RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE S/WPPS/W/7/Add.4
10July1996
ORGANIZATION
(96-2703)
Working Party onProfessional Services Original: English
COMMUNICATION FROM NORWAY
Response tothequestionnaire ontheaccountancy sector
Thefollowing communication iscirculated attherequest ofNorway.
________
I. GENERAL
1. What aretheprofessional titlesofaccountants inyourcountry? Arethese professional titles
protected? Please specify how.
Book-keeper
«Autorisert regnskapsf ører»,«Autorisert regnskapsf ørerselskap, -lag»
Protected bylaw.
Auditor
«Registrert revisor» RR,«Statsautorisert revisor» SR.
Protected bylaw.
2. Howistheaccountancy sector regulated inyourcountry: bylaw,professional self-regulation,
acombination ofboth?
Book-keeper
Regulated bylaw.
Auditor
Combination ofboth.
3. Arethere anyprovisions toprotect company names, whether national orforeign, inyour
country?
Book-keeper
«Firmaloven»
Auditor
«Firmaloven»S/WPPS/W/7/Add.4
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4. What aretheprofessional bodies inyourcountry? Aretheyrecognised bylawasaregulatory
ordisciplinary bodyfortheaccountancy profession inyourcountry, orarethese functions
fulfilled byother institutions (please specify)?
Book-keeper
«Norges Autoriserte Regnskapsf øreres Forening» NARF.
Noregulatory ordisciplinary authority.
TheBanking, Insurance andSecurities Commission ofNorway (BISC) have supervisory
authority.
Auditor
«NorgesRegistrerteRevisorersForening»NRRF,«NorgesStatsautoriserteRevisorersForening»
NSRF.
Standards from these organizations havegreat juridical influence.
BISC havesupervisory authority.
5. How many members dothese professional bodies have? What istheestimated proportion
ofthose:
Book-keeper
NARF has1'700members.
Noproportions areavailable.
Auditor
NRRF has1'200members. NSRF has1'500members.
Noproportions areavailable.
6. What isthescope ofactivities regularly practised byaccountants inyourcountry?
Book-keeper
Accounting, consulting, expert witness inaccounting .
Auditor
Statutory audit, audit ofmergers, audit ofcontributions inkind, other audits, accounting,
insolvencypractice,taxadvice,taxrepresentation,investmentadvice,consulting,expertwitness
inaccounting .
7. Which ofthese activities areregulated inyourcountry?
Book-keeper
Statutory audit, audit ofmergers, audit ofcontributions inkind, accounting, public sector.
Auditor
Statutory audit, audit ofmergers, audit ofcontributions inkind, accounting, public sector.S/WPPS/W/ 7/Add.4
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8. Which oftheseactivities arereserved bylawtoaccountants, shared byaccountants withother
professions (please specify), orevenforbidden toaccountants inyourcountry, e.g.byfull
prohibition orbynotallowing cumulation ofcertain activities which areconsidered
incompatible ormutually exclusive?
Book-keeper
Statutory audit: forbidden
Audit ofmergers: forbidden
Audit ofcontributions inkind: forbidden
Accounting: shared byothers
Public sector: forbidden
Auditor
Statutory audit: reserved RRandSR
Audit ofmergers: reserved RRandSR
Audit ofcontributions inkind: reserved RRandSR
Accounting: shared byothers, butnotaccounting andauditing forthe
same company.
Public sector: forbidden
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.
Book-keeper
University level, minimum 40Norwegian credits.
Auditor
RR: University level-3years auditing education. Passed thefinalauditing exam. 2years
ofrelevant practice.
SR: University level -ca.5years. Passed «høyererevisor eksamen». (Final exam).
Minimum 2years ofpractice.
10. Arethere anypre-conditions tomeet tostarttheprofessional education: minimum age,
particular diploma ortitle,prior education, registration withaprofessional body, payment
ofafee,other (please specify)?
Book-keeper
Passed «High School»
Auditor
RR: passed «High School»
SR: auditing exam, passed bachelor (siviløkonom) exam, economist exam orjuridical exam.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.4
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11. What arethesubjects tobecovered bytheeducation: accounting, audit, tax,general law,
economics, ethics, information technology, other (please specify)?
