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Key Amendments to the Companies Act Effective 27 December 2024: What You Need to Know
On 27 December 2024, certain sections of the Companies Amendment Act 16 of 2024 became effective, including:
- Section 16, dealing with the effective date of MOI changes
- Section 45, which now sets out that the provisions of this section do not apply to the giving by a company of financial assistance to, or for the benefit of its subsidiaries
- Section 61, which requires the presentation of a social and ethics committee report, and the appointment of the social and ethics committee members at the AGM
- Section 72, with all the updated requirements for social and ethics committees dealing with exemptions, appointment, membership and reporting
- Section 90, which now allows for private companies, personal liability companies and non-profit companies, that do not require an AGM, to appoint their auditor at a shareholders’ meeting
- Section 90, which has now decreased the cooling-off period for being appointed as a registered auditor to a company, where the prohibited services as listed in section 90(2) were previously provided, from five years to two years.
The Companies Second Amendment Act, 2024 (Act 17 of 2024) was also made effective from 27 December 2024, and deals with the time periods during which a director can be declared delinquent or under probation, and holds directors liable for losses incurred for a longer period.
Critical questions to consider are:
- Are you aware of, and do you understand these effective changes?
- Are you ready to assist your clients with implementing these changes in practice?
- Are your audit programmes and working paper templates updated to verify compliance with the new requirements?
If you haven’t fully addressed this to date, ensure that you take the necessary measures as soon as possible to stay at the forefront and remain relevant.
Section 90
which has now decreased the cooling-off period for being appointed as a registered auditor to a company, where the prohibited services as listed in section 90(2) were previously provided, from five years to two years.
Section 90
which now allows for private companies, personal liability companies and non-profit companies, that do not require an AGM, to appoint their auditor at a shareholders’ meeting.
Section 72
with all the updated requirements for social and ethics committees dealing with exemptions, appointment, membership and reporting.
Section 61
which requires the presentation of a social and ethics committee report, and the appointment of the social and ethics committee members at the AGM.
Section 45
which now sets out that the provisions of this section do not apply to the giving by a company of financial assistance to, or for the benefit of its subsidiaries.
Section 16
dealing with the effective date of MOI changes.