Waiver resolutions must be filed with the Guernsey Registry.

SWIFT action could stop small or medium-sized companies missing out on their right to be exempt from audit for their forthcoming financial year.

For some companies, such as small, single-owner concerns, the annual audit is an additional expense which can run to several thousand pounds while providing little added value and yet was, until this year, a legal requirement. However, the new companies law changed that and introduced new rules on audit exemption similar to those already in place in Jersey and the UK.

But according to Andy Gill of AG Accounting Services, a few businesses have yet to make use of this opportunity as the changes have not been widely publicised.

‘Many owners are unaware of the changes and may be annoyed if they find they are too late to be exempt for next year. People need to move quickly now if they want an exemption.’

For example, a Guernsey company would need to hold a general meeting before the start of its next financial year and pass a waiver resolution by a majority of not less than 90% of the total voting rights of eligible members. All waiver resolutions must be filed with the Guernsey Registry within 30 days of them being passed. Therefore, a company with a year end of 31 December would need to hold the meeting before then.