Gerhard Schummer
Legal Consequences of Violations of Section 271 para 2 through 4 Austrian Commercial code and section 62 Austrian Banking Act
In connection with the Riegerbankaffair; harsh criticism was expressed also vis-à-vis the bank auditor. In the media, the auditor was accused of having audited the annual financial statements and the status report despite there allegedly having been facts according to section 271 Austrian Commercial Code and section 62 Austrian Banking Act, respectively, which prohibit the appointment as auditor. Whether these accusations are justified or not cannot and should not be decided in the present article due to the lack of sufficient information. The case at hand is only the trigger to have a critical look at the legal consequences of being appointed auditor and performing an audit of the annual accounts or a bank audit, respectively, despite the existence of facts according to section 271 para 2 through 4 Austrian Commercial Code and section 62 Austrian Banking Act, respectively.
