I. – At the close of each financial year the board of directors, the management board or the managers shall draw up the inventory, the annual accounts in accordance with the provisions of section 2 of Chapter III of Title II of Book I and shall draw up a written management report. They shall include in the appendix:
1° A statement of sureties, endorsements and guarantees given by the company. This provision does not apply to companies operating a credit institution, a finance company or an insurance undertaking;
2° A statement of the sureties granted by it.
II. – The management report describes the company’s situation during the past financial year, its foreseeable development, the significant events that occurred between the end of the financial year and the date on which the report is drawn up, and its research and development activities. Existing branches are mentioned.
III. – The documents mentioned in this article are, where applicable, made available to the statutory auditors under conditions determined by decree in the Conseil d’Etat.
IV. – Commercial companies which are small companies within the meaning of Article L. 123-16 are exempt from the obligation to prepare a management report. This exemption does not apply to companies belonging to one of the categories defined in Article L. 123-16-2 or whose business consists of managing equity securities or transferable securities.