Book-keeper
Accounting, taxlaw,general law,managerial economics.
Auditor
Accounting, taxlaw,general law,managerial economics, auditing.
III. TECHNICAL STANDARDS AND ETHICS
12. Inrelation towhich activities donational standards exist(audit, accounting, insolvency,
other)? Please specify theirmain policy objectives.
Book-keeper
Nostandards.
Auditor
Auditing standards, accounting standards forfinancial statement.
13. Which bodyorinstitution develops thesestandards andmonitors theirimplementation? What
aretheconsequences ofabreach ofthestandards (fortheprofessional, forclients, etc.)?
Auditor
NSRF issues auditing standards. BISC monitors theirimplementation. Theconsequences for
abreach ofthestandards areinworst caselossoftheirlicense. Thebreach ofaccounting
standards bytheclient mayleadtothattheauditor refuse tofiletheaudit report.
14. Aretheinternational standards developed byIFAC (International Education Standards and
Guidelines, International Standards onAuditing) andIASC (International Accounting
Standards) recognised orusedinyourcountry? Ifyes,please explain how. Ifno,please
explain why.
Auditor
NSRF willimplement IFAC standards. Lawandstandard setting bodies inNorway doconsider
IASC standards.
15. Inrelation towhich activities does aparticular ethical code exist (audit, accounting,
insolvency, other)? Please specify itsmain policy objectives.
Book-keeper
Noethical codeexist.
Auditor
There arerules concerning auditors. They concern theindependence ofauditors, auditors
relationship toclients, auditors relationship tootherauditors andauditors relationship topublic.S/WPPS/W/ 7/Add.4
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16. Which body orinstitution develops thiscodeandmonitors itsimplementation? What are
theconsequences incaseofbreach oftheethical codebyaprofessional orafirm?
Auditor
NSRF andNRRF havedeveloped andmonitor thiscode. Abreach oftheethical codemay
leadtothattheauditor looses themembership inNSRF orNRRF.
17. Arethere restrictions onmarketing, solicitation, advertising?
Book-keeper
No.
Auditor
No.
18. Arethere restrictions onfee-setting (minimum/maximum levels imposed, indicative scale,
etc.)?
Book-keeper
No.
Auditor
No.
IV. LICENSING REQUIREMENTS AND PROCEDURES
19. Apart fromthequalification requirements, whatarethelicensing requirements forindividuals
inyourcountry?
Book-keeper
Registration withtheministry offinance. Economic independence .
Auditor
Registration withtheBISC. Absence ofanyrelevant criminal record. Minimum ageof
20years. Economic independence .
20. Arethere anyconditions imposed tobeeligible formembership oftherelevant professional
body(ies)? Please specify.
Auditor
NRRF requires thattheyhavepassed auditor exam. NSRF requires thattheyare"Statsautorisert
revisor".
21. Arethere specific licensing requirements forprofessional firms?
Book-keeper
Thefirmisobligated tohavea"autorisert regnskapsf ører"asprofessional leader .S/WPPS/W/7/Add.4
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Auditor
Anunlimited company isobligated tohaveamajority ofSRtoberecognized asSR.Inother
companies there needtobeamajority inthegeneral assembly andintheBoard. Likewise
foracompany toberecognized asaRR,except thatSRcounts inthemajority criteria. The
companies needtoberegistered withtheBISC. Thecompanies areobligated tohaveanatural
person carrying outauditing onbehalf ofthefirm.
22. Cananapplication forlicensing befiledatanytimeoftheyearorarethere specific dates
torespect? Howlongdoesittaketocomplete thewhole licensing procedure? Please specify
incaseofdifferences between individuals andfirms.
Book-keeper
Anapplication forlicensing canbefiledatanytime. Nocurrent record ofcompletion time
forlicensing procedure.
Auditor
Anapplication forlicensing canbefiledatanytime. Thelicensing procedure takes about
3weeks.
23. Arethere differences interms oflicensing requirements and/or procedures, according to
theactivities covered bythelicence (audit, insolvency, etc.)? Please specify. What kind
ofdocumentation isnecessary/accepted? Aredocuments issued inother countries acceptable?
