Appointment and qualifications of auditors

(1) Every local licensee and financial holding company shall appoint annually an auditor approved by the Central Bank. (2) Every foreign licensee shall appoint annually an auditor approved by the Central Bank for its business in Belize. (3) The auditor referred to in sub-sections (1) and (2) shall be– (a) a member in good standing of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Belize and hold a practising certificate of that Institute; (b) knowledgeable and experienced in the audits of banks and financial institutions satisfactory to the directors of the licensees and the Central Bank; (c) independent, within the meaning of sub- section (4), of the license, its subsidiaries and other affiliates and the directors and officers of the licensee, its subsidiaries and other affiliates; (d) compliant with his duties under section 76 of this Act; and (e) rotated at least every seven years. (4) For the purposes of this section– (a) independence is a question of fact; 132 (b) an auditor shall be deemed not to be independent of a licensee if he– (i) has any financial relationship with a licensee other than as a depositor provided that the holding and use of a credit card issued by the licensee for at least two years prior to the appointment as auditor of that licensee shall not constitute a disqualification under this sub-section if that credit card has been operated satisfactorily and within the terms and conditions of its issuance; (ii) is a director, officer, employee or agent of the licensee or of any of its subsidiaries or other affiliates; (iii) has any financial relationship with a director, officer, employee or agent of the licensee or of any of its financial holding company, subsidiaries or other affiliates other than as a (iv) owns any share of the licensee or beneficially owns or controls, directly or indirectly, a material interest in the shares of the licensee or of any of its subsidiaries or other affiliates; or (v) has been a receiver, receiver-manager, liquidator or trustee in bankruptcy on behalf of the licensee, or of any subsidiary or other affiliate of the licensee within two years immediately preceding the appointment of the auditor, other than of a subsidiary or affiliate acquired through a realization of security. (5) Upon the appointment of an auditor as specified in accordance with sub-sections (3) and (4), the licensee shall immediately give written notice to the Central Bank of such appointment, and if the Central Bank has valid reason to believe that the auditor is not qualified for appointment under sub- sections (3) and (4), it may disapprove the appointment and notify the licensee in writing whereupon the licensee shall promptly remove that auditor and appoint another auditor who is qualified to be appointed. (6) If the licensee or financial holding company does not or is unable to appoint an auditor qualified under this section, the Central Bank shall have the power to appoint an auditor for the licensee or financial holding company, and the remuneration of the auditor so appointed shall be determined by the Central Bank and paid by the licensee or financial holding company. (7) A licensee or financial holding company, immediately upon the resignation or termination of appointment of an auditor for any reason, shall– (a) notify the Central Bank in writing giving the reasons for the resignation or termination; and (b) appoint another auditor in conformity with the requirements of this section. (8) Any licensee that fails to comply with any requirements under any of the provisions of this section shall be liable to pay, 134 on being called upon in writing to do so by the Central Bank, a sum not exceeding fifty thousand dollars.