(1)If at the end of a financial year an incorporated friendly society has subsidiary undertakings, the committee of management, in addition to preparing individual accounts for the year, must prepare consolidated accounts for the year for the society and those undertakings taken as a whole, except as provided by regulations under subsection (7).
Those accounts are referred to in this Part as the society’s “group accounts”.
(2)Certain friendly societies are obliged by Article 4 of the IAS Regulation to prepare their group accounts in accordance with international accounting standards (“IAS group accounts”).
(3)The group accounts of other friendly societies may be prepared –
(a)in accordance with section 69F (“Friendly Societies Act group accounts”), or
(b)in accordance with international accounting standards (“IAS group accounts”).
This subsection is subject to the following provisions of this section and section 69I (consistency of accounts).
(4)After the first financial year in which the committee of management of a friendly society prepares IAS group accounts (“the first IAS year”), all subsequent group accounts of the society must be prepared in accordance with international accounting standards unless there is a relevant change of circumstance.
(5)There is a relevant change of circumstance if, at any time during or after the first IAS year—
(a)the society becomes a subsidiary undertaking of another undertaking and accounts for that undertaking and its subsidiary undertakings (taken as a whole) are not prepared in accordance with international accounting standards,
(b)the society ceases to be a society with securities admitted to trading on a regulated market, or
(c)a parent undertaking of the society ceases to be an undertaking with securities admitted to trading on a regulated market.
In this subsection “regulated market” has the same meaning as it has in [F2[F3Directive 2004/39/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004] [F3Directive 2014/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014] on markets in financial instruments].
(6)If, having changed to preparing Friendly Societies Act group accounts following a relevant change of circumstance, the committee of management again prepares IAS group accounts for the society, subsections (4) and (5) apply again as if the first financial year for which such accounts are again prepared were the first IAS year.
(7)The Treasury may by regulations exempt specified descriptions of incorporated friendly societies with subsidiaries from any duty to prepare group accounts.
(8)Regulations under subsection (7) may exempt societies by reference to any criterion and may make different provision for different descriptions of societies.]
Textual Amendments
F1Ss. 69A-69I substituted for ss. 69, 70 (with effect in accordance with art. 1(2) of the amending S.I.) by The Friendly Societies Act 1992 (International Accounting Standards and Other Accounting Amendments) Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/2211), arts. 1(2), 2 (with art. 8)
F2Words in s. 69E(5) substituted (1.4.2007 for specified purposes, 1.11.2007 in so far as not already in force) by The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Markets in Financial Instruments) Regulations 2007 (S.I. 2007/126), reg. 1(2), Sch. 6 para. 10(3)
F3Words in s. 69E(5) substituted (29.6.2017 for specified purposes, 3.7.2017 for specified purposes) by The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Markets in Financial Instruments) Regulations 2017 (S.I. 2017/701), reg. 1(2)(3)(4)(6), Sch. 4 para. 3(3) (with reg. 7)