1.   A credit rating agency shall provide ESMA with a copy of its annual financial reports, including individual and consolidated financial statements where applicable, for the three financial years preceding the date of the submission of its application to the extent available. Where the financial statements of the credit rating agency are subject to statutory audit within the meaning given in Article 2(1) of Directive 2006/43/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2006 on statutory audits of annual accounts and consolidated accounts (3), the financial reports shall include the audit report on the annual and consolidated financial statement.

2.   Where the financial reports referred to in paragraph 1 are not available for the requested period of time, a credit rating agency shall provide ESMA with an interim financial report.

3.   Where the credit rating agency is a subsidiary of a group of undertakings, it shall provide the annual financial reports of the parent undertaking for the three financial years preceding the date of the submission of its application.

4.   A credit rating agency shall provide ESMA with a description of the measures it has adopted to ensure sound accounting procedure.