Corporations Act. Australia
A subsequent financial year may last for a period of less than 12 months determined by the directors if:
(a) the subsequent financial year starts at the end of the previous financial year; and
(b) there has not been a period during the previous 5 financial years in which there was a financial year of less than 12 months in reliance on this subsection; and
(c) the change to the subsequent financial year is made in good faith in the best interests of the company, registered scheme or disclosing entity.
Synchronisation of financial years where consolidated financial statements are required
(3) A company, registered scheme or disclosing entity that has to prepare consolidated financial statements must do whatever is necessary to ensure that the financial years of the consolidated entities are synchronised with its own financial years. It must achieve this synchronisation by the end of 12 months after the situation that calls for consolidation arises.
(3A) An offence based on subsection (3) is an offence of strict liability.
Note: For strict liability, see section 6.1 of the Criminal Code.
(4) To facilitate this synchronisation, the financial year for a controlled entity may be extended or shortened. The extended financial year cannot be longer than 18 months.
Half‑years
(5) A half‑year for a company, registered scheme or disclosing entity is the first 6 months of a financial year. The directors may determine that the half‑year is to be shorter or longer (but not by more than 7 days).
Division 8 — Disclosure by listed companies of information filed overseas
323DA Listed companies to disclose information filed overseas
(1) A company that discloses information to, or as required by:
(a) the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States of America; or
(b) the New York Stock Exchange; or
(c) a financial market in a foreign country if that financial market is prescribed by regulations made for the purposes of this paragraph;
must disclose that information in English to each relevant market operator, if the company is listed on the next business day after doing so.
(3) This section applies despite anything in the company’s constitution.
Part 2M.4 — Appointment and removal of auditors
Division 1 — Entities that may be appointed as an auditor for a company or registered scheme
324AA Individual auditors, audit firms and authorised audit companies
Subject to this Part, the following may be appointed as auditor for a company or a registered scheme for the purposes of this Act:
(a) an individual;
(b) a firm;
(c) a company.
The company or registered scheme may have more than one auditor.
324AB Effect of appointing firm as auditor — general
(1) The appointment of a firm as auditor of a company or registered scheme is taken to be an appointment of all persons who, at the date of the appointment, are:
(a) members of the firm; and
(b) registered company auditors.
This is so whether or not those persons are resident in Australia.
(2) The appointment of the members of a firm as auditors of a company or registered scheme that is taken by subsection (1) to have been made because of the appointment of the firm as auditor of the company or scheme is not affected by the dissolution of the firm. This subsection has effect subject to section 324AC.
(3) A report or notice that purports to be made or given by a firm appointed as auditor of a company or registered scheme is not taken to be duly made or given unless it is signed by a member of the firm who is a registered company auditor both:
(a) in the firm name; and
(b) in his or her own name.
(4) A notice required or permitted to be given to an audit firm under the Corporations legislation may be given to the firm by giving the notice to a member of the firm.
(5) For the purposes of criminal proceedings under this Act against a member of an audit firm, an act or omission by:
(a) a member of the firm; or
(b) an employee or agent of the audit firm;
acting within the actual or apparent scope of his or her employment, or within his or her actual or apparent authority, is also to be attributed to the audit firm.
324AC Effect of appointing firm as auditor — reconstitution of firm
Reconstitution of firm
(1) This section deals with the situation in which:
(a) a firm is appointed as auditor of a company or registered scheme; and
(b) the firm is reconstituted because of either or both of the following:
(i) the death, retirement or withdrawal of a member or members; or
(ii) the admission of a new member or new members.
Retiring or withdrawing member
(2) A person who:
(a) is taken under subsection 324AB(1) to be an auditor of the company; and
(b) retires or withdraws from the firm as previously constituted as mentioned in subparagraph (1)(b)(i) of this section;
is taken to resign as auditor of the company as from the day of his or her retirement or withdrawal.
(3) Section 329 does not apply to the resignation that is taken to occur under subsection (2) unless:
(a) the person who is taken to have resigned was the only member of the firm who was a registered company auditor; and
(b) there is no member of the firm who is a registered company auditor after that person retires or withdraws from the firm.
New member
(4) A person who:
(a) is a registered company auditor; and
(b) is admitted to the firm as mentioned in subparagraph (1)(b)(ii);
is taken to have been appointed as an auditor of the company or registered scheme as from the day of his or her admission to the firm.
Appointments of continuing members not affected
(5) The reconstitution of the firm does not affect the appointment of the continuing members of the firm who are registered company auditors as auditors of the company or registered scheme.
(6) Nothing in this section affects the operation of section 324BB.
324AD Effect of appointing company as auditor
(1) A report or notice that purports to be made or given by an audit company appointed as auditor of a company or registered scheme is not taken to be duly made or given unless it is signed by a director of the audit company (or the lead auditor or review auditor for the audit) both:
(a) in the audit company’s name; and
(b) in his or her own name.
(2) For the purposes of criminal proceedings under this Act against a director of an audit company, an act or omission by:
(a)