Please specify.
Book-keeper
Nodifferences inlicensing requirements according totheactivities.
Auditor
Nodifferences inlicensing requirements according totheactivities.
24. What happens when thelicensing conditions arenolonger respected bytheindividual or
thefirm?
Book-keeper
Theindividual orthefirmlooses theirlicense.
Auditor
Theindividual orthefirmlooses theirlicense.
V. RECOGNITION OFQUALIFICATIONS
25. Arethereanypossibilitiesfortakingaccountofqualificationsacquiredbyforeignprofessionals
inanother country? Arethere bilateral agreements withother countries inthisrespect?
Book-keeper
Notregulated. There arenobilateral agreements.
Auditor
Parts oftheeducation canbeaccepted taken abroad. There arenobilateral agreements.S/WPPS/W/ 7/Add.4
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26. Arethere anyautomatic recognition ormutual recognition agreements between your
professional bodies andtheircounterparts inother countries? Ifso,please specify themain
characteristics ofsuchagreements; ifnot,please explain why.
Book-keeper
No.
Auditor
No.
27. Where possibilities oftaking account offoreign qualifications exist, isafulllocalexamination
oralocaltraining exceeding 12months required? Please specify. Isalocallicence always
necessary topractice aregulated accountancy activity? Please specify when thisisnotthe
case.
Book-keeper
No.
Auditor
No.
28. Whataretheaccreditation/licensingrequirementsimposedonforeignprofessionalsauthorised
topractice intheirhome country? Maycertain (regulated) activities becarried outonthe
basis ofaforeign licence?
Auditor
Foreign professionals needtotakeanexam. There arenorequirements oflocaltraining.
VI. REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE ESTABLISHMENT OFACOMMERCIAL
PRESENCE
29. Arethere anyrestrictions ontheform under which onecanestablish (partnership,
incorporation, other)? Please specify.
Book-keeper
No.
Auditor
No.
30. Arethere restrictions onforeign direct investment andownership, including restrictions
applying tonotlocally qualified individuals orfirms? Please specify.
Book-keeper
Notregulated.
Auditor
Seeresponse toquestion no.21.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.4
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31. Isthere arequirement ofaminimum number orpercentage oflocal directors, managers
orstaff(please specify)?
Book-keeper
Notregulated.
Auditor
Seeresponse toquestion no.21.
32. Arethererestrictionsontheabilityoflocallyestablishedfirmstodevelopinternationalrelations
(membershipofaninternationalnetwork,associationwithforeignfirms,etc.)?Pleasespecify.
Book-keeper
No.
Auditor
No.
33. Istheuseofinternational orforeign names restricted forfirms?
Book-keeper
No.
Auditor
No.
VII. REGULATIONSGOVERNINGTHEENTRYANDTEMPORARYSTAYOFNATURAL
PERSONS FOR THE PURPOSE OFSUPPLYING ACCOUNTANCY SERVICES
34. Istheentry andstayofprofessionals subject tolabour market testsoranyother restrictions?
Please specify.
Book-keeper
Nospecific requirements forthisprofession.
Auditor
Nospecific requirements forthisprofession.
35. Isthere anyprocedure facilitating thetemporary entry andstayofprofessionals tosupply
accountancy services? Please explain.
Book-keeper
No.
Auditor
No.S/WPPS/W/ 7/Add.4
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36. Arethere anyrestrictions onhiring oflocalprofessionals byforeign firms andprofessionals?
Please explain.
Book-keeper
No.
Auditor
No.
VIII. NATIONALITY/RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS
37. Isacondition ofnationality/citizenship imposed topractice certain activities, tostartan
education, toobtain alicence, tobecome member ofaprofessional body, etc.? Please specify.
Book-keeper
No.
Auditor
No.
38. Isacondition ofestablishment, prior residency orresidency imposed topractice certain
activities, toobtain alicence, tobecome member ofaprofessional body, etc.? Please specify
theconditions andthedefinition ofestablishment, residency, etc.when relevant. Isitpossible
tohaveaprofessional establishment inmore thanonecountry?
Book-keeper
Yes,residency.
Auditor
Yes,residency.