The Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008

Audit and independent examination: supplementary provisions

33.—(1) Any person carrying out an audit or examination of the accounts of a charity under sections 43, 43A or 43B of or paragraph 6 of Schedule 5A to the 1993 Act has a right of access to any books, documents and other records (however kept) which relate to the charity concerned and which the person concerned considers it necessary to inspect for the purpose of carrying out the audit or examination.

(2) Such a person is entitled to require, in the case of the charity concerned, such information and explanations from past or present charity trustees of, or trustees for, the charity, or from past or present officers or employees of the charity, as he considers it necessary to obtain for the purposes of carrying out the audit or examination.

(3) An auditor carrying out an audit of the group accounts of a parent charity under paragraph 6 of Schedule 5A to the 1993 Act also has—

(a) a right of access to any books, documents and other records (however kept) which relate to any of the subsidiary undertakings included in group accounts and which the auditor considers it necessary to inspect for the purpose of carrying out the audit;

(b) the right to require, in the case of any such subsidiary undertaking, such information and explanations from—

(i) in the case of a subsidiary undertaking which is a charity, past or present charity trustees of, or trustees for, that charity;

(ii) in the case of any subsidiary undertaking which is not a charity from the subsidiary undertaking itself and from past or present officers or employees of that undertaking;

as he considers it necessary to obtain for the purposes of carrying out the audit;

(c) the right to require the charity trustees of the parent charity to take all such steps as are reasonably open to them to obtain from any such subsidiary undertaking such information and explanations as he may reasonably require for the purposes of carrying out the audit.

(4) For the purposes of this regulation, “officer” includes any auditor or other person appointed to scrutinise the accounts of any such undertaking.