New regulations have been introduced under the Companies (Amendment)(No.2) Act 1999 (Section 32) Order 2012, Statutory Instrument No. 308 of 2012, increasing the eligibility for small private companies to claim audit exemption for financial years ending on or after 7thAugust 2012. The new legislation now means that for a company to be classed as a small company it must meet 2 of the follow 3 conditions in that financial year and also in the previous financial year: a)     Balance sheet total does not exceed €4.4 million b)    Turnover does not exceed €8.8 million c)     Average number of employees do not exceed 50 The new limits will result in an increased number of private companies becoming eligible for audit exemption which removes the obligation under company law to prepare and file audited accounts. It is important to bear in mind though that apart from company size criteria, the other criteria in claiming audit exemption must also met if the claim is to be valid, eg that it is a company subject to the 1986 Companies Act, that it files its annual returns in the Companies Registration Office (CRO) on time in both the current and the previous year, that it is not operating in a regulated business, that it is not part of a group of companies etc.  A board resolution to claim the exemption must be passed by the directors.  However, at any point, it is possible for shareholders holding in excess of 10% of the voting rights to request the company not to avail of the audit exemption and to instead arrange for the company accounts to be subject to a statutory audit process.