CPA · Business Corporations Act
Part 13 — Financial Disclosure
161 Qualification of the auditor
being an auditor of a corporation if the person is not independent of
the corporation and its affiliates and the directors and officers of
the corporation and its affiliates.
(2) For the purposes of this section,
(a) independence is a question of fact, and
RSA 2000
(b) a person is deemed not to be independent if the person or the
person's business partner
(i) is a business partner, a director, an officer or an
employee of the corporation or any of its affiliates, or a
business partner of any director, officer or employee of
the corporation or any of its affiliates,
(ii) beneficially owns or contr ols, directly or indirectly, an
interest in the securities of the corporation or any of its
affiliates, or
(iii) has been a receiver, r eceiver-manager, liquidator or
trustee in bankruptcy of the corporation or any of its
affiliates within 2 years of the person's proposed
appointment as auditor of the corporation.
(2.1) For the purposes of subsection (2), a person's business
partner includes a shareholder of that person.
(3) An auditor who becomes disqualified under this section shall,
subject to subsection (5), resign forthwith after becoming aware of
the auditor's disqualification.
(4) An interested person may apply to the Court for an order
declaring an auditor to be disqualified under this section and the
office of auditor to be vacant.
(5) An interested person may apply to the Court for an order
exempting an auditor from disqualification under this section and
the Court may, if it is satisfied that an exemption would not
unfairly prejudice the shareholders, make an exemption order on
any terms it thinks fit and the exemption order may have
retrospective effect.
RSA 2000 cB-9 s161;2005 c8 s39