CHAPTER XVI 
BALANCE SHEET AND AUDIT 
PRIOR to the passing of the Companies Act, 1928, the Statutes 
imposed obligations as to audit, but contained few provisions 
as to the contents of a balance sheet, and the only reference to 
the forms of the accounts was to be found in Article 103, Table 
A, the adoption of which was not obligatory. The Companies 
Act, 1928, contained specific provisions dealing with both 
accounts and balance sheet, and these provisions have been 
repeated in the Act of 1929. The provisions as to accounts are 
contained in s. 122, to which reference has been made on p. 166. 
The provisions as to profit and loss account and balance sheet 
are mainly contained in ss. 123 to 130; but reference must 
also be made to ss. 44, 45, 46, 47, 54 and 75. 
The directors must once a year lay before the company 
in general meeting a profit and loss account and a balance 
sheet made up to the same date as the profit and loss account. 
The general meeting to consider the first profit and loss account 
and balance sheet must be held within eighteen months of 
the incorporation of the company. Each account must 
be made up to a date not more than nine months earlier than 
the date fixed for the meeting at which it is to be considered 
or in the case of a company having interests abroad not 
more than twelve months earlier. The Board of Trade 
has, however, power to extend any of the above-mentioned 
periods. In the case of a company not trading for profit 
an income and expenditure account will take the place of 
the profit and loss account (s. 123). The obligations im- 
posed by this section apply to all companies, whether public 
or private, and whether or not they have a share capital. 
Every balance sheet must: 
(i) Contain a summary of the authorised share capital and 
of the issued share capital of the company, its liabilities 
and assets together with such particulars as are neces- 
sary to disclose the general nature of such liabilities 
and assets and to distinguish between the amounts 
respectively of the fixed assets and the floating assets. 
Profit and 
Loss Account 
and Balance 
Sheet. 
Contents of 
Balance 
Sheet.