ASSOCIATIONS INCORPORATION ACT 1985 - SECT 37
ASSOCIATIONS INCORPORATION ACT 1985 - SECT 37
37—Provisions relating to auditors acting under this Division
(1) An auditor of a
prescribed association has a right of access at all reasonable times to the
accounting records and other records of the association and is entitled to
require from any officer of the association such information and explanations
as he or she desires for the purposes of an audit.
(2) An officer of a
prescribed association must not, without lawful excuse—
(a)
refuse or fail to allow an auditor of the association access, for the purposes
of this Division, to any accounting records and other records of the
association in his or her custody or control; or
(b)
refuse or fail to give any information or explanation as and when required by
the auditor; or
(c)
otherwise hinder, obstruct or delay an auditor in the performance of his or
her duties or the exercise of his or her powers as auditor.
Maximum penalty: $1 250.
(3) The auditor of a
prescribed association must furnish to the committee of the association, in
sufficient time to enable the committee to comply with section 35(6), a
report that states—
(a) in
respect of accounts consisting of an account of income and expenditure and a
balance sheet, whether or not the auditor is satisfied that these accounts are
drawn up so as to present fairly—
(i)
the results of the association's activities for the
association's financial year; and
(ii)
the financial state of the association at the end of the
association's financial year; and
(b) in
respect of accounts consisting of an account of receipts and payments and a
statement of assets and liabilities, whether or not the auditor is satisfied
that these accounts present fairly—
(i)
the results of the association's activities for the
association's financial year; and
(ii)
the financial state of the association at the end of the
association's financial year,
notwithstanding that the accounts may not have been prepared on the accrual
method of accounting; and
(c)
whether the auditor has examined the accounts and auditors' reports of—
(i)
each body corporate that is a subsidiary of the
association within the meaning of section 46 of the Corporations Act 2001
of the Commonwealth; and
(ii)
each trust of which the association is a trustee,
and the conclusions drawn from the examination; and
(e)
whether the auditor has obtained all of the information and explanations that
he or she required from the association.
(4) If, in the course
of performing his or her duties, an auditor of a prescribed association is
satisfied that—
(a) it
is likely that there has been a contravention of, or failure to comply with, a
provision of this Act or a rule of the association; or
(b)
there is a deficiency in relation to the accounts or information in respect of
the activities of the association that, in the auditor's opinion, will not be
adequately dealt with by bringing the matter to the notice of the committee of
the association,
the auditor must immediately report the matter to the Commission by notice in
writing.
(5) If an auditor is
removed or dismissed as auditor of a prescribed association, the auditor must
immediately report the matter of his or her removal or dismissal and the
circumstances of the removal or dismissal to the Commission by notice in
writing.
(6) An auditor of a
prescribed association is not, in the absence of malice on his or her part,
liable to any action for defamation in respect of any statement that he or she
makes, orally or in writing, in the course of performing his or her duties as
an auditor under this Act.
(7) In
subsection (6)—
"auditor" includes a person who has been removed or dismissed as the auditor
of a prescribed association.
(8)
Subsection (6) does not limit or affect any right, privilege or immunity
that an auditor has, apart from that subsection, as a defendant in an action
for defamation.