The Companies (Audit, Investigations and Community Enterprise) Act 2004 forms part of HM Government's strategy restore investor and general public confidence in companies and financial markets following the major corporate failures of WorldCom and Enron. The Act amends relevant provisions of the Companies Acts 1985 and 1989.
The legislative changes complement a package of non-legislative measures designed to strengthen corporate governance and audit practice, which includes, but is not limited to, measures such as:
In addition, the Act is intended to assist social enterprise by creating a new type of company, the "community interest company" (CIC). The Act is divided into three main parts: