Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Companies Act 1993

Accounting records and financial reporting - Accounting records

195: Place accounting records to be kept

You could also call this:

“Where you must store your company's accounting records”

You don’t have to keep your company’s accounting records in New Zealand. If you decide to keep them somewhere else, you need to do a few things:

You must send accounts and returns about your company’s operations to a place in New Zealand and keep them there. These accounts and returns need to be good enough to help you prepare your company’s financial statements and any other documents that the law requires.

You also need to tell the Registrar where you’re keeping these accounting records, accounts, and returns.

If you don’t do these things, you and your company might get in trouble. Your company could be fined, and you, as a director, could also be fined. The exact penalties for not following these rules are written in section 373(2) for the company and section 374(2) for the directors.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM320875.

Topics:
Business > Industry rules
Business > Starting a business
Previous

194: Accounting records must be kept, or

“Companies must maintain accurate and accessible accounting records”

Next

196: Overview, or

“This section summarises which companies must follow financial reporting rules”

Part 11 Accounting records and financial reporting
Accounting records

195Place accounting records to be kept

  1. A company need not keep its accounting records in New Zealand.

  2. If the records are not kept in New Zealand,—

  3. the company must ensure that accounts and returns for the operations of the company that satisfy the following requirements are sent to, and kept at, a place in New Zealand:
    1. the accounts and returns must enable the preparation of the company's financial statements or group financial statements required by this Act or any other enactment; and
      1. the accounts and returns must enable the preparation of any other document required by this Act; and
      2. notice of the place where the accounting records and the accounts and returns required under paragraph (a) are kept must be given to the Registrar.

        1. If a company fails to comply with subsection (2),—

        2. the company commits an offence and is liable on conviction to the penalty set out in section 373(2):
          1. every director of the company commits an offence and is liable on conviction to the penalty set out in section 374(2).

            Notes
            • Section 195: replaced, on , by section 30 of the Financial Reporting (Amendments to Other Enactments) Act 2013 (2013 No 102).