French Commercial code
In forceI.- Statutory auditors are liable to the following sanctions:
1° Warning;
2° Reprimand;
3° Disqualification from acting as a statutory auditor for a period not exceeding five years;
4° Removal from the list;
5° Withdrawal of honorary status.
II.-Auditors may also be subject to the following sanctions:
1° The publication of a statement indicating that the report presented to the general meeting does not meet the requirements imposed by this code or, where applicable, by Article 10 of Regulation (EU) No 537/2014 of 16 April 2014 ;
2° Prohibition, for a period not exceeding three years, from exercising administrative or management functions within a firm of statutory auditors and within public interest entities;
3° Payment, as a pecuniary sanction, of a sum not exceeding:
a) For a natural person, the sum of €250,000;
b) For a legal person, the greater of the following sums:
-one million euros;
-where the misconduct occurs in the context of an assurance engagement, the annual average of the fees invoiced in respect of the financial year during which the misconduct occurred and the two financial years preceding it, by the statutory auditor, to the person or entity whose accounts it is responsible for certifying or, failing that, the amount of the fees invoiced by the statutory auditor to that person or entity in respect of the financial year during which the misconduct occurred.
In the event of repeated misconduct within five years of the date on which the financial penalty previously imposed became final, a heavier financial penalty may be imposed, without however exceeding twice the amounts mentioned in a and b.
By way of derogation from a and b, the amount of the financial penalty imposed in the event of a breach of the provisions of Sections 3 to 6 of Chapter I of Title VI of Book V of the Monetary and Financial Code may not exceed twice the amount of the benefit derived from the offence or, where it is not possible to determine the latter, the sum of one million euros.
The sums shall be paid to the Treasury.
III.-The penalties provided for in 3° of I and 3° of II may be suspended in whole or in part. If, within a period of five years from the date on which the sanction was imposed, the person sanctioned commits an offence leading to the imposition of a new sanction, this will entail, unless a reasoned decision is taken, the enforcement of the first sanction without any possible confusion with the second.
IV.-The sanctions provided for in 1°, 2° and 3° of I and in 2° and 3° of II may be accompanied by the additional sanction of ineligibility for professional bodies for a maximum of ten years.
V.-In the event of a breach of the provisions of Sections 3 to 6 of Chapter I of Title VI of Book V of the Monetary and Financial Code, statutory auditors may be ordered to cease the conduct constituting the breach.
