg. 2(2)
F7S. 1261(1): definition inserted (6.4.2008) by The Statutory Auditors and Third Country Auditors Regulations 2007 (S.I. 2007/3494), reg. 2(2)
F8S. 1261(1): definition inserted (6.4.2008) by The Statutory Auditors and Third Country Auditors Regulations 2007 (S.I. 2007/3494), reg. 2(2)
F9S. 1261(1): definition of "transfer" inserted (15.11.2010) by The Companies Act 2006 (Transfer of Audit Working Papers to Third Countries) Regulations 2010 (S.I. 2010/2537), regs. 1(2), 6(4)
F10S. 1261(2A) inserted (6.4.2008) by The Statutory Auditors and Third Country Auditors Regulations 2007 (S.I. 2007/3494), reg. 2(3)
Commencement Information
The following Table shows provisions defining or otherwise explaining expressions used in this Part (other than provisions defining or explaining an expression used only in the same section)—
| Expression | Provision |
|---|---|
| address | section 1261(1) |
| appropriate qualification | section 1219 |
| [F11approved third country competent authority | Section 1253D(2);] |
| associate | section 1260 |
| [F12Audit Directive | section 1261(1)] |
| [F13audit working papers | section 1261(1)] |
| audited person | section 1210(2) |
| Auditor General | section 1226(1) |
| company | section 1261(1) |
| delegation order | section 1252(1) |
| director (of a body corporate) | section 1261(1) |
| enactment | section 1293 |
| established in the United Kingdom | section 1261(2) |
| [F14EEA auditor | section 1261(1)] |
| [F15EEA competent authority | section 1261(1)] |
| firm | section 1261(1) |
| group (in relation to a body corporate) | section 1261(1) |
| holding company | section 1261(1) |
| main purposes of this Part | section 1209 |
| member (of a supervisory body) | section 1217(2) |
| obtained in the United Kingdom | section 1261(2) |
| officer | section 1261(1) |
| parent undertaking | section 1261(1) |
| qualifying body | section 1220(1) |
| recognised, in relation to a professional qualification | section 1220(3) and Schedule 11 |
| recognised, in relation to a qualifying body | paragraph 1(2) of Schedule 11 |
| recognised, in relation to a supervisory body | section 1217(4) and Schedule 10 |
| registered third country auditor | section 1241(1) |
| rules of a qualifying body | section 1220(2) |
| rules of a supervisory body | section 1217(3) |
| statutory auditor, statutory audit and statutory audit work | section 1210(1) |
| subsidiary | section 1261(1) |
| supervisory body | section 1217(1) |
| subsidiary undertaking | section 1261(1) |
| [F16third country | section 1261(1)] |
| third country auditor, F17. . . | Section 1261(1). |
| [F18third country competent authority | section 1261(1)] |
| [F19transfer (in relation to audit working papers) | section 1261(1)] |
| [F20UK-traded non-EEA company | section 1261(2)] |
Annotations are used to give authority for changes and other effects on the legislation you are viewing and to convey editorial information. They appear at the foot of the relevant provision or under the associated heading. Annotations are categorised by annotation type, such as F-notes for textual amendments and I-notes for commencement information (a full list can be found in the Editorial Practice Guide). Each annotation is identified by a sequential reference number. For F-notes, M-notes and X-notes, the number also appears in bold superscript at the relevant location in the text. All annotations contain links to the affecting legislation.
Amendments (Textual)
F11S. 1262: entry inserted (15.11.2010) by The Companies Act 2006 (Transfer of Audit Working Papers to Third Countries) Regulations 2010 (S.I. 2010/2537), regs. 1(2), 6(5)
F12S. 1262: entry inserted (6.4.2008) by The Statutory Auditors and Third Country Auditors Regulations 2007 (S.I. 2007/3494), reg. 3(2)
F13S. 1262: entry inserted (6.4.2008) by The Statutory Auditors and Third Country Auditors Regulations 2007 (S.I. 2007/3494), reg. 3(2)
F14S. 1262: entry inserted (6.4.2008) by The Statutory Auditors and Third Country Auditors Regulations 2007 (S.I. 2007/3494), reg. 3(2)
F15S. 1262: entry inserted (6.4.2008) by The Statutory Auditors and Third Country Auditors Regulations 2007 (S.I. 2007/3494), reg. 3(2)
F16S. 1262: entry inserted (6.4.2008) by The Statutory Auditors and Third Country Auditors Regulations 2007 (S.I. 2007/3494), reg. 3(2)
F17Words in s. 1262 omitted (6.4.2008) by virtue of The Statutory Auditors and Third Country Auditors Regulations 2007 (S.I. 2007/3494), reg. 3(3)(a)
F18S. 1262: entry inserted (6.4.2008) by The Statutory Auditors and Third Country Auditors Regulations 2007 (S.I. 2007/3494), reg. 3(2)
F19S. 1262: entry inserted (15.11.2010) by The Companies Act 2006 (Transfer of Audit Working Papers to Third Countries) Regulations 2010 (S.I. 2010/2537), regs. 1(2), 6(5)
F20S. 1262: entry inserted (6.4.2008) by The Statutory Auditors and Third Country Auditors Regulations 2007 (S.I. 2007/3494), reg. 3(2)
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download.
Would you like to continue?
The Whole Act without Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
The Whole Act without Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download.
Would you like to continue?
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
The Whole Act without Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
The Schedules only you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.
Original (As Enacted or Made):The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.
Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.
Text created by the government department responsible for the subject matter of the Act to explain what the Act sets out to achieve and to make the Act accessible to readers who are not legally qualified. Explanatory Notes were introduced in 1999 and accompany all Public Acts except Appropriation, Consolidated Fund, Finance and Consolidation Acts.
Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including: