Company auditor

An officer of a stock company, elected by the shareholders meeting (Companies Act, Article 329, paragraph (1)), whose job is to audit how the directors carry out their duties and to write an audit report on it (Article 381, paragraph (1)). Not an outside accountant — that is the financial auditor (会計監査人) — and not a director: a company auditor may not also be a director or employee of the company or its subsidiaries (Article 335, paragraph (2)). The term normally runs to the annual shareholders meeting for the last business year ending within four years of election (Article 336, paragraph (1)).