Explanatory note

This note is not part of the order, but is intended to indicate its general effect.

This order brings into force the Financial Reporting Act 2013 (the FRA) and the Financial Reporting (Amendments to Other Enactments) Act 2013.

The FRA (other than section 59, which is already in force) comes into force on 1 April 2014.

The FRA provides for various matters relating to financial reporting duties under other enactments, including—

• defining key concepts (for example, generally accepted accounting practice, financial statements, and group financial statements); and

• providing for the External Reporting Board to prepare and issue financial reporting standards and auditing and assurance standards; and

• providing standard provisions for auditor qualifications, access to information by auditors, and balance dates.

Most of the Financial Reporting (Amendments to Other Enactments) Act 2013 also comes into force on 1 April 2014. However, the changes to the Charities Act 2005 come into force on 1 April 2015.

The Financial Reporting (Amendments to Other Enactments) Act 2013 amends various enactments (for example, the Companies Act 1993 and the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 (the FMCA)) to specify various financial reporting duties that apply to different kinds of entities, including requirements to—

• keep accounting records; and

• prepare financial statements or group financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting practice or non-GAAP standards; and

• have those statements audited; and

• register or lodge those statements or otherwise distribute those statements to interested persons (for example, shareholders or members).

Generally speaking, under the transitional provisions,—

• the changes to the various enactments apply only in relation to accounting periods that commence on or after 1 April 2014 (or 1 April 2015 in the case of charitable entities); and

• the former law continues to apply in relation to accounting periods that commence before that date (as if the FRA and the Financial Reporting (Amendments to Other Enactments) Act 2013 had not been enacted).

See also the Financial Markets Legislation (Phase 1) Commencement Order 2014 (which brings into force various parts of the FMCA on 1 April 2014, including financial reporting provisions in Part 7 of that Act). See also sections 55 and 56 of the FRA, which provide for transitional arrangements.