The Corporate Enforcement Authority(CEA) has published its second annual report since its establishment in 2022.
The Corporate Enforcement Authority was established in July 2022 and taking over the role of the Office of Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE) following the commencement of the Companies (Corporate Enforcement Authority) Act 2021.
The three core pillars that the organisation has focused on during 2022-2025 are:
- embedding governance structures, building operational capability, and establishing presence,
- effective advocacy and influencing, and
- operating effective systems of proportionate, robust, and dissuasive enforcement.
Non-Compliance And Enforcement
The CEA takes a graduated approach towards indications of less serious non-compliance with company law and will work with the officers of impacted companies where possible without resorting to use of their statutory powers.
In cases and situations where this is not possible or appropriate the CEA will look towards more serious enforcement, examples of such during the period include;
- obtaining and executing 52 court orders,
- over 145 witness statements were taken,
- 7 arrests were made,
- 4 Voluntary Cautioned Interviews took place,
- 4 Files submitted to DPP.
Restriction and disqualification
Restriction and disqualification of directors has also been an area of focus for the CEA and 98 company directors were restricted together with a further 22 being disqualified.
As a reminder, you can search the Disqualified/Restricted Persons through CORE and more information is available here.
Complaints
The CEA’s enforcement work is primarily reactive and the sources of such information often come from;
- complaints from members of the public,
- protected disclosures,
- statutory reports,
- referrals from the corporate insolvency supervision process, and
- referrals from other statutory agencies.
During the period the CEA received;
- 272 Complaints,
- Down from 454 from the 18 month period up to 2023
- 8 Protected Disclosures, and
- 157Indictable Offence Reports
From the 272 Complaints received, the best common issues include;
- 6% AGM/EGM
- 2% Register of Members
- 8% Falsified Documents/CRO Filings
- 14% Address Issues
- 13% Director’s Responsibilities
- 12% Allegations of Fraud/ Reckless Trading
- 7% Liquidation Issues
Comparing this to the 2023 period, and taking into account the higher number of complaints filed, there is increased issues with Addresses and those around Directors' responsibilities and Fraud and Reckless Trading.
Included in the Annual Report is varies Case Studies which illustrate how the CEA’s strategy is applied in practice.
For further information on CEA Annual report please visit their website.
If you have any questions, or if you require any assistance, please get in touch with the OmniPro Corporate Consultants Team on 053 910 0000.
The contents of this article are meant as a guide only and are not a substitute for professional advice. The authors accept no responsibility for any action taken, or refrained from, as a result of the material contained in this document. Specific advice should be obtained before acting or refraining from acting, in connection with the matters dealt with in this article.
