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Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013

Climate-related disclosures for certain FMC reporting entities with higher level of public accountability - Assurance engagements - Assurance practitioner access to information

461ZHD: Climate reporting entity must give assurance practitioner access to information

You could also call this:

"Companies must let experts check their climate change records"

Illustration for Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013

If you are a climate reporting entity, you must make sure an assurance practitioner can access certain information at all times. This includes your CRD records and any other documents that are relevant to the assurance engagement. You must give the assurance practitioner access to these documents.

If you do not give the assurance practitioner access to this information, you can get in trouble. Every director of your entity can be charged with an offence and may have to pay a fine of up to $50,000.

If a director is taken to court for not giving the assurance practitioner access to the information, they can defend themselves if they can prove they took all reasonable steps to make sure the information was available, or if they could not reasonably have been expected to make the information available.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1001928.

Topics:
Environment and resources > Climate and energyBusiness > Industry rulesBusiness > Fair trading
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461ZHC: Assurance engagement may cover other parts of climate statements, or

"Assurance practitioners can check all or part of climate statements and must clearly report what they checked."

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461ZHE: Assurance practitioner may require information and explanations from director or employee, or

"Assurance practitioners can ask company directors or employees for information to help with climate reports"

Part 7AClimate-related disclosures for certain FMC reporting entities with higher level of public accountability
Assurance engagements: Assurance practitioner access to information

461ZHDClimate reporting entity must give assurance practitioner access to information

  1. Every climate reporting entity must ensure that an assurance practitioner appointed for an assurance engagement under this Part has access, at all times, to—

  2. the CRD records of the climate reporting entity or scheme; and
    1. any other documents of the climate reporting entity or scheme that are relevant to the assurance engagement.

      1. If a climate reporting entity contravenes subsection (1), every director of the entity commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $50,000.

      2. In any proceeding against a director for a contravention of subsection (1), it is a defence if the director proves that—

      3. the climate reporting entity took all reasonable steps to ensure that subsection would be complied with; or
        1. the director took all reasonable steps to ensure that the climate reporting entity complied with that subsection; or
          1. in the circumstances, the director could not reasonably have been expected to take steps to ensure that the climate reporting entity complied with that subsection.

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            Notes
            • Section 461ZHD: inserted, on , by section 25 of the Financial Sector (Climate-related Disclosures and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2021 (2021 No 39).