The Corporate Enforcement Authority (CEA) has published its first Annual Report. The Report, which covers the initial period to 31 December 2023, provides a comprehensive account of the steps taken to establish the CEA’s presence, and of the work undertaken to build the organisation’s operational capability.
The Report includes 17 case studies that illustrate the breadth of the CEA’s impact and demonstrate a considered and graduated approach towards the deployment of enforcement powers.
During the period covered by the Report, the CEA:
- published 9 Information Books and 5 Information Notes for stakeholders’ benefit,
- received over 470 complaints from members of the public, as well as over 300 statutory reports from auditors, examiners, and process advisors,
- received over 1,000 statutory reports from liquidators in respect of insolvent companies and the behaviour of those companies’ directors,
- secured the restriction of 80 company directors and the disqualification of a further 27 company directors,
- secured 107 court orders and 5 search warrants, took 213 witness statements, and effected 12 arrests, and
- submitted 12 files to the Director of Public Prosecutions and secured criminal convictions in respect of failing to keep proper books of account and providing false information.
Marking the publication of the Report, the CEA’s Chief Executive Officer, Ian Drennan said:
“We seek to empower our stakeholders both through the provision of accurate, impartial, and accessible information, and through our outreach activities. Examples of the former include Information Notes that we issued over the period, which dealt with topics including early warning tools, right of access to companies’ registers of members, and the risks associated with accepting company directorships in certain circumstances.”
The CEA’s first Annual Report can be accessed here.
This article was provided by the Corporate Enforcement Authority.
