RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE S/WPPS/W/7/Add.6
16July1996
ORGANIZATION(96-2786)
Original: Spanish Working Party onProfessional Services
COMMUNICATION FROM URUGUAY
Response totheQuestionnaire ontheAccountancy Sector
Thefollowing communication iscirculated attherequest ofUruguay.
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I. GENERAL
1. What aretheprofessional titles ofaccountants inyour country? Arethese professional
titles protected? Please specify how.
Thetitles arepublic accountant ortheequivalent, granted, recognized orrevalidated bythe
Faculty ofEconomics andAdministration oftheNational University, inaccordance withthevarious
syllabuses.
Thefunction ofpublic accountant inthenon-governmental fielddoesnotenjoy anyspecial
legalprotection. Thetitlesareprotected bylaw.Unlawful useofatitlegives risetolegalproceedings.
2. How istheaccountancy sector regulated inyour country: bylaw,professional self-
regulation, acombination ofboth?
Byacombination ofboth.
Inthecaseofprofessional self-regulation, accounting, auditing andethical standards havebeen
laiddown; theseare,however, onlycompulsory formembers oftheUruguayan Institute ofAccountants
andEconomists (membership ofwhich isvoluntary).
ThelegislationandregulatorydecreeslaydownaccountingstandardsthatconformtoInternational
Standards (IAS). TheCentral Bank ofUruguay hasestablished anumber ofauditing standards.
3. Arethere anyprovisions toprotect company names, whether national orforeign, inyour
country?
Theprotection afforded bylegalregistration ofnames andtrade marks applies.
4. What aretheprofessional bodies inyour country? Aretheyrecognized bylawasa
regulatory ordisciplinary body fortheaccountancy profession inyour country, orarethese
functions fulfilled byother institutions (please specify)?
TheUruguayan Institute ofAccountants andEconomists. Thisistheonlyassociative body
fortheaccountancy profession andhasbeeninexistence for103years.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.6
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Itslegalstatus isthatofanon-profit-making civilassociation anditsarticles ofassociation
havebeenapproved bytheExecutive. Itisnotrecognized bylawasaregulatory bodyandthisfunction
isnotfulfilled byanyother institution. Itsdecisions donothaveforce oflawandareonlymandatory
foritsmembers.
5. Howmany members dothese professional bodies have? What istheestimated proportion
ofthose?
Membership oftheUruguayan Institute ofAccountants andEconomists is3,860 outofatotal
of6,000 graduates.
Duetothevariety offunctions occupied bythe6,000 graduates, itisnotpossible under present
circumstances todefine howmany work ineachofthesectors mentioned.
6. What isthescope ofactivities regularly practised byaccountants inyour country?
Alltheactivities citedinthequestionnaire arecovered except forauditofcontributions inkind,
which isnotacustomary practice withus.
7. Which ofthese activities areregulated inyour country?
Expert advice requested bythejudicial authorities, insolvency practice andstatutory audits
insome activities.
8. Which ofthese activities arereserved bylawtoaccountants, shared byaccountants with
other professions (please specify), orevenforbidden toaccountants inyourcountry, e.g.byfull
prohibition orbynotallowing cumulation ofcertain activities which areconsidered incompatible
ormutually exclusive?
Decree 240/1993, which regulates Law No. 12.802 (amended byArticle 706of
LawNo.16.170), defines themandatory functions ofprofessionals holding thetitleofpublic accountant
under theconditions laiddown inparagraph 1withregard tothecertification ofbalance sheets,
statements ofaccount andfinancial statements submitted topublic bodies. Thefunction ofpublic
accountant inthenon-governmental fielddoesnotenjoy anyspecial legalprotection. Expert advice
requested bythejudicial authorities andinsolvency practices.
II. QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS
9. What arethequalification requirements forthese activities inyour country interms of
university/higher education degree, practice andprofessional exam? Specify thenumber ofyears
required foreachelement, andthedifferences according totheactivities (audit, insolvency, tax,
etc.)covered bythequalification.
There arenoregulations onqualifications. Atpresent, auniversity degree requires fiveyears.
Exercise ofallthese activities onlyrequires aprofessional qualification; practice oraprofessional
exam isnever required.
10. Arethere anypreconditions tomeet tostart theprofessional education: minimum age,
particular diploma ortitle, prior education, registration withaprofessional body, payment of
afee,other (please specify)?
