Section 31Part 5 — The Authority: Powers and Enforcement
Audit of accounts
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A virtual asset service licensee shall have its accounts audited annually or at such times as the Authority may require by an auditor approved by the Authority who shall be a member of —
the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales;
the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants;
the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants;
the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants; or
such other accounting professional body or institute approved by the Authority.
Within six months of the end of a licensee’s financial year, the licensee shall forward to the Authority the audited accounts for the financial year just ended.
Any licensee who fails to comply with subsection (2) within the stated period or any extension to the period granted by the Authority for good cause shown, is liable to a late filing fee of fifty dollars for each day or part thereof that the licensee fails to comply.
The Authority may exempt a virtual asset service licensee from the audit requirement under subsection (1) if the Authority determines the requirement to be unnecessary or prohibitive given —
the size, scope and complexity of the economic activity; and
the availability of auditing services for the virtual asset service.
When a licensee who is required to provide audited accounts to the Authority changes its auditor, the Authority may require the former auditor to explain in writing the circumstances giving rise to the change.
If it appears to the Authority that an auditor has failed to comply with the requirements in section 32(1), the Authority may disqualify the auditor from being an auditor of a licensee but the Authority may remove any disqualification Section 32 Virtual Asset (Service Providers) Act (2024 Revision) imposed under this subsection if it is satisfied that the person in question will in future comply with the requirements.
A licensee shall not appoint as an auditor a person disqualified under subsection (6).