“accounting period, for a Board, means—

• “(a) a period of 1 year ending on the Board's balance date; or

• “(b) if the Board's balance date changes, the period starting on the day after the last balance date before the change and ending on the new balance date

“balance date, for a Board, means—

• “(a) the end of 31 March; or

• “(b) the end of another date that the Board adopts as its balance date, as long as a balance date is never more than 15 months after the last balance date”.

“Requirement for annual hui

“23C Annual hui

• “(1) A Board must hold a hui for the beneficiaries of the Board no later than 6 months after the balance date of the prior accounting period.

  “(2) The Board must do the following things at the hui:

  • “(a) report on its activities since the last hui:

  • “(b) report on the activities it plans for the future:

  • “(c) present its annual report (prepared under section 31) for the prior accounting period:

  • “(d) present a budget (prepared under section 31A) for the next accounting period that starts after the hui.

  “(3) To avoid doubt, this section and sections 23D and 31 to 32 do not limit the Maori Fisheries Act 2004 in relation to a Board that is a mandated iwi organisation under that Act.

“23D Notice of annual hui

• “(1) A Board must give public notice of the following matters to its beneficiaries:

  • “(a) the time and location of a hui to be held under section 23C; and

  • “(b) details of when and how a beneficiary may obtain a copy (whether printed or electronic) of the annual report to be presented at the hui.

  “(2) The notice must be given no later than 3 months before the date of the hui.

  “(3) Section 46(2) applies to the notice.”

“Annual reporting and other accountability requirements

“31 Annual report (including financial statements)

• “(1) After an accounting period ends, a Board must prepare an annual report on the Board's affairs during the accounting period.

  “(2) The annual report for an accounting period must be prepared at least 1 month before the day on which the hui to present the report is to be held under section 23C.

  “(3) The annual report must include—

  • “(a) the following financial statements for the Board for the accounting period:

    • “(i) a statement of financial position as at the balance date; and

    • “(ii) an income and expenditure statement; and

    • “(iii) a statement of cash flows, if required by an applicable financial reporting standard; and

    • “(iv) any notes or documents giving information relating to the statements; and

  • “(b) the auditor's report on the financial statements.

  “(4) The financial statements must comply with generally accepted accounting practice.

  “(5) The financial statements and the annual report must be dated and signed on behalf of the Board by 2 members and the secretary of the Board.

  “(6) In this section,—

  “applicable financial reporting standard has the meaning given by section 2(1) of the Financial Reporting Act 1993 as if a Board were a reporting entity under that Act

  “generally accepted accounting practice has the meaning given by section 3 of the Financial Reporting Act 1993 as if a Board were a reporting entity under that Act.

“31A Annual budget

• Before the start of an accounting period, a Board must prepare a budget for the accounting period that states the Board's expected income and expenditure for the period.

“31B Audit requirements

• “(1) A Board must—

  • “(a) have its annual financial statements audited; and

  • “(b) obtain the auditor's report on the financial statements.

  “(2) The auditor must be—

  • “(a) a chartered accountant (as defined by section 19 of the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants Act 1996); or

  • “(b) eligible to act as an auditor under section 199(1)(c) or (d) of the Companies Act 1993.

“32 Annual report and budget must be provided to Minister

• “(1) A Board must provide copies of the following documents to the Minister for his or her information:

  • “(a) an annual report prepared under section 31:

  • “(b) a budget prepared under section 31A.

  “(2) The copy of a document must be provided no later than 1 month after the document is prepared.”