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Article (4) - Auditing of Accounting Books

IA-BOD-RES 25/2014 Effective from 28/12/2014
  1. The Company shall appoint one or more qualified and experienced External Auditors for its accounts for every financial year.
     
  2. If a Company fails to appoint an External Auditor within four months from the beginning of the financial year, the Authority shall appoint such External Auditor at the Company's expense.
     
  3. The External Auditor shall review actuarial reports that represent immediate or future risks facing the Company, and the Authority shall be provided with copies of these reports in a timely manner.
     
  4. The Actuary shall, in the presence of immediate or future risks facing the Company that would hinder the Company from fulfilling its short term and long term liabilities, submit a report on a timely basis directly to the Company's Board of Directors. The Board of Directors shall examine the report and recommend corrective actions, and forward all related information to the Authority, including the Board of Director's recommendations related to the report.
     
  5. The Company's Board of Directors shall form an Audit Committee consisting of at least three members from non-executive managers (a Chairman and two other members), of whom a member shall be an expert in financial and accounting affairs. The Board of Directors shall select the committee members among its members other than the members of the executive management or any of the committees established by the Board of Directors. One or more members from outside the Company may be appointed in case the number of non-executive Board of Directors members is not sufficient. The Audit Committee shall meet at least once every three months, or whenever necessary.
     
  6. The Company shall:
     
    1. Establish an Internal Audit department, which shall report directly to the Audit Committee. The Internal Audit Head in charge of this department must be a holder of a professional certificate in the related discipline and have relevant and adequate experience.
       
    2. Appoint a regulatory compliance officer. This officer shall verify compliance with all rules, regulations and instructions. This officer shall directly report to the Chief Executive Officer and shall contact the Authority directly and provide it with information according to the procedures that it specifies.
        
  7. The Company shall submit to the Authority the management letter issued by the External Auditor, on an annual basis, before publication of the financial statements.
     
  8. Further guidance on auditing of accounting books and other related guidelines in Addendums (1) and (2) of the regulations herein shall be applied.