Theonlyrequirement isprior education:S/WPPS/W/ 7/Add.6
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- Primary school successful completion ofsixyears
- Secondary school successful completion ofsixyears
11. What arethesubjects tobecovered bytheeducation: accounting, audit, tax,general
law,economics, ethics, information technology, other (please specify)?
Allthesubjectsmentioned,aswellasotherssuchasfinance,businessadministration,technology,
civilandcommercial law,public administration, mathematics andstatistics.
III. TECHNICAL STANDARDS AND ETHICS
12. Inrelation towhich activities donational standards exist(audit, accounting, insolvency,
other)? Please specify their main policy objectives.
There aregeneral accounting standards andspecial standards forspecific activities. These
maybelegal, administrative orprofessional standards.
There arealsoaudit standards, butonlyattheprofessional level.
13. Which body orinstitution develops these standards andmonitors their implementation?
What aretheconsequences ofabreach ofthestandards (fortheprofessional, forclients, etc.)?
Accounting standards
TheUruguayanInstituteofAccountantsandEconomists,togetherwithotherinstitutions,belongs
totheAdvisory Commission under theExecutive onacceptable accounting standards. TheExecutive
establishes bydecree thegeneral accounting standards tobeapplied inUruguay andthese conform
totheIAS.Accounting standards alsoexistforspecial activities suchasthose ofpublic bodies, financial
andmeat-packing activities, etc.,which aremonitored bythecompetent body, theNational Audit Office,
theCentral Bank ofUruguay, theNational Meat Institute, etc.
Forpublic limited companies whose shares arequoted ontheStock Exchange, application is
monitored bytheInspectorate-General ofFinance.
Auditing standards
These areofaprofessional nature andarelaiddown bytheUruguayan Institute ofAccountants
andEconomists according togenerally accepted auditing standards.
TheCentral Bank ofUruguay haslaiddown anumber ofrequirements concerning theauditing
ofthefinancial statements offinance companies andfirms having debts withthefinance system.
Penalties existinsuchcases, forexample: abanonacting asauditor forfinance companies,
theobligation tore-classify firms thatdonotmeetaccounting standards orwhose auditors donotmeet
auditing standards.
There isnosingle bodytomonitor theapplication ofthestandards setbyvarious agents and,
except forcriminal liability forfraud, professionals arenotsubject toanypenalties iftheydonotfulfil
professional standards.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.6
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Asfarastheclients areconcerned, failure tofulfil standards mayleadtopenalties andfines
andnon-approval ofthefinancial statements, thereby preventing thecontinuation oftheirnormal
activities.
14. Aretheinternational standards developed byIFAC (International Education Standards
andGuidelines, International Standards onAuditing) andIASC (International Accounting
Standards) recognized orusedinyourcountry? Ifyes,please explain how. Ifno,please explain
why.
Yes. Boththelegal andprofessional standards conform totheIFAC andIASC standards,
withminimum modifications andexceptions andaslight delay.
15. Inrelation towhich activities does aparticular ethical code exist (audit, accounting,
insolvency, other)? Please specify itsmain policy objectives.
Anethical codeofanassociative nature governs allprofessional activities.
16. Which body orinstitution develops thiscode andmonitors itsimplementation? What
aretheconsequences incaseofbreach oftheethical codebyaprofessional orafirm?
Theethical codeisestablished bytheUruguayan Institute ofAccountants andEconomists and
onlyapplies toitsmembers. Ifthereisabreach ofethical standards, theProfessional Ethics Committee
oftheInstitute would takeaction anditsdecisions would onlyapply tomembers.
17. Arethere restrictions onmarketing, solicitation, advertising?
TheUruguayan Institute ofAccountants andEconomists haslaiddown certain restrictions in
itsethical codewithregard toadvertising andcompetition. There arenogeneral legalrestrictions.
18. Arethere restrictions onfee-setting (minimum/maximum levels imposed, indicative scale,
etc.)?
The(minimum) ratefixed bytheUruguayan Institute ofAccountants andEconomists only
applies toitsmembers, butifitisnotapplied there arenopenalties.
IV. LICENSING REQUIREMENTS AND PROCEDURES
19. Apart from thequalification requirements, what arethelicensing requirements for
individuals inyour country?
There arenolicensing orregistration requirements inUruguay.
20. Arethere anyconditions imposed tobeeligible formembership oftherelevant professional
body(ies)? Please specify.
TheonlyrequirementformembershipoftheUruguayanInstituteofAccountantsandEconomists
isaprofessional qualification. Thisistheonlyassociative body withopenmembership.
