Firm is fined for lack of accounts

A firm that owns a Dundalk pub has been successfully prosecuted for not keeping proper books of account as required under Section 202 of the Companies Act 1990. It is the first such prosecution.

The Mean Fiddler Ltd, of Barracks Street, Dundalk, was fined £50 in Dundalk District Court. The company's directors, Mr Oliver Elliot and Ms Deirdre Elliot, both of Lisdoo Road, Dundalk, were also each fined £50.

The convictions on June 9th are noted in the June Management Information Report of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. A copy of the report was released following a request under the Freedom of Information Act. The prosecution was initiated by the Minister for Enterprise, Employment and Trade, Ms Harney.

During the hearing the court was advised that the company had been convicted on May 25th of failing to file returns, and had been fined £500. Under Section 202 of the Companies Act, companies are required to keep true, fair and timely accounts and company directors must ensure this is the case. Auditors who find proper books of account are not being kept must notify the Registrar of Companies. In relation to the Mean Fiddler, auditors Kirk and Associates, Dundalk, notified the registrar in May 1996.

Since 1996, the names of companies notified to the registrar as not having kept proper books of account are published annually in the Companies Report, published by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. Twelve companies were named in 1995, four in 1996, and 13 in 1997. The 1998 report is due out shortly.

The June Management Information Report also notes the conviction of Mr Patrick Kennedy, of Ashurst, College Road, Kilkenny, and with a business address at Williams Street, Kilkenny, for a breach of section 187 of the Companies Act 1990, which concerns the qualification of persons who act as auditors.

Mr Kennedy, a chartered accountant, was fined £50 and had to pay expenses of £150 at the Kilkenny District Court on June 1st. The court heard Mr Kennedy signed an auditor's report on returns for the year to September 30th, 1996, for a company of which he was a director. Mr Kennedy pleaded guilty to the offence and the court was informed the matter had been regularised.