Commonwealth Numbered Acts

COMPANIES ACT 1981 No. 89 of 1981 - SECT 269

269. (1) The directors of a company shall, not less than 14 days before an
annual general meeting of the company or, if no annual general meeting of the
company is held within the period within which it is required by section 240
to be held, not less than 14 days before the end of that period, cause to be
made out a profit and loss account for the last financial year of the company,
being a profit and loss account that gives a true and fair view of the profit
or loss of the company for that financial year.

(2) The directors of a company shall, not less than 14 days before an annual
general meeting of the company or, if no annual general meeting of the company
is held within the period within which it is required by section 240 to be
held, not less than 14 days before the end of that period, cause to be made
out a balance-sheet as at the end of the last financial year of the company,
being a balance-sheet that gives a true and fair view of the state of affairs
of the company as at the end of that financial year.

(3) Where, at the end of a financial year of a company, the company is a
holding company, the directors of the company shall, not less than 14 days
before the next annual general meeting of the company or, if no annual general
meeting of the company is held within the period after the end of that
financial year within which it is required by section 240 to be held, not less
than 14 days before the end of that period, cause to be made out group
accounts dealing with-

   (a)  the profit or loss of the company and its subsidiaries for their
        respective last financial years; and

   (b)  the state of affairs of the company and its subsidiaries as at the end
        of their respective last financial years, and giving a true and fair
        view of the profit or loss and state of affairs so far as they concern
        members of the holding company.

(4) The directors of a company, other than a company that pursuant to
section 278 or 279 did not appoint an auditor to audit the accounts concerned,
shall take reasonable steps to ensure that the accounts of the company and, if
it is a holding company for which group accounts are required, the group
accounts are audited as required by this Part not less than 14 days before the
annual general meeting of the company or, if no annual general meeting of the
company is held within the period within which it is required by section 240
to be held, not less than 14 days before the end of that period.

(5) The directors of a company shall cause to be attached to, or endorsed
upon, the accounts or group accounts in relation to the company the auditor's
report relating to those accounts or group accounts, as the case may be, that
is furnished to the directors in accordance with sub-section 285 (2).

(6) Group accounts are not required to be made out by the directors of a
company in accordance with sub-section (3) where the company is, at the end of
its financial year, a wholly-owned subsidiary of another corporation
incorporated in the Territory or in a participating State or participating
Territory.

(7) The directors shall, before the profit and loss account and balance-sheet
referred to in sub-sections (1) and (2) are made out, take reasonable steps-

   (a)  to ascertain what action has been taken in relation to the writing off
        of bad debts and the making of provisions for doubtful debts and to
        cause all known bad debts to be written off and adequate provision to
        be made for doubtful debts;

   (b)  to ascertain whether any current assets, other than current assets to
        which paragraph (a) applies, are unlikely to realize in the ordinary
        course of business their value as shown in the accounting records of
        the company and, if so, to cause-

        (i)    those assets to be written down to an amount that they might be
               expected so to realize; or

        (ii)   adequate provision to be made for the difference between the
               amount of the value as so shown and the amount that they might
               be expected so to realize; and

   (c)  to ascertain whether any non-current asset is shown in the books of
        the company at an amount that, having regard to its value to the
        company as a going concern, exceeds the amount that it would have been
        reasonable for the company to expend to acquire that asset as at the
        end of the financial year and, unless adequate provision for writing
        down that asset is made, to cause to be included in the accounts such
        information and explanations as will prevent the accounts from being
        misleading by reason of the overstatement of the amount of that asset.

(8) Without affecting the generality of the preceding provisions of this
section, the directors of a company shall ensure that the accounts of the
company and, if it is a holding company for which group accounts are required,
the group accounts comply with such of the prescribed requirements as are
relevant to those accounts or group accounts, as the case may be, but where
accounts or group accounts prepared in accordance with those requirements
would not otherwise give a true and fair view of the matters required by this
section to be dealt with in the accounts or group accounts, the directors of
the company shall add such information and explanations as will give a true
and fair view of those matters.

(9) The directors of a company shall cause to be attached to any accounts
required by section 275 to be laid before a company at its annual general
meeting, before the auditor reports on the accounts under this Part, a
statement made in accordance with a resolution of the directors and signed by
not less than 2 directors stating whether, in the opinion of the directors-

   (a)  the profit and loss account is drawn up so as to give a true and fair
        view of the profit or loss of the company for the financial year;

   (b)  the balance-sheet is drawn up so as to give a true and fair view of
        the state of affairs of the company as at the end of the
        financial year; and

   (c)  there are reasonable grounds to believe that the company will be able
        to pay its debts as and when they fall due.

(10) The directors of a company that is a holding company shall cause to be
attached to group accounts of the company required by section 275 to be laid
before the company at its annual general meeting, before the auditor reports
on the group accounts under this Part, a statement made in accordance with a
resolution of the directors of the company and signed by not less than 2
directors stating whether, in the opinion of the directors, the group accounts
are drawn up so as to give a true and fair view of-

   (a)  the profit or loss of the company and its subsidiaries for their
        respective last financial years; and

   (b)  the state of affairs of the company and its subsidiaries as at the end
        of their respective last financial years, so far as they concern
        members of the company.