21. Arethere specific licensing requirements forprofessional firms?
There arenoregulations onprofessional firms.S/WPPS/W/ 7/Add.6
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22. Cananapplication forlicensing befiledatanytimeoftheyearorarethere specific dates
torespect? How longdoesittaketocomplete thewhole licensing procedure? Please specify in
caseofdifferences between individuals andfirms.
Notapplicable.
23. Arethere differences interms oflicensing requirements and/or procedures, according
totheactivities covered bythelicence (audit, insolvency, etc.)? Please specify. What kindof
documentation isnecessary/accepted? Aredocuments issued inother countries acceptable? Please
specify.
Notapplicable.
24. What happens when thelicensing conditions arenolonger respected bytheindividual
orthefirm?
Notapplicable.
V. RECOGNITION OFQUALIFICATIONS
25. Arethere anypossibilities fortaking account ofqualifications acquired byforeign
professionals inanother country? Arethere bilateral agreements withother countries inthis
respect?
Yes. TheNational University revalidates qualifications. Bilateral agreements: Yes.
26. Arethere anyautomatic recognition ormutual recognition agreements between your
professional bodies andtheir counterparts inother countries? Ifso,please specify themain
characteristics ofsuchagreements; ifnot,please explain why.
Notapplicable.
27. Where possibilities oftaking account offoreign qualifications exist, isafulllocal
examination oralocaltraining exceeding 12months required? Please specify. Isalocallicence
always necessary topractise aregulated accountancy activity? Please specify when thisisnot
thecase.
Professionals withforeign qualifications mayobtain revalidation oftheirqualifications from
theNational University. Depending onthecase,localtraining exceeding 12months mayberequired.
28. What aretheaccreditation/licensing requirements imposed onforeign professionals
authorized topractise intheir home country? Maycertain (regulated) activities becarried out
onthebasis ofaforeign licence?
There arenolicensing orregistration requirements inUruguay. Regulated activities require
qualifications obtained inUruguay (with theexception ofreports onfinancial statements, there are
noregulations onother accountancy activities).
VI. REGULATIONSGOVERNINGTHEESTABLISHMENTOFACOMME RCIALPRESENCE
29. Arethere anyrestrictions ontheform under which onecanestablish (partnership,
incorporation, other)? Please specify.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.6
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There arenorestrictions foraccountancy firms.
Firms carrying outcommercial orindustrial activities aregoverned byLawNo.16.060 (Law
oncommercial companies).
30. Arethere restrictions onforeign direct investment andownership, including restrictions
applying tonotlocally qualified individuals orfirms? Please specify.
There arenorestrictions forprofessional accountancy firms.
31. Isthere arequirement ofaminimum number orpercentage oflocal directors, managers
orstaff(please specify)?
According tothetypeofcompany, inaccordance withtheprovisions ofLaw16.060 (Law
oncommercial companies).
32. Arethere restrictions ontheability oflocally established firms todevelop international
relations (membership ofaninternational network, association withforeign firms, etc.)? Please
specify.
There arenorestrictions.
33. Istheuseofinternational orforeign names restricted forfirms?
There arenorestrictions.
VII. REGULATIONS GOVERNING THEENTRY AND TEMPORARY STAY OFNATURAL
PERSONS FOR THE PURPOSE OFSUPPLYING ACCOUNTANCY SERVICES
34. Istheentryandstayofprofessionalssubjecttolabourmarkettestsoranyotherrestrictions?
Please specify.
They must beresidents ofUruguay.
35. Isthere anyprocedure facilitating thetemporary entry andstayofprofessionals tosupply
accountancy services? Please explain.
They must beresidents orUruguay.
36. Arethereanyrestrictionsonhiringoflocalprofessionalsbyforeignfirmsandprofessionals?
Please explain.
There arenorestrictions.
VIII. NATIONALITY/RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS
37. Isacondition ofnationality/citizenship imposed topractise certain activities, tostart an
education, toobtain alicence, tobecome amember ofaprofessional body, etc.? Please specify.
There arenonationality/citizenship conditions.S/WPPS/W/ 7/Add.6
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38. Isacondition ofestablishment, prior residency orresidency imposed topractise certain
activities, toobtain alicence, tobecome amember ofaprofessional body, etc.? Please specify
theconditions andthedefinition ofestablishment, residency, etc.when relevant. Isitpossible
tohave aprofessional establishment inmore thanonecountry?
Residency conditions apply towork onapermanent basis.